Are you looking for classic stylish cocktails that can meet a certain standard? Perhaps they're stunningly sweet or surprisingly savory sippers. Or maybe you're searching for cocktails that share something else: drinks that start with the letter S. Let's get stirring, shaking, and sipping these sensational spirits.
Saketini
When you're searching the world for a martini that's a little crisper than the usual dry gin or vodka martini, the sake martini will be there to sweep you off your feet.
Ingredients
- 2 ounces gin OR vodka
- ½ ounce sake
- Ice
- Cucumber ribbon and cocktail skewer for garnish
Instructions
- Chill a martini glass or coupe.
- In a mixing glass, add ice, gin, and sake.
- Stir rapidly to chill.
- Strain into the chilled glass.
- Garnish with a cucumber ribbon, pierced onto a cocktail skewer in a wave pattern.
Salty Dog
For those friendships when one loves vodka and the other loves gin, you don't need to compromise on mixers: the salty dog is here to save the day. Call her the Lassie of cocktails.
Ingredients
- Grapefruit or lime wedge and salt for rim
- 2 ounces vodka or gin
- 4 ounces freshly squeezed grapefruit juice
- Ice
- Grapefruit wheel for garnish
Instructions
- To prepare rim, rub the rim of the glass with the citrus wedge.
- With the salt on a saucer, dip either half or the entire rim of the glass in the salt to coat.
- In the prepared glass, add ice, vodka, and grapefruit juice.
- Stir to mix.
- Garnish with a grapefruit wheel.
Sangria
Red, white, or rosé wine gets you halfway to a glass or even a carafe of sangria. Fitting for summer, spring, fall, or winter, you can never go wrong. Any season, you need no reason for sangria.
Sangrita
You're sitting outside, enjoying the sunshine, the summery vibes, and the squash growing in your yard. You know what would complete that? Well, either sangria or a margarita. Better yet, a sangrita.
Savoy Affair
The histort behind the Savoy affair is about as clear cut as an unfiltered IPA. What it isn't, however, is bitter like that IPA. The Savoy affair is a fruity, bubbly, delight.
Ingredients
- ½ ounce peach brandy
- ¼ ounce strawberry liqueur
- ¼ ounce passion fruit juice
- ¼ ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
- Ice
- 2 ounces Prosecco
- Lemon wheel for garnish
Instructions
- Chill a martini glass or coupe.
- In a cocktail shaker, add ice, peach brandy, passion fruit juice, and lime juice.
- Shake to chill.
- Strain into the chilled glass.
- Top off with prosecco.
- Garnish with a lemon wheel.
Savoy Corpse Reviver
You might think this may be cheating a little since you already know of the Corpse Reviver. But this isn't the same as Corpse Reviver No. 2. Oh, no, no, no.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Chill a martini glass or coupe.
- In a cocktail shaker, add ice, cognac, Fernet, and white crème de cacao.
- Shake to chill.
- Strain into the chilled glass.
- Garnish with an orange peel.
Sazerac
Saunter down to the Big Easy. Where drinks flow freely, spirits are heavy both in glasses and from beyond the grave. And nothing brings the feeling of New Orleans and those cocktails to life like the sazerac.
Sbagliato
The Sbagliato needs nearly no introduction. It's gone viral and been given meme status. It's a negroni. Sbagliato. With prosecco in it.
Scarlett O'Hara
Skip on down with a little Southern Comfort. Just a bit of cranberry juice, and a few other secrets (because a lady never reveals her secrets), and you're well on your way to a Scarlett O'Hara.
Ingredients
- 2 ounces Southern Comfort
- 4 ounces cranberry juice
- ½ ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
- Ice
- Lime wheel and mint sprig for garnish
Instructions
- In a highball glass, add ice, Southern Comfort, lime juice, and cranberry juice.
- Stir to mix.
- Garnish with a lime wheel and mint sprig.
Scotch and Soda
A Scotch and soda and the Seven and Seven are both quietly infamous cocktails. Both go by their proper names and spell out their ingredients, leaving no mystery about how to make these simply splendid sippers.
Scotch Sour
A smoky, peaty Scotch may not be the first liquor that comes to mind when you think of a sour drink. Whiskey is probably what you think of first, but honestly, those earthy notes of the Scotch sour give that whiskey version a run for its money.
Screaming Orgasm
Could this be straight from When Harry Met Sally? Well, no. But, many might just say they'll have what you're having once they see this drink.
Ingredients
- ¾ ounce vodka
- ¾ ounce coffee liqueur
- ¾ ounce amaretto
- ¾ ounce Irish cream
- 2 ounces heavy cream
- Ice
- Whipped cream and cherry for garnish, optional
Instructions
- In a cocktail shaker, add ice, vodka, coffee liqueur, amaretto, Irish cream, and milk.
- Shake to chill.
- Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice.
- Garnish with whipped cream and a cherry, if desired.
Screwdriver
There are a few stories and tall tales surrounding the start of the screwdriver. Our favorite, however, is this one: workers atop buildings, sans safety gear, would be enjoying a glass of orange juice and vodka, stirred together with their screwdrivers. And if the drink went undisturbed for too long, the vodka would separate. Naturally, they'd use their screwdrivers to give it another mix.
Sea Breeze
A short study on the separation of a sea breeze and a Cape Cod shows us a singular substance: a squeeze of grapefruit juice! Where a Cape Cod uses vodka and cranberry juice, the sea breeze does the same. But the sea breeze goes the extra citrus mile with some grapefruit flavors.
Sex on the Beach
All the sunny flavors, none of the sandy toes. Does anyone else somehow bring the entire beach home in the car with them, or is it just us? BRB. I'm going to make this up while I vacuum out the car.
Ingredients
- 1½ ounces vodka
- ½ ounce peach liqueur
- ½ ounce raspberry liqueur
- 2 ounces cranberry juice
- 2 ounces freshly squeezed orange juice
- Ice
- Orange wheel for garnish
Instructions
- In a cocktail shaker, add ice, vodka, peach liqueur, raspberry liqueur, cranberry juice, and orange juice.
- Shake to chill.
- Strain into a highball or hurricane glass over fresh ice.
- Garnish with an orange wheel.
Shandy
The beloved way to cool down after mowing the lawn by suburban dads across the nation, a little lemonade meets a pale ale for a shandy beer. And when you make your own, you can control how sour or bitter you want yours to be.
Sherry Cobbler
You don't need to preheat the oven or grab your cutting board to enjoy this style of cobbler. Simple syrup, sherry, and crushed ice are all you need for a sherry cobbler. You can still wear the oven mitts, though, if you're the type to get cold hands when holding a glass.
Shirley Temple
The number of ways to sip and savor a Shirley Temple amounts to a whole slew of selections. From vodka to rum to the classic mocktail or kiddie cocktail, there's no wrong way to sip a Shirley.
Sidecar
Snappy and sharp, the sidecar is a classic tipple. Boozy and heavy handed on the libations, brandy, orange liqueur, and lemon juice make for a memorable and super cocktail known as the sidecar.
Singapore Sling
You'll find yourself stirring and shaking for a little bit of time as you sling this drink together, but rest assured, the sequence will yield a scrumptious swig.
Ingredients
- ¾ ounce gin
- ½ ounce orange liqueur
- ½ ounce cherry liqueur
- ¼ ounce Bénédictine
- 1 ounce pineapple juice
- ½ ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
- 2-3 dashes aromatic bitters
- Ice
- Club soda to top off
- Cocktail cherry for garnish
Instructions
- In a cocktail shaker, add ice, gin, orange liqueur, cherry liqueur, Bénédictine, pineapple juice, lime juice, and bitters.
- Shake to chill.
- Strain into a highball or hurricane glass.
- Top off with club soda.
- Garnish with a cocktail cherry.
Skeleton Key
Not to be confused with the 2005 Kate Hudson thriller Skeleton Key, this spooky good cocktail won't leave your soul sapped from one body to another. It'll quench your soul, though.
Ingredients
- 1½ ounces bourbon
- ¾ ounce elderflower liqueur
- ½ ounce freshly squeezeed lemon juice
- 5-7 dashes aromatic bitters
- Ice
- Ginger beer to top off
Instructions
- In a highball glass, add ice, bourbon, elderflower liqueur, and lemon juice.
- Add club soda.
- Top with several dashes of bitters.
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Sloe Gin Fizz
There's nothing slow about the sumptious and silky sloe gin fizz. You can find sloe gin's roots back in Britain, where it's the only spirit grandfathered into EU spirit regulations. That more than makes it worth a try.
Slow Comfortable Screw Against the Wall
Few drinks have such a sultry, slinky, steamy name like the slow comfortable screw against the wall. Funny enough, it shares another singular ingredient with another S cocktail: sloe gin.
Ingredients
- 1½ ounces vodka
- ½ ounces Southern Comfort
- ½ ounce Galliano
- 3 ounces freshly squeezed orange juice
- Ice
- ¼ ounce sloe gin
- Orange wheel and cherry for garnish
Instructions
- In a cocktail shaker, add ice, vodka, Southern Comfort, Galliano, and orange juice.
- Shake to chill.
- Strain into a highball glass over fresh ice.
- Pour sloe gin over top.
- Garnish with an orange wheel and cherry, hugging the cherry with the wheel on a cocktail skewer.
Snakebite
The snakebite has a few iterations, much like snakes themselves. You shoot it as a shot, sip it as a drink, or swig it as a beer. Which way will you be striking with this S cocktail?
Snickertini
Searching for something sweet to sip? Shakedown the internet no further. This snickertini is everything your soul could strive for.
Ingredients
- Chocolate syrup for rim
- 1½ ounces caramel vodka
- ¾ ounce crème de cacao
- ½ ounce amaretto liqueur
- ½ ounce Irish cream
- Ice
- Chocoalte shavings for garnish
Instructions
- With the chocolate syrup on a saucer, dip either half or the entire rim of the glass in the chocolate to coat.
- In a cocktail shaker, add ice, caramel vodka, crème de cacao, amaretto, and Irish cream.
- Shake to chill.
- Strain into the prepared glass.
- Garnish with chocolate shavings.
Snowball
You're going to want to go Dutch when you make this cocktail because you'll need a Dutch ingredient: Advocaat. This liqueur has a brandy base and has not only sugar but eggs too.
No time to hop on a KLM flight to the Netherlands? Go ahead and use brandy, but add a splash of limoncello.
Ingredients
- 2 ounces Advocaat or brandy
- 3½ ounces sparkling lemonade
- ½ ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
- Ice
- Two maraschino cherries for garnish
Instructions
- In a highball glass, add ice, sparkling lemonade, and lime juice.
- Pour Advocaat over top.
- Stir briefly to mix.
- Garnish with two cherries.
South Side
Hop aboard and slip back into the speakeasy era of the 1920s for this sensational south side sipper. Gin, mint, lime juice, and simple syrup will make you a balanced cocktail that's so out of this world, you'll forget that it's bathtub gin. Just kidding. Come back to the 21st century and skip that part.
Spritz
Spritz on spritz on spritz on spritz. You may need to skip their first name, such as Aperol and Hugo, but that doesn't stop the fun. However, the Suze Spritz fits the bill without any name dropping.
Stinger
There's no sting with this smooth stinger cocktail. It's all simple and sweet with a little sizzle. Just two ingredients get you from no drink to a sip right in hand. Swirl away.
Sophisticated and Satisfying Sips
Do these sips sound sublime? They're supreme, stunning, and startlingly swell. Although that's no surprise. Settle in with your shaker and spoons; you'll want to try these satisfying and swanky letter-S cocktails straightaway.