6 Affordable Yet Delicious Cocktails To Order At The Bar

Let's face it — as fun as bar hopping with your friends is, going out for drinks can get expensive. While it's true that a beer or a glass of house wine won't set you back too much, once you start ordering fancy craft cocktails, the tab can rack up quickly, leaving your wallet hurting at the end of the night.

The good news is that if you want to spend a night out without breaking the bank, Daily Meal spoke with Nicholas Dukes, mixologist at Temecula, California-based Pechanga Resort Casino, and Maranda Howell, founder and owner of The Tipsy Librarian, a bespoke craft cocktail experience, retail shop, and consulting business in Baton Rouge. They provided exclusive insights on which cocktails you can order at the bar, even on a budget. Howell explains that single-spirit cocktails like the daiquiri, gimlet, and pisco sour won't set you back too much. Meanwhile, Dukes offers suggestions for anyone's taste, from a whiskey sour or mai tai to the self-named mezcalrita, which highlights a trend in the spirit world.

Whatever you decide to enjoy on your night out, know you can do so reasonably. Howell shares, "Well-made cocktails are all about balance, quality, and appreciation for the unavoidable nuances of each spirit," adding that with these expert suggestions, you can get a "beautifully crafted drink that's both approachable and elevated at the same time."

If you're a fan of whiskey, whether Jack Daniel's, Jim Beam, or a small-batch, a whiskey sour is a great pick. This cocktail consists of just a few simple ingredients: Whiskey, simple syrup, and lemon and lime juice.

Despite those simple ingredients, Nicholas Dukes explains that it's still an elevated beverage: "I prefer mine in the traditional way, combining an egg white with the lemon and simple syrup, mixing in a respectable bourbon and shaking vigorously to really build up that froth," adding, "The egg white adds a rich texture to the cocktail and a drip of angostura bitters on top will add an herbal enlightening to the sweet, sour, and maple flavors of this Prohibition-era favorite."

You get a slightly sour beverage with a creamy, rich finish that makes for a boozy libation. It's a great alternative to just a whiskey on the rocks, adding extra fruity flavors and unique textures, all without costing you a fortune.

If you prefer fruity drinks, consider a classic daiquiri, another affordable alternative. Maranda Howell acknowledges that this drink has a reputation for being frozen and sickly sweet. Still, she explains that if you avoid these pitfalls, you can actually get a flavorful beverage at a reasonable cost.

The drink is made of white rum, lime juice, and simple syrup, meaning it doesn't need many extra additions. Howell notes that it should only have one part simple syrup in the drink, two parts lime juice, and three parts rum, meaning that the booze and the citrus flavors should still shine through.

"Few spirits can elicit a sense of respite quite similar to the way that rum can, with warm molasses notes and spice," explains Howell. Plus, while you can order this drink out, you can also make it at home for a party without running up your grocery bill too much. Howell says, "A decent quality rum can be found for less than $20 a bottle; a good gin for less than $25." That makes this drink a good pick for batch cocktails (and a good bottle of booze is what really creates excellent batch cocktails) or serving in bulk.

One drink that you can find fairly affordable at most places is a margarita. But, if you want to mix things up, Nicholas Dukes recommends ordering a mezcalrita. Even though it's a word he made up, he says, "The bartender will know exactly what you're talking about. Mezcal is the recent trend in the spirit world, gaining traction as tequila's 'smoky little cousin' coming out of Oaxaca, Mexico."

This cocktail consists simply of a margarita made using mezcal instead of tequila. Mezcal is a spirit made from agave, and each varietal of the plant infuses it with its own unique tasting notes. Dukes explains that "it's the way the jimadores cook the pina that leaves lingering flavors of smoked nopales and roasted peppers in the final product of the mezcal." Using it in your margarita gives you different tasting notes than a classic tequila-based drink. It creates a unique twist that feels a bit more elevated – all without raising the price tag of the beverage.

If you love exotic cocktails, the pisco sour is another beverage to consider. This beverage, explains Maranda Howell, hails from Peru, where growers make it using distilled grapes. This cocktail is mixed with lemon juice and simple syrup and uses an egg white to create a smooth texture. Howell explains, "The pisco sour offers a unique depth of flavor, yet complex, still serves as a rather smoothy sipper."

At the same time, she notes, there are plenty of ways to upgrade this cocktail. "Depending on the type of pisco used, the flavor can range from floral to herbaceous and grape-y," she explains, adding, "If chosen, [the] additional touch of three drops of Angostura on the top creates a lovely aromatic that's reminiscent of island spice." That flavor combo makes it wonderfully refreshing and is a great alternative to the more well-known whiskey sour that Nicholas Dukes recommends.

Nicholas Dukes notes that a Mai Tai can be a good choice for those who love fruity flavors and want a slightly sweeter beverage. According to legend, this drink originated in Oakland, California, in the 1940s, when Victor Bergeron whipped up this combo as one of his experiments at his Polynesian-themed bar. Today, it's still a popular drink, and Dukes explains that there are plenty of variations on it.

With that said, if you're after just a classic, tasty, and affordable cocktail, Dukes explains, "the original recipe still holds true to this day: white rum, dark rum, orange curacao, orgeat (almond syrup), and fresh pressed lime." While it's not a simple drink, all those flavor combinations lead to a sweet and balanced drink. Dukes does caution, however, "Kindly ask the bartender not to float any plastic-bottle grenadine on top, please." Otherwise, you can wind up with a sickly sweet start to your drink that mars the other flavors in the beverage.

Last but certainly not least, Maranda Howell offers up the suggestion of trying a traditional gin gimlet cocktail. This drink is another simple beverage made with booze, lime, and syrup. Howell suggests "[with] a little cucumber or some mint thrown in [it] can be absolutely divine," and adds, "I also sometimes like to add herbaceous elements, with my Gimlet's in addition to other cocktails, as they can elevate a cocktail without adding too much to price tag."

Furthermore, it's a cocktail you won't have trouble finding at most standard bars. As a classic recipe, your typical bartender will be happy to make it for you even if it's not on their menu. Or, you could always try whipping them up at home. There are plenty of affordable gins out there that still taste great (check out Daily Meal's round-up of the 15 best gin brands to help you find one), making it a good option for prepping at home or for a party without spending a ton of money. Regardless of which of these six cocktails strikes your fancy, plenty of boozy beverages you can sip on during your next cocktail night won't burn a hole in your wallet. Plus, many of them are just as tasty and exotic as their more expensive counterparts.