Revamp Your College Mixed Drinks Into True Cocktails (Slideshow)
#Selfie Cocktail
Sure, the name sounds juvenile, but this is a much more sophisticated cocktail than you might think. If you and your friends still love a good vodka cranberry, consider this the grown-up version (but you know, you can still take a #selfie with it). The #Selfie cocktail comes from Beau du Bois from Culver City's cocktail haunt, The Corner Door. Click here for the #Selfie cocktail recipe.
Pomegranate White Cosmopolitan
Remember those pre-mixed Cosmos you loved to drink back in the day? (You know, when Sex and the City was still a thing?) Neither do we. Made at Ivy Bar & Grill, this updated Cosmopolitan recipe will make you forget about every other Cosmo you've ever had. Click here for the Pomegranate White Cosmopolitan recipe.
Peach Tea Punch
Want a better version of your Long Island Iced Tea? Look no further: Boston seafood restaurant Legal Seafoods mixes up a Peach Tea Punch. It's a grownup, more sophisticated cocktail with the flavor of tea and a mix of rums, cognac, and peach liqueur. (Warning: The recipe is for an entire punch, not just one cocktail, so you know, don't drink the whole thing. It's no longer cool to black out after a Long Island Iced Tea.) Click here for the Peach Tea Punch cocktail recipe.
El Cuba Libre Reforma Cocktail Recipe
The rum and Coke, according to The Savory, is a classic drink that with a few tweaks can go from a college fallback to "all growed up." Pete Capella from The Savory stepped up the rum game by using an aged rum, the Bacardi 8-year, and Mexican Coke. According to Capella, "A simple Coke-flavored soda will just not do and neither will the U.S. version of the branded stuff. Instead we subbed in a bottle of Mexican Coke that uses real sugar cane in the soda. Finally, fresh-squeezed organic lime juice balances the sweetness of the cola and makes for a great-looking garnish." Click here for the El Cuba Libre Reforma cocktail recipe.
Armada Cocktail
Consider this cocktail, from PINE restaurant at the Hanover Inn, the updated version of your average rum and Coke. Sherry, rum, black tea cordial: yeah, we're obsessed. Click here for the Armada cocktail recipe.
Freedom's Flip Envy Cocktail
Amaretto sours are sticky-sweet, what most college students love, but the sour mix is enough to leave a bad taste in our mouths. But this recipe from Freedman's Bar in Austin (located in the University of Texas' west campus) has us believing in sours once again. Mix up a chicory coffee syrup, and you won't be disappointed. Click here for the Freedom's Flip Envy cocktail recipe.
New Age Long Island Iced Tea
Ah, the Long Island Iced Tea. Perhaps the most deadly and mind-erasing college mixed drink of them all, it's usually doused in sour mix that's just too sticky-sweet. Jenny Buchhagen, Orange County's hottest mixologist, who works at Michael Mina's Stonehill Tavern at the St. Regis Monarch Beach in Dana Point, Calif., took on the challenge to update the mixed drink into a classic cocktail. Click here for the New Age Long Island Iced Tea recipe.
Mexican Rum and Coke
Why exactly is this rum and Coke so much better than the ones you made in college? For starters, it's a jalepeño-infused rum. And it's topped with a Mexican Coke. Made at Hotel Vermont's hotel bar and lounge Juniper, this is one spin on the rum and Coke we'll want always. Click here for the Mexican Rum and Coke recipe.
'Midori Sour'
What does a typical Midori Sour look like? Well, Midori melon liqueur, sour mix, Sprite, and cherries. But this recipe, from Hotel Vermont's hotel bar and lounge Juniper, has long graduated from the old premixed, syrupy-sweet Midori Sour. If you can't find local Caledonia elderberry liqueur, made in Hardwick, Vt., St. Germain would work, too. Click here for the 'Midori Sour' cocktail recipe.
Song of Songs Cocktail
Remember Washington Apples? Here's what you should be drinking instead. At the Spare Room in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, Naomi Schimek mixes up her take on the Washington Apple (the name is in reference to King Solomon and the apple reference in Song of Songs). Click here for the Song of Songs Cocktail recipe.