The 5 Most Classic Cocktails in Los Angeles and the Stories Behind Them

National Cocktail Day falls on Friday, March 24th, and there’s no better way to celebrate than with a rundown of the most classic cocktails in Los Angeles and the best places and ways to shake and stir them up.

*This piece contains affiliate links that will help fill both your cup and that of EatDrinkLA. Thank you for considering.

The Martini

Although the Martini was not invented in Los Angeles, its popularity can undoubtedly be traced to the golden age of cinema and characters like James Bond. According to Food 52, its roots point to the cities of San Francisco and Martinez, California, during the gold rush days. The original is said to be made with gin, vermouth, bitters, maraschino liqueur, and a slice of lemon. Thus explaining why some might theorize that its name comes from the Italian Martini & Rossi brand – celebrating its 160th anniversary this year.

If you want to keep it classic for 2023, consider a Roaring 23 Cocktail crafted by actor and gin enthusiast Tobias Jelinek to celebrate the centennial of The Hollywood Sign. It’s meant to transport you back in time to the golden age of Hollywood when movies were king and so was bathtub gin. It’s easy to forget that the United States was dry from 1920 to 1933. Below is a recipe for The Roaring 23, and you can also look for it in Hollywood hot spots around the city.

‘THE ROARING 23’  

½ oz fresh lemon juice 

½ oz lavender syrup 

1 oz Gin (I recommend Oxley Gin – a cold-distilled London brand)

Give a long shake with ice, strain into a champagne flute, and top with champagne, fresh lavender flowers, and a channel-cut lemon twist garnish. 

Where to Find it Today: The Lobby Bar at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel serves a Barish Martini with Italian fennel that will have you forsaking the classic lemon twist. Not to mention that you’re drinking in a late 1920s institution.

The Brown Derby Cocktail

The Brown Derby Cocktail is a bourbon-based drink named not for the place where it was invented but for how it looks: the shape of the classic Brown Derby Diner from 1926 Los Angeles. The drink was created at the Vendôme Club in the 1930s and consists of only three ingredients: bourbon, grapefruit juice, and honey syrup.

Where to Find it Today: Musso & Frank Grill in Hollywood (also THE place for a classic Martini). They’ve been open since 1919.

The Moscow Mule

The story of the Moscow Mule begins with the vessel that holds the cocktail instead of the drink itself. Russian immigrant Sophie Berezinski was on the hunt to find a home for 2000 copper mugs she brought with her in 1941, and after many defeats, she found herself at the Cock ‘n’ Bull pub on Sunset Boulevard. The cocktail was born as part of a collaboration between John Martin, hoping to push Smirnoff Vodka, and Jack Morgan, owner of the Cock ‘n’ Bull, who was also trying to popularize his brand of Ginger Beer. The magic alchemy from putting it in a copper cup makes this the stuff of Hollywood legends.

Where to Find it Today: While the original Cock ‘n’ Bull is no longer operating, you can find this fizzy drink on many a happy hour menu as well as the 100-plus-year-old Tam O’Shanter.

The Zombie

The legend behind this cocktail just might make you never want to drink it again! The story goes that legendary Donn Beach of Don the Beachcomber crafted this tiki-rum cocktail to help get one of his hungover patrons through a meeting after spending too much time in his establishment in 1934. Following the meeting, the man said he felt “like a zombie.”

Where to Find it Today: Visit the CanTiki in Glendale for the familiar vibe of Don the Beachcomber and an array of cocktails that will help you forget you were there at all.

The Old Fashioned

The Old Fashioned Cocktail is among the oldest on this list, with roots in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1881 and The Waldorf Astoria in New York City. It’s made with muddled sugar, whiskey, and bitters and served in “an old-fashioned glass.”

Where to Find it Today: As one of the most popular cocktails in the world, you can find it anywhere, so why not take advantage of happy hour pricing? The Big Foot Lodge in Atwater Village has both an Old Fashioned and a Moscow Mule for $8 each from 5 to 8 p.m. DAILY!