Our Favorite Cocktails of 2025

In a year filled with exciting new bars, talented emerging bartenders and trends that touched everything from Margaritas to M&M shots, picking a favorite cocktail is no easy feat. So what does it take to stand out? For some of us, the best drinks of the year nail a classic template and make us want to come back for more. For others, the recipes that defy categorization take top honors. And for others, getting a little treat with your drink goes a long way. Here, the Punch team—and some of our colleagues at Eater—share the most memorable cocktails of 2025.

“I was a bay leaf truther. I seldom put it in my adobo; I float the leaves into my pots of beans mostly for the vibes. I never really believed in their power. Then I had the Bay Leaf Daiquiri at Bar Kabawa. Maybe the way that creative bartender Kathryn “Pepper” Stashek nitro-muddles the herbs unlocks something, or maybe the bar and restaurant has access to superior bay leaves, which would make sense, considering how good the food is there, too. (“I don’t even wanna know how many pounds of bay leaves we go through between the kitchen and the bar here,” Stashek told me.) Maybe I’ve just been wrong all along. Either way, that drink is magic, and of course one of the best cocktails of the year would come from one of our Best New Bars of 2025.” —Mary Anne Porto, senior editor