What Are Some Musicians’ Favourite Cocktails

Musicians and cocktails share a long history. From jazz clubs to stadium tours, certain drinks become as iconic as the artists themselves. Some chose simple classics, others created their own signature serves, but each cocktail tells a story about the person behind the music.

Rock Legends and Their Signature Drinks

Lemmy Kilmister: Jack Daniel’s and Coke

The Motörhead frontman ordered the same drink for over four decades: Jack Daniel’s and Coke. No variations, no experimentation. Just whiskey, cola, and ice in a rocks glass.

When Lemmy died in 2015, fans launched an online petition to rename the cocktail “The Lemmy” in his honor. Bars worldwide still serve it under that name. The drink wasn’t just a preference. It was part of his identity, as recognizable as his mutton chops and gravelly voice.

Rock culture adopted Jack and Coke as its unofficial anthem partly because of Lemmy. Simple, strong, and available anywhere from dive bars to luxury hotels. The perfect touring drink.

Dimebag Darrell: The Blacktooth Grin

Pantera’s legendary guitarist didn’t mess around with his cocktails. The Blacktooth Grin combines two shots of Crown Royal, two shots of Seagram’s 7, and a splash of Coca-Cola.

It’s not subtle. It’s not meant to be sipped slowly. Dimebag created this serve for one purpose: to get the party started and keep it going. The name comes from the dark color the cola gives the mixed whiskeys, plus the inevitable staining after a few rounds.

Metal bars still serve Blacktooth Grins on August 20th, Dimebag’s birthday. Fans order them as tribute, experiencing the same liquid courage that fueled countless legendary performances.

Mick Jagger: The Tequila Sunrise

The Rolling Stones didn’t just play “Honky Tonk Women.” They lived it. During the legendary 1972 Exile on Main Street tour, the Tequila Sunrise became their backstage ritual.

Promoter Bill Graham introduced Mick to the drink at a private party. Orange juice, tequila, and grenadine layered to create that sunrise gradient. Jagger loved it immediately. The band adopted it as their unofficial tour cocktail.

The connection ran so deep that the Eagles later wrote a song called “Tequila Sunrise,” cementing the drink’s place in rock mythology. Sweet, visually striking, and deceptively strong, it matched the Stones’ aesthetic perfectly.

Freddie Mercury: Stoli Vodka and Cristal Champagne

Queen’s frontman approached drinking with the same theatrical flair he brought to the stage. Stolichnaya vodka traveled with him in dry ice coolers during tours. Not for show. For quality control.

Brian May recalled that Freddie kept those coolers stocked and ready, ensuring perfectly chilled vodka was always available. At home or in hotels, Mercury’s fridges contained dozens of Cristal champagne bottles for impromptu parties.

In 2014, Queen launched Killer Queen Vodka as tribute to Freddie’s love of premium spirits. The bottle design and branding captured his maximalist style. Vodka and champagne weren’t just drinks for Mercury. They were expressions of luxury and celebration.

Jazz Icons and Classic Cocktails

Miles Davis: The Rob Roy

The trumpet legend wore Brooks Brothers suits tailored to his specifications. His drink choice showed the same attention to detail: the Rob Roy.

Scotch whisky, sweet vermouth, and bitters stirred over ice, strained into a chilled coupe. Some called it a Manhattan’s sophisticated Scottish cousin. Davis appreciated the smoky sweetness, which soothed his throat after hours of playing.

Swing-era trumpeter Roy Eldridge recorded a hit called “Old Rob Roy” in 1945. The cocktail became standard in jazz clubs across America, where musicians ordered them between sets. Smooth, complex, and refined, exactly like Davis’s approach to music.

Serge Gainsbourg: The Gibson

The French actor and musician embodied effortless cool. Three-piece suits without ties, perpetual cigarette, and a Gibson always within reach.

A Gibson takes gin and dry vermouth but swaps the olive for a pickled onion. The garnish makes all the difference, adding a sharp, savory bite that Gainsbourg found irresistible.

Hotel Amigo in Belgium, his favorite European haunt, let him slip behind the bar to mix his own. He filmed a masterclass on making the perfect Gibson at Paris’s Hôtel Raphael, demonstrating the precise stirring technique and proper onion-to-vermouth ratio. The cocktail matched his aesthetic: classic with an unexpected twist.

Unexpected Choices from Music Icons

Janis Joplin: Southern Comfort

Joplin didn’t bother with cocktails. She drank Southern Comfort straight from the bottle, on stage and off. Her devotion to the whiskey liqueur was so public and so consistent that it drove a measurable sales increase.

The company noticed. They sent her a lynx fur coat as thanks for the free advertising. Joplin wore it, kept drinking Southern Comfort, and the cycle continued.

No mixing, no ice, no pretense. The bottle became part of her image, another element of the raw, unfiltered persona that defined her performances. Sometimes the most iconic drink choice is the simplest one.

Frank Sinatra: Jack Daniel’s Neat

The Chairman of the Board kept his drinking straightforward. Jack Daniel’s, served neat in a rocks glass. No ice, no water, no dilution of any kind.

Sinatra made whiskey drinking sophisticated at a time when cocktails dominated. He ordered Jack’s at the finest restaurants and the seediest bars with equal confidence. The consistency mattered. Wherever he traveled, he knew exactly what he’d get.

When Sinatra died, his family buried him with a bottle of Jack Daniel’s, a pack of Camels, and a Zippo lighter. The whiskey wasn’t just a preference. It was part of his legacy.

Marlon Brando: The Godfather

Long before Disaronno officially named this cocktail, Brando mixed Scotch whisky and amaretto after formal dinners. The combination intrigued him: smoky, sweet, complex.

After his iconic performance in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather, Disaronno saw an opportunity. They christened the Scotch and amaretto combination “The Godfather” in tribute. The name stuck.

Talk show host Dick Cavett claimed this was Brando’s joint-favorite, tied with the less glamorous Campari and orange juice. But only one made cocktail history.

Modern Musicians and Their Cocktail Preferences

Post Malone: The Screwdriver Variations

Post Malone keeps it simple with vodka and orange juice, the classic Screwdriver. But bartenders have created more elaborate versions inspired by his style.

The Sunflower Cocktail, named after his collaboration with Swae Lee, blends Screwdriver and Cosmopolitan elements. Less acidic than straight orange juice, more complex than the original, but maintaining that easy-drinking approachability.

Modern musicians often prefer drinks they can customize or that travel well to studios. The Screwdriver checks both boxes. Available anywhere, endlessly variable, and easy to dial up or down depending on the session length.

Contemporary Twists

Today’s musicians don’t just drink spirits. They create them. Sammy Hagar pioneered the trend with Cabo Wabo Tequila in 1996, turning a personal passion into a multimillion-dollar brand.

The Red Rocker’s success inspired countless others. Musicians now launch whiskeys, gins, tequilas, and vodkas, moving from consumers to creators of cocktail culture. The relationship between artists and alcohol evolved from endorsement to ownership.

These branded spirits change how we think about musicians’ favorite cocktails. When an artist creates their own liquor, every drink mixed with it becomes a signature serve.

Why Musicians Gravitate to Certain Cocktails

Simple Serves for Touring Life

Life on the road demands reliable drinks. Jack and Coke works in Tokyo, London, and Des Moines. Vodka soda translates across languages. Whiskey neat needs no explanation.

Musicians who tour constantly develop preferences based on availability and consistency. Complex cocktails requiring fresh herbs or obscure liqueurs don’t survive the touring circuit. Simple combinations do.

The best touring drink uses common ingredients, requires minimal preparation, and tastes the same whether mixed by a seasoned bartender or a green stagehand. Practicality matters as much as preference.

Classic Cocktails That Match Personality

Jazz musicians gravitated toward sophisticated serves. The Rob Roy and Gibson require technique and patience. They’re drinks for people who appreciate craft and tradition.

Rock stars chose bold, straightforward combinations. Whiskey and cola. Tequila and juice. Rum straight. These drinks match the directness of rock music itself.

Pop icons selected glamorous options. Cristal, premium vodka, champagne cocktails. The drinks projected success and celebration, aligning with the polished image pop music demands.

The connection isn’t coincidental. Musicians choose drinks that reflect their artistic identity, whether consciously or not.

Drinks That Became Part of the Legend

Certain cocktails transcend preference and become mythology. Lemmy’s Jack and Coke wasn’t just what he drank. It was who he was. Fans ordering “The Lemmy” aren’t just choosing a drink. They’re connecting to his legacy.

Signature cocktails cement artist identity in ways music alone sometimes can’t. They provide a tangible, experiential link between performer and audience. You can’t play guitar like Dimebag, but you can drink what he drank.

The mythology matters. When Freddie Mercury stocked his fridge with Cristal, he wasn’t just buying champagne. He was crafting an image of excess and celebration that fans still reference decades later.

How to Recreate These Iconic Drinks at Home

Equipment Needed

Most legendary musician cocktails require minimal gear. A proper mixing glass and bar spoon for stirred drinks like the Rob Roy. A cocktail shaker for anything with citrus or multiple ingredients. A jigger for accurate measurements.

Quality ice matters more than most people realize. Large cubes melt slower, diluting drinks less. If you’re serving whiskey neat like Sinatra, use a single large cube or sphere.

Glassware enhances the experience. Serve a Rob Roy in a coupe, Jack and Coke in a rocks glass, Tequila Sunrise in a highball. The right glass doesn’t just look better. It affects temperature, aroma, and perception.

Ingredient Sourcing

For authentic recreation, use the exact spirits when possible. Jack Daniel’s for Lemmy’s drink, not generic whiskey. Stolichnaya for Freddie’s vodka, not the cheapest option. Crown Royal and Seagram’s 7 for a proper Blacktooth Grin.

Some substitutions work fine. Any quality London Dry gin creates a proper Gibson. Most blended Scotch whisky serves well in a Rob Roy. But for drinks tied closely to specific brands, authenticity matters.

Quality ingredients elevate every cocktail. Fresh citrus juice instead of bottled. Real grenadine, not corn syrup. Good vermouth, stored properly in the fridge. These details separate a decent drink from a great one.

The Ritual Matters

Miles Davis didn’t rush his Rob Roy. Lemmy didn’t sip his Jack and Coke slowly, but he ordered it with confidence. The way you make and consume these drinks contributes to the experience.

Take time with stirred cocktails. Count your stirs, feel the glass getting cold, understand when the drink reaches proper dilution. Pour Jack and Coke with Lemmy’s assured nonchalance. Make it an experience, not just a task.

These aren’t just cocktail recipes. They’re connections to the artists who made them famous. Mixing them properly honors that legacy.

Final Pour

These cocktails aren’t just drinks. They’re windows into the lives of the artists who made them famous. Whether you’re pouring a simple Jack and Coke or shaking up a proper Rob Roy, you’re participating in a tradition that’s as much about the music as the spirits themselves. Every glass connects you to the stages, studios, and late-night sessions where legends were born.