17 Quick and Easy Cocktails for Your Home Happy Hour

By Carl Hanson

Updated October 13, 2020

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Home happy hour, after a long work week, it's the pause that refreshes. And this one's for the working-from-home warriors. The home office has its benefits. For one, the Friday evening cocktail hour always starts on time. Our super-easy cocktail recipes will have you fixed up in a hurry. Unplug from the home office at 5pm sharp, and these simple cocktails are stirred, shaken, or otherwise mixed up and ready for you by 5:03. Cheers, folks!

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Americano Cocktail

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The Americano, "It's a Negroni, basically, minus the high octane of gin," says Lorem Ipsum. Just stir Campari and vermouth over ice, cap with a splash of club soda, and garnish with a twist or slice of orange. A great lower-alcohol option.

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Vodka Martini Cocktail

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Easy, simple, and plenty potent. Share the start of the weekend with the king of cocktails. For this variation, vodka replaces gin. But if gin is your jam, by all means, sub it right back in. "This is the perfect vodka martini," says W.Adkisson. "There are lots of variations on the ratios of vermouth to vodka, but I've found I like this best."

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Moscow Mule Cocktail

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Vodka, ginger beer, and lime create a spicy, well-balanced cocktail. "Used a great ginger beer, which I think is most important to the taste," says Pat Kelly. "Proportions of ingredients was perfect!"

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Blackberry-Cucumber Vodka Tonic

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The work day is done, but you can still multi-task. Get your fruits and veggies while you enjoy a refreshing vodka tonic. "This vodka and cucumber cocktail is a refreshing and colorful spin on the classic cocktail!" says France C.

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Aperol Spritz

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Aperol is a refreshing Italian apéritif that's similar to Campari only lower in alcohol and maybe slightly less bitter. "Combined with the sweetness of the Prosecco, it makes the perfect, thirst-quenching cocktail," says sonjagroset.

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Manhattan Cocktail

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A simple classic that's basic, bracing, and beautiful in the glass. Stir or shake together bourbon, sweet vermouth, and Angostura bitters. "Classic indeed!" says Big Steel. "While I don't typically enjoy sweet cocktails, this one straddles the fence between sweet and smoky."

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Negroni Cocktail II

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Kind of like a gin-juiced Americano. The negroni features three ingredients in equal measure: gin, campari, and sweet vermouth. Complex, delicious, and strong!

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Original Champagne Cocktail

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Get the weekend off to a sophisticated start. Soak a cube of sugar with a couple dashes of Angostura bitters, and add sparkling wine. This simple trick will make less expensive bubbly taste great.

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Cuba Libre Cocktail

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Sweet and simple! Another classic, the Cuba Libre combines light rum, Coca-Cola, and a decent amount of lime juice. Garnish with a wedge of lime.

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Simple Moscow Mule

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Squeeze lime juice and vodka over ice and top with spicy ginger beer. Garnish with lime slices. Like a vodka version of a dark 'n' stormy.

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Easy Mojitos for a Crowd

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This easy mojito-inspired punch is tangy and sweet, combining frozen limeade, mint leaves, and rum. "This is a delicious, easy alternative to making the time-consuming Mojito," says Cindy Mancini.

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Classic Old Fashioned

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One of the truly great bourbon cocktails. Mix it up with bourbon, rye, or a blended whiskey, whatever you prefer. You can also sub a bitters-soaked sugar cube for the simple syrup.

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Kir Royale Cocktail

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Another low-alcohol Champagne cocktail, this one combines Creme de cassis and sparkling wine. "Crème de cassis, the sweet syrupy liqueur made from blackcurrants, is a delicious and wonderful way to fancy up an ordinary glass of champagne," says Linda.

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Jannell's Whiskey Sour

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Here's a simple recipe for a whiskey sour. "Lemon juice blends well with the whiskey for a quick and easy drink," says Jannell Nickols. "I used Wegman's lemon juice, and Tullamore Dew Irish Whiskey."

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Paloma Picante

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Here's a spicy version of the classic paloma cocktail. It features spicy habanero-infused tequila and grapefruit-flavored soda. To make your own habanero-infused tequila over the weekend, add 2 or 3 habanero peppers, seeded and quartered, into one 26-ounce bottle of tequila and set aside for a few days, then strain.

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Gin and Tonic

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Simple and sublime. Here on Earth, we refer to this kind mixture of gin, tonic, and lime juice as Gin and Tonic (or G&T). Galactic travelers, and fans of Mr. Adams, may refer to it as "jynnan tonnyx, or gee-N'N-T'N-ix, or jinond-o-nicks," etc. Nothing is more refreshing. True fanatics of the G&T should try making their own homemade tonic.

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Screwdriver

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Not typically a happy hour drink, the screwdriver rarely makes it past brunch. But these days, it's important to get your vitamin C, people. And, besides, the only drink that's easier to make than vodka and orange juice is 2 fingers of Kentucky bourbon poured neat into an Old Fashioned glass.

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By Carl Hanson