The Best Bartender Mistakes That Turned Into Delicious Cocktails

Some of the best inventions start out as mistakes. Penicillin, potato chips, the microwave oven — all things that came about by accident. The same principle can apply to cocktails, as bartender Melissa Mohle found out during a shift at The Holler in Brooklyn, New York. 

A customer ordered “a classic Daiquiri with Flor de Caña [rum].” What Mohle heard was “a classic Daiquiri with a float of Cognac.” Turns out, it was delicious, and the tongue-in-cheek named “Gentleman’s Daiquiri” was born. What could have been a disaster turned into a great accidental drink. 

It’s not the only cocktail that has come around by accident. Bars are crowded, often loud places. It’s easy to mishear an order. Spaces are dark, some bottles look the same, and it’s not uncommon to reach for one thing and end up with another. Sometimes it’s a disaster, but sometimes a mistake turns into something good enough to land permanently on the menu. 

Here are some of the favorite accidental inventions named by professional bartenders that have happened over the years.

A Jungle Bird with Gin and Grapefruit

Ivy Mix, co-owner of Leyenda in New York City and author of Spirits of Latin American, is also the co-founder of Speed Rack, an annual high-speed bartending competition for women and femmes. In the heat of competition, Mix has seen many accidental cocktails, often classic cocktails with an ingredient or two swapped. 

“My favorite was a Jungle Bird made with gin instead of rum and grapefruit instead of pineapple,” says Mix. “The bartender messed up and it wasn’t the right drink, but it was super well-balanced and delicious on crushed ice.”

Red Wine Espresso Martini

“One of my bartenders stumbled upon an unexpected creation: an Espresso Martini infused with red wine,” says Clair Kotula, the general manager of 101 Speakeasy in Philadelphia. 

The bartender meant to reach for Kahlúa but instead grabbed a bottle of red wine, positioned nearby to make a New York Sour. “Undeterred, he proceeded to add Kahlúa as planned, resulting in a surprisingly delicious blend,” says Kotula.

The Clara Bow

One of Lynette Marrero’s accidental inventions has ended up on many of her menus. 

The partner and chief mixologist at bottled cocktail company Delola and co-author of A Quick Drink was trying to finesse a cocktail that wasn’t quite working with her friend. The mixture was grenadine, lemon, St-Germain, mint, and gin. 

“I went to make the cocktail to see what could be altered,” says Marrero. “I accidentally picked up a high rye bourbon while testing the cocktail and it was perfect.”

Cosmopolitan Sour

“One night, we were non-stop with service tickets, every tin and stirring vessel was in use,” says Christopher Devern, the lead bartender at Red Owl Tavern in Philadelphia. “I built a bunch of cocktails and had the tins ready to be picked up and shaken. Another bartender came by and assisted me. After shaking and pouring out all of the cocktails, we were a bit confused when one came out looking silky and frothy,” he says. “The egg white tin was mixed with the Cosmo build instead of the Whiskey Sour.” 

Turns out, the weird cocktail hybrid was pretty good. Devern recreated it with gin and pomegranate syrup instead of cranberry juice and the Cosmopolitan Sour was born.

Violet Femmes

“We were going to use classic orange bitters for a blueberry cocktail we were working on but accidentally grabbed the tiki bitters instead,” says Stevie Ruiz, the lead bartender at Birch in Milwaukee. “But it amped up the fruitiness and added some more depth of flavor and our Violet Femmes cocktail was born.” 

The formula: rum, blueberry shrub, dry rum, Curaçao, vanilla, lemon and tiki bitters. 

Fernet Coke Float

This invention was less an accident and more of a spur-of-the-moment Frankenstraining from Philadelphia-based My Loup’s head bartender Jillian Moore. 

A fellow chef was coming in for his birthday, and he loved the restaurant’s ice cream sundae. “I was looking for a way to make it extra special for him,” says Moore. “That’s when it struck me like a bolt of lightning — a Fernet and Coke ice cream float. I would never have thought to add it to the menu if it wasn’t for this specific scenario.”

The float has been such a hit that it became a permanent fixture on the menu. “I love how other people in the dining room react when they see it,” says Moore. “The float combines so many elements of a classic cocktail and a nostalgic dessert, all topped with silly straws and an umbrella. It is definitely a cocktail that has become a fixture and completely by accident.”