First Time at a Bar? 7 Easy Cocktails for Beginners

Standing in front of a cocktail menu for the first time is its own small kind of stage fright. Half the names mean nothing, a few sound suspiciously strong, and the bartender is waiting. The good news is that a handful of cocktails have earned their reputation as beginner-friendly for a reason: balanced, familiar flavors, and nothing that requires already knowing what you like. Here are seven easy cocktails for beginners worth starting with, all of them real drinks on the menu at Rooty Bar, the rooftop bar on the 15th floor of The Myst Dong Khoi.

Why These Seven and Not Something Else

Most bars in Ho Chi Minh City don’t tell you how strong a drink is until it’s already in front of you. Rooty Bar marks every cocktail on its menu as light, medium, or strong, which turns out to be the single most useful piece of information for someone who has never ordered a cocktail before. The seven easy cocktails for beginners below lean toward the light and medium end on purpose, chosen for balance over intensity.

1. Aperol Spritz

If there’s one cocktail that has talked more first-timers into liking bitter drinks than any other, it’s this one. Aperol, prosecco, and a splash of soda, built for slow sipping rather than a quick finish. It’s bright orange, mildly bitter rather than sharp, and forgiving if you’re not sure yet what flavors you actually enjoy. As far as easy cocktails for beginners go, few are as forgiving, so order this on a slow afternoon and it does most of the work for you.

2. Hugo Spritz

A gentler cousin to the Spritz, built from elderflower syrup, sparkling wine, soda, and mint instead of Aperol’s bitterness. Where the Aperol Spritz asks a beginner to get comfortable with bitter notes, the Hugo Spritz skips that step entirely and goes straight to floral and refreshing. A reasonable next pick if the Aperol Spritz turns out to be too much.

3. Mojito

Mint, lime, sugar, soda, and white rum, built to be more refreshing than boozy. The mint does a lot of the heavy lifting here, which is part of why it’s stayed one of the most ordered cocktails worldwide for decades. It’s an easy one to talk through with a bartender too, since the ingredients are visible in the glass rather than hidden in a shaker.

4. Daiquiri

Not the frozen, blended version most people picture, the original Daiquiri is just rum, lime juice, and sugar syrup, shaken and strained. It’s sharp, clean, and short, closer to a well-made lemonade with rum in it than anything intimidating. A good test cocktail for figuring out whether you actually like rum before committing to anything stronger.

5. Cosmopolitan

Vodka, cranberry juice, lime juice, and a little orange liqueur, best known for a certain HBO show but worth ordering on its own merits. It’s tart rather than sweet, which surprises people expecting a candy-pink drink to taste like one, and vodka’s relatively neutral flavor makes it an easy entry point if you’re not sure which spirit you prefer yet.

6. Whisky Highball

For anyone curious about whisky but wary of drinking it straight, a highball, whisky and soda over ice, is the least intimidating way in. The soda stretches the whisky out and softens it considerably, and it’s a format bartenders can make with almost any whisky on the shelf. Rooty Bar’s Signature menu runs on this same idea in a few of its own creations, pairing familiar spirits with less familiar mixers.

7. Gin & Tonic

Two ingredients, centuries of history, and about as low-risk as cocktails get. Gin’s botanical flavor varies a lot by brand, so a G&T is also a decent way to figure out whether you like a specific gin before ordering something built around it. If it turns out gin isn’t for you, at least you’ll know quickly and cheaply.

Ordering Easy Cocktails for Beginners: A Few Things That Help

Beyond picking one of these easy cocktails for beginners, a few small habits make a first bar visit go more smoothly:

1. Say the strength you want out loud, most bartenders will happily point to something light or medium if you just ask, rather than guessing from the menu alone.
2. Order one drink at a time rather than a round for yourself, it’s easier to gauge how a cocktail sits with you before committing to a second.
3. Ask what’s in a drink you don’t recognize, a good bartender would rather explain a cocktail than watch someone order something they won’t enjoy.

Where to Try Them

All seven of these easy cocktails for beginners are on the menu at Rooty Bar, on the 15th floor of The Myst Dong Khoi, a hotel recently named Global Winner for Luxury Cultural Hotel at the World Luxury Hotel Awards 2025. The bar’s main space is built almost entirely from rusted iron, a deliberate nod to a city rebuilding itself, and sits beside a 24-metre infinity pool with an open view over Saigon. It’s open daily from 7:00 AM to 1:00 AM, with last drink orders at 12:30 AM.

Reservations are worth making ahead of a weekend evening, especially around sunset when the rooftop fills up fastest. For a first visit specifically, Silverland Hospitality also runs several other bars and restaurants across District 1 worth knowing about if Rooty happens to be full.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the easiest cocktail to order for a first-time bar visitor?

An Aperol Spritz or a Gin & Tonic are usually the safest starting points, both are light, both use ingredients most people already have an opinion on, and both are on nearly every cocktail menu in the world, and both rank among the most reliable easy cocktails for beginners, including on Rooty Bar’s menu.

How do I know if a cocktail will be too strong for me?

Ask the bartender directly, or look for a menu that labels drink strength, like Rooty Bar’s light, medium, and strong system. As a rough rule, cocktails built with spritz-style mixers or a lot of citrus and soda tend to be lighter than anything served neat or built mostly from spirits, which is why the easy cocktails for beginners listed above stay on the lighter side.

Where is Rooty Bar located?

Rooty Bar is on the 15th floor of The Myst Dong Khoi, at 4-6-8 Ho Huan Nghiep Street in central Ho Chi Minh City. It’s open daily from 7:00 AM to 1:00 AM, with last drink orders taken at 12:30 AM. The Myst’s own Rooty Bar page has directions and more photos of the space.

Is it rude to ask a bartender for a recommendation?

No, it’s one of the most normal questions a bartender hears. Mentioning a spirit you already like, or simply asking for something light and easy to drink, gives a bartender enough to work with and usually leads to a better first experience than guessing alone.

Do I need to tip after ordering a cocktail in Ho Chi Minh City?

Most bars in Ho Chi Minh City, including hotel bars like Rooty, already include a service charge in the bill, so tipping isn’t expected the way it is in some other countries. Rounding up or leaving a small amount for particularly good service is appreciated but optional.

Closing Thought

A first bar visit doesn’t need to start with the most complicated thing on the menu. These seven easy cocktails for beginners exist precisely because they’re forgiving, balanced, and easy to talk through with whoever’s behind the bar. Start with one, see what you actually like about it, and let that guide the next order.