World Cocktail Day 2022: lift spirits with these six drinks

The rise of mocktails 2:28

(CNN) --

We're looking at another Friday the 13th. In a world full of trouble, who needs more?

Fortunately for the superstitious (at least for those who like to enjoy an alcoholic drink from time to time), May 13 is also World Cocktail Day 2022.

What better way to stay in a good mood than to have a delicious drink or two to ward off bad luck?

CNN Travel has raided its own liquor cabinet, so to speak, and brought out some of our favorite cocktails from around the world in recent years to celebrate this day.

mint julep

You don't have to wait for the Kentucky Derby to enjoy a Mint Julep.

Credit: Dylan Buell/Getty Images North America/Getty Images

We'll kick things off with a toast to unlikely winner Rich Strike, who stunned the racing world by winning the 2022 Kentucky Derby at odds of 80 to 1.

Mint and sugar juleps mixed with crushed ice and spirits like bourbon and rum have been a staple of the American South since the early 1800s.

The link between juleps and racecourses dates back to at least the 1820s, when there are references to sterling silver julep cups being presented as trophies to the first-place horsemen.

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"It unites two of Kentucky's most well-known industries: horse racing and bourbon," says Chris Goodlett, chief curator of collections at the Kentucky Derby Museum.

Pisco Sour

In Chipe Libre, in Santiago de Chile, they make drinks with pisco from Chile and Peru.

Credit: Chipe Libre

The Pisco Sour is a classic South American cocktail.

And, like many food and drink favorites, it has a long and disputed history behind its creation.

With a lively mix of citrus and earthy pisco that practically dances on the tongue, of course everyone wants to take the credit.

This version is served at the renowned Chipe Libre pisco bar (José Victorino Lastarria 282, Santiago) in Santiago de Chile, which diplomatically serves both the Peruvian and Chilean versions of the drink.

Chipe Libre Pisco Sour

• 3 ounces of pisco

• 1 ounce lemon juice

• 1 ounce simple syrup

Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker, fill with ice, shake vigorously, and strain into a chilled glass.

Peruvian Pisco: when Pachamama says present 2:36

Hurricane David

Hurricane David has a huge impact.

Credit: Mustique Company

Named after a 20th-century storm, the Hurricane David cocktail is as strong and potent as its namesake.

It is labeled "Grade 5" and comes from Basil's Bar on the private island of Mustique.

(That's St. Vincent and the Grenadines in the Caribbean.) A classic beach bar, it's a place where music floats through the windows on the waves, but you can recreate the experience at home with this recipe:

Hurricane David

• 1 ounce strong white rum (Wray & Nephew brand, if you can find it)

• 1 ounce of vodka

• 1 ounce dark rum

• ½ ounce Kahlúa

• ½ ounce lime juice

• ½ ounce simple syrup

Combine the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice, shake vigorously and serve in a glass with ice and a slice of lime.

miami mojitos

The mojito is a staple of Miami nightlife.

Credit: Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images Europe/Getty Images

This rum-based highball is the unofficial drink of Florida's "Magic City."

A trip to Miami wouldn't be complete without a glass of peppermint magic at a rooftop bar.

Back in 2017, CNN went to Miami to learn the secrets of the mojito from the master, producer and Grammy-winning musician Emilio Estefan.

Estefan's edition uses four local lemons, a sprig of mint, and a homemade sugar syrup.

The ingredients are mixed and Estefan is generous with the rum.

But sugar cane is the key ingredient.

• Tips to prepare the best mojito in Miami (by Emilio Estefan)

Benedictine / Monte Carlo

Will a Monte Carlo achieve "popular drink" status in your social circle?

Credit: zoranm/iStockphoto/Getty Images

If you go international in your liquor cabinet, you will have the world in your hands.

And while they're famous for their wine, the French also know a thing or two about cocktails.

Bénédictine is a French liqueur that has been around for half a millennium.

It is a digestive made with almost 30 herbs.

Although the exact mix is ​​a secret, it contains angelica, hyssop and lemon balm.

Try it in a Monte Carlo.

Monte Carlo

• 2 ounces of rye whiskey

• ½ ounce Benedictine

• A couple of drops of Angostura bitters.

Put the ingredients in a mixing glass with ice and mix for about 30 seconds until they are well chilled.

Then strain into a chilled old fashioned glass over a large ice cube.

[Instructions taken from Liquor.com]

Singapore Sling

The Singapore Sling has been around for over 100 years.

Credit: courtesy of Raffles Singapore

The gin-based Singapore Sling cocktail has great staying power.

It is said to have been invented at the Raffles Hotel in Singapore in 1915.

The original recipe has been lost, but there is a more recent one given by the head bartender at Raffles in 2015:

• Gin (30ml)

• Cherry Brandy (15ml)

• Cointreau (7.5ml)

• DOM Benedictine (7.5ml)

• Angostura bitters (a splash)

• Grenadine (10ml)

• Pineapple juice (120ml)

• Lemon juice (15ml)

Shake well and strain into glasses filled with ice.

Other opportunities to have a drink

If you can't join the World Cocktail Day celebration this Friday, May 13, you'll soon have another excuse to toast: May 21 is World Whiskey Day.

-- Christopher Ross, Elizabeth Wallace, Francesca Street, Lia Picard and Gillian Rhys contributed reporting.

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