Muddling presses fresh herbs, fruit, or sugar in the bottom of a glass or shaker to release their oils and juices. Done with firm but gentle pressure — over-muddling bitter herbs can turn a drink harsh.

Brazil's national cocktail of muddled lime and sugar lengthened with grassy, funky cachaça, drinking raw, bracingly tart, and unmistakably vegetal from the sugarcane spirit.

Caipirinha

The rum riff on the Caipirinha — light rum fills the glass where cachaça would normally go, creating a tropical, sugarcane-forward variation that is sweeter and more approachable than the Brazilian original.

Caipirissima

The Russian-Brazilian hybrid — vodka takes cachaça's place in the classic Caipirinha template, muddled with lime and sugar over crushed ice for a cleaner, crisper variation that swaps sugarcane funk for neutral spirit clarity.

Caipiroska

A beachy riff on the Cuban mojito that folds silky coconut cream into the usual mint, rum, lime, and soda build for a cooler that drinks like a tropical vacation in a glass.

Coconut Mojito

The 19th-century original Julep form before bourbon took over -- Cognac's oak, stone fruit, and spice shine over crushed ice with fresh mint.

Cognac Julep

The bourbon staple of the Kentucky Derby, built on crushed ice, muddled mint, and sugar, served in a frosted silver cup that amplifies the drink's cooling herbal lift.

Mint Julep

A Cuban highball of light rum, lime, sugar, and muddled mint finished with soda, producing the quintessential summer refresher: herbal, tart, and sunshine-bright.

Mojito

Cachaca's sugarcane funk meets passion fruit's tropical tart sweetness in a Caipirinha variation popular throughout Brazil.

Passion Fruit Caipirinha

A Civil War-era julep combining cognac and rye whiskey in a split-base formula. The combination of French brandy and American rye creates a deeply complex julep with layers of fruit, grain, and herbal mint.

Prescription Julep

A berry-forward take on the Havana highball where muddled mint, light rum, and lime meet sweet raspberry syrup and soda, giving the classic mojito a jammy, rose-tinted lift.

Raspberry Mojito

Rye whiskey's spice and pepper bring a drier, more assertive character to the classic Julep -- particularly refreshing in summer.

Rye Julep

Brazil's most beloved Caipirinha variation — strawberry purée muddled into the classic cachaça, lime, and sugar template, turning the national cocktail into a vivid, sweet-tart, berry-forward sipper popular from Rio to São Paulo's beach bars.

Muddle

How To Muddle

12 Cocktails using this method