52 Weeks of Cocktails Challenge: 2025
The 52 weeks of cocktails challenge continues for its third year! This cocktail challenge was suggested as I wrapped up the 2021 reddit 52 weeks of baking challenge with my chocolate peppermint spritz cookies.
I dabbled in cocktails in 2021. However, it wasn’t until I started making cocktails at home every week that I Iearned all about classic cocktails and bartending basics.
Making a new cocktail every week helped me to understand what I liked and how easy it was to create a great, well-balanced cocktail. In 2024, I started formalizing my cocktail education with a Level 1 Certification in Spirits from the Wine and Spirit Education Trust.
Join the cocktail challenge for a great all-around cocktail education and to expand your home cocktail bar. Or join just to play more with your favorite mixed drink and see how it changes when you use different simple syrup recipes. You can join at any time and for any number of weeks. But please join us!
How does the cocktail challenge work?
Below is the new list of cocktail challenges for 2025. It’s intended to be broad to get exposure to a variety of common spirits and styles of cocktails. It’s similar to the last few years, with some additional attention paid to amari and bitters.
Are there things missing? Absolutely. But, for example, if you really love a Sazerac, you should be able to find several weeks where you can have your Sazerac.
I should apologize in advance to any readers who are in the Southern hemisphere. That’s because the list has icy cocktails in summer for those of us in the Northern hemisphere. Feel free to adjust the list to your seasons.
And I feel compelled to say, “Please drink responsibly.”
Cocktail of the week
| 1 | January 3 | Martini | |
| 2 | January 10 | Amaro | |
| 3 | January 17 | Garnish | |
| 4 | January 24 | Mocktail | |
| 5 | January 31 | Clarified Cocktail | |
| 6 | February 7 | Tropical | |
| 7 | February 14 | Champagne Flute | |
| 8 | February 21 | Grapefruit | |
| 9 | February 28 | Fortified Wine | |
| 10 | March 7 | Non-Martini “Martini” | |
| 11 | March 14 | Baileys Irish Cream | |
| 12 | March 21 | TV or Movie-Inspired | |
| 13 | March 28 | Coffee or Tea | |
| 14 | April 4 | Old Fashioned | |
| 15 | April 11 | Brandy | |
| 16 | April 18 | Lowball (Rocks) Glass | |
| 17 | April 25 | Margarita | |
| 18 | May 2 | Mint Julep | |
| 19 | May 9 | Spritz | |
| 20 | May 16 | Gin | |
| 21 | May 23 | Use the Blender | |
| 22 | May 30 | Simple Syrups | |
| 23 | June 6 | Vodka | |
| 24 | June 13 | Punch | |
| 25 | June 20 | Layers and Floats | |
| 26 | June 27 | Mojitos | |
| 27 | July 4 | Jello | |
| 28 | July 11 | Spicy | |
| 29 | July 18 | Wine | |
| 30 | July 25 | Frozen | |
| 31 | August 1 | Sour | |
| 32 | August 8 | Highball Glass | |
| 33 | August 15 | Berries or Stone Fruit | |
| 34 | August 22 | Rum | |
| 35 | August 29 | Purple | |
| 36 | September 5 | Tequila | |
| 37 | September 12 | Apple or Pear | |
| 38 | September 19 | Negroni Week | |
| 39 | September 26 | Martini Glass | |
| 40 | October 3 | Manhattan | |
| 41 | October 10 | Liqueur | |
| 42 | October 17 | Pumpkin | |
| 43 | October 24 | Whiskey | |
| 44 | October 31 | Spooky | |
| 45 | November 7 | Infusion | |
| 46 | November 14 | Creamy | |
| 47 | November 21 | Cranberry | |
| 48 | November 28 | Bitters | |
| 49 | December 5 | Absinthe | |
| 50 | December 12 | Fire! | |
| 51 | December 19 | Red | |
| 52 | December 26 | Bubbly |
Cocktail FAQs
I will try to post the cocktail of the week on Instagram and my Facebook group every Friday of this 52 weeks of cocktails challenge. If you join, please feel free to share at any time. Just tag me @uglyducklingbakery and use the hashtag #52weeksofcocktails, so I see it!
I have the Cocktail Codex, which is fabulous, as well as a few others. Online, I recommend the Difford’s Guide as a resource. But mostly I would recommend learning what it is that you like in a cocktail and playing around with proportions and ingredients. That’s what this cocktail challenge is all about.
For example – with the martini in week 1, if you don’t know whether you prefer a gin or vodka martini, make both and compare. Or compare gins to see how different they can taste. Or change the proportions and make a dry martini with a ratio of 5 parts gin to 1 part vermouth, and compare it with a wet martini and see which you like best.
Each week, I’ll try to share some of thoughts and suggestions for the following week.
What bartending equipment you need will depend on what cocktails you like to make at home. Here is my list of essential bar tools for home cocktails.
What’s next
Join us! Please feel free to leave a comment here or share a pic with me on Instagram using #uglyducklingbakery and #52weeksofcocktails hashtags!
Need cocktail challenge ideas? Check out some of my favorite cocktails:
- dry martini
- green tea saketini
- Oaxaca Old Fashioned
- gin espresso martini
- creamy espresso martini with Baileys
- frozen espresso martinis without a blender
- pornstar martini
- pornstar martini mocktail
- cranberry negroni
- aperol negroni
- Aperol soda
- negroni spritz
- passion spritz
- rose syrup French 75
- Water Lily
- sidecar
- strawberry lemon drop with limoncello
- cherry Bakewell cocktail
- peanut butter manhattan
- perfect brandy manhattan
- blueberry gin and tonic
- the “Lady Bridgerton” – an Earl Grey and lavender Empress gin cocktail
- jalapeño raspberry bramble
- elderflower Tom Collins
- blue mojito
- lavender gimlet
- cranberry gimlet with sugared cranberries
- tequila gimlet
- spicy margarita or the skinny spicy margarita
- vodka sour with blackberry simple syrup
- Aperol sour
- Frangelico sour
- And make Champagne jello shots for jello week!
Bored with the recipes you’ve been cooking and baking lately? Get inspiration here:
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