# What is the best mixer for a cocktail?

> Tonic gets the glory, but half of these do more work in a highball than the spirit does.

*By YPB Team · Published August 13, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/what-is-the-best-mixer-for-a-cocktail*

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## Current results (0 votes)

1. **Tonic Water**
   Quinine-bitter sparkling water that turned gin and tonic into the world's default highball.
2. **Ginger Beer**
   Spicy, cloudy brewed ginger soda that carries the Moscow Mule and the Dark 'n' Stormy.
3. **Club Soda**
   Plain carbonated water with a pinch of minerals, used to lengthen a drink without changing its flavor.
4. **Coca-Cola**
   The caramel-sweet cola that anchors the Cuba Libre and the whiskey and Coke.
5. **Pepsi**
   Coke's sweeter, citrus-forward rival, poured over ice with rum or bourbon just as often.
6. **Ginger Ale**
   The mild, sweet cousin of ginger beer, mixed with whiskey in the Presbyterian and the Horse's Neck.
7. **Lime Juice**
   Fresh-squeezed acid that defines the Daiquiri, the Margarita and the Gimlet.
8. **Lemon Juice**
   The sour half of every Whiskey Sour, Tom Collins and French 75.
9. **Orange Juice**
   Breakfast-sweet citrus that made the Screwdriver and the Mimosa household names.
10. **Cranberry Juice**
   Tart red juice behind the Cosmopolitan and the Cape Codder.
11. **Grapefruit Juice**
   Bitter-sweet citrus at the heart of the Paloma and the Greyhound.
12. **Pineapple Juice**
   Tropical, foam-building juice that gives the Piña Colada and the Painkiller their body.
13. **Simple Syrup**
   Dissolved sugar in water, the invisible mixer that balances almost every sour.
14. **Grenadine**
   Pomegranate syrup that sinks to the bottom and gives the Tequila Sunrise its gradient.
15. **Tomato Juice**
   Savory, thick base of the Bloody Mary and the Red Snapper.
16. **Lemon-Lime Soda**
   Clear citrus fizz that lifts vodka, gin and tequila in easy highballs.
17. **Bitter Lemon**
   Quinine-laced lemon soda, a sharper alternative to tonic for gin and vodka.
18. **Cream of Coconut**
   Thick, sweetened coconut cream that makes the Piña Colada what it is.

Tags: drinks, cocktails, soda, mixers, juice