2009 has been one helluva year and we all must admit that due to the economic downturn, people have been drinking all the more to wash away their blues. Though most people would have liked to believe otherwise, it was a really great year for bartenders and cocktail sales surged all around the world.

While most preferred the classics, some tried new ones, and even those that were exotic and mind blowing. Here is a list of top 10 cocktails that were served across bars and nightclubs around the world.

Piña Colada

The piña colada means strained pineapple in Spanish and refers to a rum based cocktail that consists of hard rum, coconut cream, and pineapple juice. Being the official drink of Puerto Rico since 1978, people did order a lot of it across the world even in 2009!

Kir Royale

The Kir Royale is one of the more famous cocktails which originated in France. It is prepared with blackcurrant liquor and a dash of white wine. This was certainly cool enough to drown away the blues of 2009!

Vermouth Cassis

In 2009, there was a lot of interest in Vermouth, and that is perhaps why the Vermouth Cassis was so popular! This interest in Vermouth might grow in 2010 even!

Rose Cocktail

The Rose Cocktail is one of the more vintage cocktails and originated in 1920s. It comes with kirsch (or kirschwasser) as main alcohol, cherry-brandy, raspberry liqueur and dry vermouth. Kirsch is a rare dry-fruit brandy from Germany and France. 2009 saw a lot of Rose Cocktails being served.

Piccadilly

Pernod is a strong liqueur which is similar to the absinthe, and is used in Piccadilly. It has to be one of the coolest drinks to be served across bars. This one sure will be popular in 2010 too!

Aviation Cocktail

Aviation Cocktail is more famous because of its quality of not being able to balance. Plymouth gin, Luxardo maraschino liqueur, and Crème Yvette violet liqueur are some of the ingredients used in it. It is a popular drink in upmarket nightclubs.

The Gimlet

The Gimlet is a cocktail made famous by Betty Draper and is made of gin and lime. A really sensual drink to spend boring years like 2009.

Mistletoe Martini

Mistletoe Martini can be found across bars and nightclubs, but they were ordered more in 2009 according to many party-goers. Perhaps the blood-red colour of the cocktail makes it so popular!

Perfect Harvest

While the economic harvest of 2009 was not so great, many drunkards ordered Perfect Harvest more, to forget dead investments and non returnables. It is made of Maker’s Mark, Lazzaroni Amaretto, spiced honey, apple cider and pear slices.

Corpse Reviver

The year 2009 was definitely not all that bad, and it was quite fun too! In order to revel in the doom and gloom of 2009, the classic Halloween cocktail recipe of Corpse Reviver was ordered quite a bit. This is going to be popular in 2010 as well!

Cocktails have the ability to act as “uppers” though alcohol is a “downer”. I would say, if 2009 was all gloomy and dull, let’s drink more and drown the sorrows which might arrive in 2010!