Liven Up Your Cocktail Hour with These Playlist Pairings

Cocktail hour without music can result in a lot of awkward silence. Picking the perfect playlist can be a difficult art, but luckily, Spotify can help you identify things you might like based on the vibe you’re looking for. You’ve heard of cocktail and food pairings—we’ve put together cocktail and playlist pairings with some of our signature music cocktails.

Whether you want classic, folksy, smoky, peppy, upbeat, or lo-fi, the power of technology can help you discover what the right vibe is for your night. Shake up one of these cocktails, turn up the music, and indulge.

Liven Up Your Cocktail Hour with These Playlist Pairings

The Short ‘n Sweet / Sabrina Carpenter

A limoncello spritzer cocktail on a white background

Sabrina Carpenter radio is a sure pick to please the Gen Z member of your family who wants to turn off the old fart tunes, without offending Nana and PopPop. Carpenter’s music is upbeat without being over-the-top and actually makes for great cocktail hour ambiance. TABLE’s Short ‘n Sweet cocktail is a limoncello spritzer, sassy and feminine with a little bit of a kick while you listen to Ariana Grande, Charli xcx, and Lady Gaga on this playlist.

Smokin’ Hot Teddy / Teddy Swims

Two glasses hold a hot toddy orange liquid with lemon slices inside and a smoking cinnamon stick on top to represent Teddy Swims in a cocktail.

Teddy Swims’ uniquely raspy voice probably comes from a combination of tequila and cigarettes. While we don’t recommend smoking, Swims’s voice is part of his charm. This hot toddy recipe is soothing on the vocal chords and might steady your nerves. His playlist is ideal for those mood-lighting parties where people are well-dressed and charismatic, but not stuffy. Serve up a batch of hot toddies

Back to Black / Amy Winehouse

Two Back to Black cocktails in a deep brown color with a pick of blackberries on top of each glass, all on a textured grey surface.

Amy Winehouse is timeless. Her music can fit any mood, and this playlist highlights some of her best hits, from the swing of “Valerie” to the sensual despair of “Back to Black” and “You Know I’m No Good.” It also throws in Lauryn Hill, Florence and the Machine, Bill Withers, and Sade. It’s a whole vibe. Our dark cocktail draws from Winehouse’s soulful voice and signature style through an original combination of licorice liqueur and blackberries.

Dreams / Fleetwood Mac

Two glasses with purple liquid inside are topped with little botanical pink flowers and lemon slices with smoke pouring overtop.


“Dreams” is one of the best songs of all time, so we had to come up with a cocktail that’s both inventive and classic, an upscale take on a gin and tonic. Enjoy the unique purple color of Empress 1908 Gin. Let Stevie Nicks’s enchanting vocals take you away. Jam out to Paul Simon, The Police, Bruce Springsteen, and Van Morrison on Fleetwood Mac radio while sipping.

So What / P!nk

a look in at 2 identical dark peachy pink cocktail on a black background with ice cube and peach wedges as garnish

This might be best for that girls’ night pregame where you’re getting ready for a 2010s-level rager. What was going on in 2008-2016 that every hit song was either about hating your ex or being at the club? Well, this playlist accomplishes both with the Spice Girls, Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson, Kesha, and Avril Lavigne along with P!nk’s “So What” cocktail.

Story by Emma Riva

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