Every cocktail on the Olive Garden menu, ranked worst to best

8. Blue Capri

There's something about ordering an unnaturally colored drink that stokes a sense of nostalgia in me. Perhaps it was too many sugar-spiked, bright blue drinks I downed at my favorite college bar, or maybe it takes me back even further to the days when I'd consume artificially colored drinks that would leave my entire mouth stained after a long day at school. Either way, I felt a sense of excitement as Olive Garden's Blue Capri arrived at my table. Its shockingly blue hue told me I was about to get something with a super bold flavor profile, and I wasn't wrong.

The Blue Capri is made with Blue Chair Bay coconut rum, and that's absolutely the first — and only — flavor I tasted in the cocktail. And no, you're not actually tasting that much of the rum at all. Rather, it's really the coconut flavoring that stood out to me. It's tropical and cloying and completely overpowers all the other flavors going on in the drink. The Blue Curaçao seems to be there mostly for color, and the addition of pineapple juice has the potential to add some acidity to the drink but ultimately fails to do so. Plus, I suspect that if I had downed the whole thing, I would have indeed left my local Olive Garden with a blue-stained mouth. Despite its nostalgia-provoking appearance, I think I'm going to have to skip this one next time.

6. Sicilian Sunset

Did I find Olive Garden's Sicilian Sunset particularly delicious? No. But I have to admit that it's one of the more complex drinks on the cocktail menu at the chain. The first thing you'll notice about this drink is its bold pink color. Admittedly, it may be worth ordering just for its appearance alone. But if you actually are buying it for its flavor, you might be disappointed, depending on what you normally enjoy in a cocktail.

This drink is based on New Amsterdam vodka, which is almost entirely covered up by the other ingredients. That makes it a good pick for those who don't generally like alcohol that much but not so ideal for those who are looking for a cocktail that actually highlights a spirit's flavor profile. Pineapple juice and prickly pear lemonade play backup, creating an interesting mix of flavors you won't find in just any cocktail. You can mostly taste the pineapple, but the prickly pear lends a floral note to the mix, which makes the drink more interesting. There's also a small hint of bitterness that offers further complexity.

Although, yes, this drink is still quite sweet, those extra floral and bitter notes make the Sicilian Sunset significantly more interesting than a lot of the cocktails on this list, which is why it's not at the bottom of the ranking. However, I personally wouldn't order it again.

4. Italian rum punch

There aren't a lot of rum-based drinks on Olive Garden's menu, so if you think of yourself as a rum person specifically, you'll probably gravitate toward Olive Garden's Italian rum punch. It kind of tastes like the jungle juice my particularly heavy-handed bartender friends would whip up in college, and although it may not be the most innovative drink in the world, I'm here for it. Bacardi Silver rum provides the backbone for this drink, accompanied by amaretto and strawberry passion fruit flavoring.

The amaretto here is a nice touch. Yes, it's aggressively sweet, which isn't ideal if you're looking for more of a balanced cocktail, but it also offers a lovely nutty flavor to the drink, which adds to its complexity and makes it more interesting after the first few sips. Despite that sweetness, the flavors are well-balanced here, with the passion fruit offering just the right amount of acidity to keep the sugar from overpowering the other flavors.

2. Amaretto sour

Sometimes, you need to keep things simple, and that's exactly what this amaretto sour does. It's just a combo of amaretto, that sweet Italian almond liqueur that appears in so many of Olive Garden's cocktails, and sour mix. Amaretto is definitely a sweet ingredient, and you can totally taste that sweetness whenever you take a sip of this cocktail. But that sweetness is perfectly balanced with the sour mix. There's also a really lovely tropical note that makes you feel like you should be sipping this stuff at the beach.

Does it taste like the freshest cocktail you've ever had? Not exactly. But this is Olive Garden — you shouldn't expect anything too fancy. It's just a solid cocktail that'll fulfill your cravings for something that's on the tarter side. Olive Garden doesn't offer many low-sugar drinks, and although this one is still quite sweet, it may be one of the better options for you if you're not too fond of the super-sugary cocktails that dominate most of the menu.

1. Spiked strawberry lemonade

Who knew an alcoholic lemonade would earn the top spot in this Olive Garden cocktail ranking? Certainly not me before I tried all the drinks in the lineup. But it wasn't even a competition: The spiked strawberry lemonade came far ahead of all the others. Oftentimes, lemonade can be quite sweet. And although there's definitely a fair amount of sugar in this drink, that sweetness is really not at the forefront of this cocktail. Rather, when you first take a sip, you'll be met with the welcoming acidity of a well-made lemonade.

There's definitely a palpable strawberry note in this cocktail, but you'll also be met with a passion fruit flavor as well. It's made with New Amsterdam vodka, but honestly, you can't really taste the alcohol at all. Again, that may not make for the most sophisticated cocktail you've ever had, but it does make for one that tastes good to drinkers and not-so-frequent drinkers alike. Add in some fresh mint and actual strawberries, and you have a cocktail that really stands out on Olive Garden's menu.

Methodology

I tried all of these cocktails at the same time at my local Olive Garden. The criteria for this ranking were flavor, balance, complexity, and creativity, with the most well-balanced, interesting, and sometimes nostalgic cocktails rising to the top. This ranking reflects my personal preference for less sweet, more complex cocktails, although I took other palates into consideration as well.