These Are The 5 Best Cocktails To Pair With Raw Oysters

Freshly shucked oysters and cold drinks are the culinary representatives of a good day, whether that day is dissolving in the rearview, or just beginning. And, whether you're shucking those oysters at home like a pro, or leaving the knife work to the actual bivalve specialists, some libations are just going to complement those icons of the sea better than others.

Now, a stock photo would likely picture a big, beautiful tray of oysters with Champagne, sparkling luxuriantly in a flute (even if it's actually not the greatest glass to serve your bubbly). Dry white wine is also an obvious accompaniment. And crisp, frigid vodka, just to sip, is a neutral, if boozy companion. But you can bring even more nuance to not only what's in your cup, but also the flavors of what's suspended in those half shelves, with cocktails. Some of them even riff on those familiar classics you might already adore.

Just like icy vodka goes so well with oysters on its own, so, too does it make a beautiful match when stirred into a martini. It's also just as great, in this case, with a few skewered olives as it is with a twist, extra dirty or served as a somewhat milder 50/50. We're also going against the "real martinis are gin martinis" grain here, as vodka's relative simplicity better lets the oysters sing. You could, of course, swap in a more traditional gin, instead, but something like a Hendrick's, with its cucumber notes, will be more refreshing than a more juniper-forward variety.

Still easing ever gently from the expected, a Champagne cocktail adds sugar and bitters to its titular ingredient for a fun, fizzy twist. And, although you are bringing in more sweetness, it mingles beautifully with your sweeter oyster varieties, rather than making it all too saccharine, as might have been expected. Those mix-ins also allow for more gently priced sparkling white wines, so you can save the real deal capital-C stuff for even more special occasions.

The ocean and the sky, the sun and the moon, daybreak and twilight: fewer things in this natural world are in more perfect harmony than oysters and bloody marys. The former has been known to garnish the latter in some of your more elaborate preparations, so it only follows that a dozen or so would be even better. The oysters' saline freshness and the bloody mary's verdant garden qualities are convincing enough to entice even the biggest skeptics of both raw shellfish and the tomato juice tipple, both of which are already divisive enough on their own.

Mezcal's smokiness is almost enough to make oysters seem like a whole meal on their own, even if you've only ordered a few. Add in the requisite lime juice, triple sec, and a salted rim, and you might even want to swap the blend with your mignonette. The mildest burnt of the booze and the citrus pop almost gives raw oysters the quality of roasted, while still keeping them as chilled and sippable as you're probably imagining them right now.

When faced with a tray or teeming tower abundant with oysters of different sizes, provenance, and thus flavors, you might want to keep your drinks simple to really taste it all, without making the commitment to a standalone spirit. Like martini originalists, beverage directors might point out that vodka tonics, with their scant two ingredients, are mixed drinks, rather than cocktails. You can enjoy that knowledge alongside the kicky vodka quinine combination that will never even threaten to overpower your oysters.