The Cheesecake Factory’s Happy Hour Drink Menu, Ranked by a Food Editor

• What’s In It: silver tequila, agave, fresh lime
• Price: $8.50

When I can’t decide what to order, margaritas are my usual fallback. That said, this one was a tad sweet for me. Its silky texture and stunted tartness gave sour mix more than fresh lime juice, although it was still pretty balanced and pleasant to drink. I wouldn’t have minded some Tajín on the rim.

• What’s In It: Absolut Citron, black raspberry liqueur, house lemonade
• Price: $8.50

As it turns out, The Cheesecake Factory makes a mean lemonade. The sweet-tart, summery base, paired with citrus vodka, would have been a rather one-note cocktail. However, the black raspberry liqueur infused every drop with round, fruity sweetness. In the end, it was sweeter than I’d prefer, but on the plus side, it made the alcohol pretty inconspicuous. Some fresh berries on top or muddled at the bottom would have been nice, too.

• What’s In It: vodka, rum, gin, tequila, fresh lemon, splash of Coke
• Price: $8.50

LITs get a bad rap for being childish and unreasonably potent. But if you make them properly (ideally with fresh citrus instead of bottled, cloying sour mix), they’re actually quite balanced. This one was very lemony, which I thoroughly appreciated. You could definitely taste the alcohol—even with the absence of standard triple sec—but it wasn’t unpleasantly boozy. In the words of my friend who accompanied me for this menu review, “it tastes like Kool-Aid”—she meant it in a good way.

• What’s In It: Don Q Cristal and Bacardi rums, fresh mint, fresh lime, club soda
• Price: $8.50

Maybe being Cuban-American makes me biased, but mojitos are the peak of refreshment. This one was impeccably crisp and well-rounded, thanks to the buzzy effervescence of club soda. The fresh mint was beautifully fragrant and herbaceous, and it looked good too. (PSA: No one wants blackened herbs in their drink!) That said, I wouldn’t have minded more lime, but this was easily one of the favorites of the table.

• What’s In It: Yellowstone Bourbon, Aperol, fresh lemon sour, passion fruit
• Price: $8.50

Full disclosure: Whiskey sours are one of my top three favorite cocktails. This was sort of a fruity, bittersweet spin on the O.G. in my eyes. The house sour mix was very citrusy and light (as opposed to syrupy and teeming with sugar). The passion fruit curbed its acidity, as well as the Aperol’s signature bitterness, and offered a silky quality to the drink’s mouthfeel without stealing the spotlight from the whiskey’s potency.