Can you recommend a cocktail that is easy to mix and well-liked?

Can't find the recipe because I can't remember the title (sorry, food52er and if anybody knows, please put the link up). Great fall cocktail with apple cider, maple syrup and Maker's Mark. The proportions I use are two shots of apple cider, half a shot of maple syrup, half a shot of Maker's Mark.

For the holidays, I love something with sparkling wine. Pour some in a nice flute and top with some Poire William (pear brandy) & garnish w/ a thin slice of pear. Or, if you have some cranberry or raspberry liqueur, use that...

Agree with Sangria - delicious and pretty in a big glass pitcher on the bar. Also agree about the cosmopolitans - some things become a cliche because they're actually, well...good. But I like to make them with pomegranate juice instead of cranberry - tastes great, and the color is even more jewel toned. A drop of ginger syrup also adds a great flavor to them.

I know it's overdone, but I really like cosmopolitans for the holidays. I love the pink/red color with the green of a wedge of lime. I'm a wimp and I like fizzy drinks, so I usually add some sparkling water to the mix.

Martini's, flavored ones are particularly nice around the holidays, like pomegranate or cranberry or apple. I second wssmom's peartini!

The Aviation Cocktail is one of my all-time favorites - 2 oz gin, 1/2 oz lemon juice, 1/2 oz maraschino liqueur, and 1/4 oz creme de violette. I've batch mixed my Thai One On cocktail for a party and it went over well: http://www.food52.com/recipes/12269_thai_one_on
Same for my Tea Thyme and Bourbon cocktail: http://www.food52.com/recipes/12274_tea_thyme_soda
I've also served Aliyaleekong's Smoked Earl Grey cocktail. It is delicious, easy to batch mix, and not overly boozy.

sangria. made in advance and delicious!

French 75s. Easy, elegant and wicked potent. http://jeandsanders.blogspot.com/2010/06/june-11-2010-its-food-friday-french-75.html

For my party last year, I served this Smoked Earl Grey Tea Cocktail (http://www.food52.com/recipes/7061_smoked_earl_grey_tea_cocktail). It's 3 ingredients - cold smoked earl grey tea, lemon juice, and ginger liquer - so it's really easy to mix and can be done in buik. A lemon sugar rim finishes it off beautifully.

The link finally loaded for wssmom's peartini and here it is
http://www.food52.com/recipes/search?c=1&recipe_search=peartini

Well, easy and well-liked are relative terms. But guests here have loved wssmom's Peartini. (Apologies for not sending the link.)