It’s not last call for cocktails in the United States yet — far from it. The sale of spirits hit a record high in 2017, claiming nearly 37 percent of the total beverage alcohol market share. That’s good news for bar operators — now, the challenge is continuing to surprise and delight savvy consumers.
Fermentation
The American love affair with kefir, kombucha, pickles and kimchi is only growing as more people discover the benefits of fermentation: probiotic health benefits and intriguing, sour tastes. Now, the trend is reaching behind the bar. A big 2018 cocktail trend is drinks made with fermented fruits and vegetables. (While it’s not exactly a cocktail, a kimchi michelada sounds like the perfect spicy, summery beverage.)
One challenge, for those who want to experiment with fermentation in a cocktail program, is the ever-shifting flavors as microbes do their work. “The flavor profile is always evolving,” Nashville chef Tom Eckert tells Liquor.com. “It can start off sweet, then change to salty and finish almost beer-like. There’s something extremely exciting knowing that this drink is alive.”
Health-conscious cocktails
In keeping with customers’ interest in raw juice and low-sugar drinks (like no-fruit smoothies), popular cocktails are going vegetal. Think beet juice, carrot juice, tomato juice and greens. The Rouge Tomate in Chelsea serves a drink called simply “Kale” that sounds like the healthiest cocktail we can imagine, with kale juice, cucumber juice, ginger and spicy jalapeño ice cubes. Oh, and tequila, of course.
Hello to highballs
The classic highball (whiskey and soda over ice) has long been relegated to the happy hour discount menu. Now it’s experiencing a comeback — maybe because people are getting tired of complicated drinks? The star is the Japanese whiskey highball, which is made with a careful ritual: chilling the glass, crafting the ice, stirring in Japanese whiskey, often Suntory, and adding a garnish for subtle citrus notes.
Greener drinks
Esquire names sustainability as “perhaps the most important cocktail trend of 2018” — but what does that mean? One big trend is to eliminate plastic straws. Americans use a ridiculous number of plastic straws: 500 million every day, according to some estimates. Bamboo, metal or paper straws are an eye-catching, eco-sensible solution.
Another is to reduce water usage and product waste by batching cocktails. Serving high-quality cocktails on tap improves speed of service for popular drinks like mojitos and margaritas while avoiding the need to mix drinks and wash pitchers over and over.
Mezcal madness
Long overshadowed by its nephew, tequila, mezcal is having a moment. Artisan mezcal is made from agave cores that are pit-cooked over wood and charcoal, then distilled in clay pots and aged in oak. The result is a smoky, complex liquor that lends itself beautifully to cocktails like the El Camino (with whiskey and bitters) and the Spicy Dead Lady (with also-trendy aperol and falernum). Operators should be aware of the environmental costs of mezcal production, however, and stick to small-batch distillers that respect the heritage and provenance of mezcal.
Cognacs
Cognac is another underappreciated spirit that’s experiencing a renaissance. Cognac had a great year in 2017, with sales jumping 13.8 percent. “Further focusing on entry and medium level varietals, establishing mixability credentials and – perhaps belatedly – supporting cocktail culture, experimenting with hybrid barrel finishes and expanding the range of occasions will be keys to unlocking the category’s long-term sustainable future,” opines Euromonitor. Expect to see bartenders playing with cognac cocktails in 2018, such as the Sidecar and the Sazerac.
Frozen cocktails
Frosé — a wine slushy made with rosé, vodka and fresh strawberries or peaches — was a runaway hit for the last two summers. We don’t think people are ready to let go of their frosty wine glasses yet, although they may be looking for more variety in their wine slushies. The frosé of 2018 may be friesling, or frozen sangria, or frozen berry moscato. Think about adding other upscale frozen cocktails to a bar program, too. All you need is a high-performance blender and your imagination…
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