54 DRINKS INTERNATIONAL JANUARY 2016
drinksint.com
The lowdown on which categories are trending in the top bars
HIGH SPIRITS
N
ow we know the brands they use and the drinks they make, let’s look at the most popular spirits at the
world’s best bars.
Gin’s status as number one in the elite cocktail bars looks assured – 92% of respondents named it among their top three, with 39% naming it the number one spirit used. We can’t be too surprised – gin has consumer traction (across gender lines) and is used in many a mix and a number of classics. There are 13 gin cocktails in the World’s 50 Best- Selling Classics – more than any other spirit category. Rum is running gin close, with 85% of bars putting it in
BEST SELLING 1
UM AME 3RICAN WHISKEY V 4
GIN R2
QUILA S 6COTCH M 7EZCAL B 8RANDY CA 9
ODKA TE 5
10 PISCO
their top three best sellers. It has the classic cocktail leg-up, with 10 rum drinks appearing in the top 50. But our 100 bars told us it is more likely to be the second pour, with only 20% suggesting it is their best selling spirit. If we combined the
whisk(e)y categories, we would have a clear winner, but sweet- edged bourbon is so different in style and use to square-jawed scotch, it would be a misleading
picture. American whiskey alone is the third most likely spirit to be found in a cocktail in the polled bars – 82% said it was among their top three, with 24% saying it was a best seller. With four of the top 10 best-selling classics, you might have expected it to feature higher. But away from the classics, many more mixes seem to be made with gin and rum.
CHAÇA
Vodka is a top- three spirit in 59% of bars, but only the number one serve in 10%. Tequila, number five in our list, is on the spirits podium in 57% of bars – but is mostly an undercard with only one bar calling it a top seller. Scotch, which doesn’t benefit from many classics, was only a top-
three seller in 38% of polled bars. Tequila’s mother spirit, mezcal, was on the roster of regulars in 24 of the 100 – that couldn’t be said five years ago. Brandy was just behind in terms of cocktail use, and, though benefiting from a handful of classic serves, doesn’t seem to be on-trend in cocktail bars. Cachaca and pisco were in regular use in 10% of bars, squeezing Irish whiskey out of the top 10.
Aperitifs
If you’re in one of the world’s best bars and drinking an aperitif, likely it’s a Negroni. In 80% of bars it was among the three most frequent pre-dinner drinks and the number one choice in 44%. That’s a lot of Negronis. Meanwhile, the classic boozy tipple Dry Martini was a top three aperitif in 39% of bars and a top seller in 13%. In third place, the limey rum cocktail, Daiquiri, was one of the top three to slake early evening thirst in a third of bars and the top aperitif in 8%.
Digestifs
The Manhattan may have lost out to the Old Fashioned in the 50 Best-Selling Classics list, but it is the number one digestif at the world’s best bars. In 84% of the bars we polled, the Manhattan was one of the three digestifs most likely to be served and in 50% of bars it was the number one request. The Boulevardier, essentially a whiskey Negroni, was a top-three serve in 62% of bars, while the Espresso Martini was a top-three order in 49% of bars.
BEST SELLING
1 MANHATTAN 2 BOULEVARDIER 3 ESPRESSO MARTINI 4 WHITE RUSSIAN 5 BRANDY ALEXANDER 6 IRISH COFFEE 7 GOLDEN CADILLAC 8 FLIP 9 SAZERAC 10 VIEUX CARRE
Highballs
It won’t surprise anyone to see the G&T top of our highball list. It is the essential long drink in 45% of bars and regularly made by three-quarters of those polled. The Moscow Mule, which also did well in our 50 Classics list (see page 42) is a regular feature in 49% of bars, while its ginger twin, Dark & Stormy, was marginally less popular but still a regular mix at 44% of polled bars. The Mojito came next with about a third of the vote. Tom Collins and Bloody Mary were both top three sellers in a quarter of bars.
BEST SELLING
1 GIN & TONIC 2 MOSCOWMULE 3 DARK & STORMY 4 MOJITO 5 TOM COLLINS 6 BLOODY MARY 7 GIN FIZZ 8 CUBA LIBRE 9 WHISKY SODA 10 VODKA TONIC
BEST SELLING
1 NEGRONI 2 DRY MARTINI 3 DAIQUIRI 4 APEROL SPRITZ 5 BLOODY MARY 6 FRENCH 75 7 AMERICANO 8 GIMLET 9 PISCO SOUR 10 VODKA MARTINI
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