With the end of summer typically comes a renewed interest in cocktails. Consumers have had their fill of chilled white wines and roses, cold beer and frozen drinks come fall, and they’re ready for something different.
A recent Forbes article identified eight cocktail trends here now or on the horizon. The first, craft spirits, won’t come as news to Cheers readers, but according to one Chicago barman quoted, we’re just scratching the surface of it. It’s not just small producers creating craft spirits, but also the larger producers doing their own small-batch production.
Rum is another trend, fueled by the spirit’s mixability and versatility, not to mention that a few celebrities are now in the rum game. As a Cheers feature on rum pointed out a few months ago, rum has long been a misunderstood spirit in large part due to some poorly made, too-sweet drinks that were associated with it for decades. Perhaps it really is rum’s turn to shine.
Syrups and bitters, spirits from south of the border (cachaça, pisco, mezcal) and beer cocktails are a few of the other trends cited by Forbes. Simplicity is a major mixology theme as well: Less is more when it comes to cocktail ingredients. After five or six ingredients, you’re not doing the drink flavors any favors.
Less is also more when customers are waiting for a drink. If you can’t make your cocktail perfectly and quickly, says one California bartender, “people will go somewhere else.”
Read the full article here.