4. Nitro-Coffee Cocktails
The popular morning drink continues to evolve with the popularity of nitro-coffee. Coffee shops and restaurants alike are expanding on the trend, incorporating coffee into alcoholic drinks and non-alcoholic coffee beverages by infusing new techniques and flavors to create balanced and “treatful” coffee drinks.
Saint Frank in San Francisco offers a Kaffe Tonic, an infusion of tonic water and fresh espresso, as a refreshing way to enjoy coffee.
Unique coffee drinks, such as the Corretto Mediterraneo (double espresso, grappa, Sam- buca and Cointreau) from San Francisco bar- tender Mikey Carlisi, will be popular in 2016.
Coffee Bar, also in San Francisco, blends ice, cinnamon and vanilla-infused, cold-brew coffee topped with milk for a beverage that combines the bitterness of coffee with the sweetness of Mexican drink horchata.
And St. George Spirits in 2014 introduced a NOLA liqueur made with rich Ethiopian coffee and infused with Madagascar vanilla, chicory root, and natural cane sugar.
5. Gin Gains More Ground
Proper Martinis and Gin and Tonics will never go out of style, but bartenders are putting a creative spin on the old-school drinks with barrel-aged gins on the rise. Aged in whiskey, brandy or rum barrels, these gins are infused with tastes of botanicals and sweetened with hints of vanilla, maple and brown sugar.
They’re easy to sip and the perfect complement in any number of cocktails.
A number of aged gins have hit the market recently. For instance, Citadelle Gin Reserve, a new addition to the Citadelle French Gin collection, sits in oak barrels for several months, giving it a hint of vanilla flavor before being bottled and sold.
Made with a mix of juniper berries, coriander and fennel, Death’s Door gin from Washington Island, WI, has a subtle botanical influence that allows it to stand on its own or be paired with other ingredients.
Starting off as brandy, Bummer & Lazarus gin from San Francisco-based Raff Distillerie is redistilled and infused with the flavors of juniper berries, orris root, coriander seeds, angelica root, bitter orange peel, lemon peel, cinnamon bark and licorice root.
Beehive Barrel Reserve Gin in Salt Lake City, UT, distills its strong botanical gin in hand-charred French oak barrels. The flavor profile is smoke, oak and vanilla.
And British gin brand Booth’s, which dates back to the 1740s, has just been revived. Booth’s Finest Dry Gin is gently mellowed in sherry casks, which softens the juniper notes and gives the liquid a unique and characteristic golden hue.
6. Tropical Cocktails Remain Popular
Tropical cocktails are making their way back into the mainstream. Umbrella-decorated drinks are on the rise and are bringing a little more flair to the glass.
Restaurants are recreating some of the popular cocktail drinks from the original Tiki days and are putting a fresh and creative spin on them with high-quality ingredients and fresh-squeezed juices. You may just see that Tiki glass at your local watering hole.
Barbara Lynch’s No.9 Park, an upscale French and Italian restaurant in Boston, this past July offered a cocktail class on Potions of the Caribbean focusing on the history of Tiki, the use of tropical flavors and drink mixing.
The Well Bar and Grill in Kansas City introduced a new Tiki cocktail menu in July. The restaurant also started Tiki Tuesdays on its rooftop, which features live island music and gives guests the opportunity to enjoy one of the many handcrafted Tiki cocktails.
Fairweather in San Diego offers an entire menu of Tiki cocktails, from an artisanal Pina Colada to the various takes on the classic Mai Tai, which keeps the bar bustling with locals and visitors alike.
7. Cocktail Pairing Courses
Pairing wine with food is a long-standing tradition, but this concept has been refreshed with cocktails. Bartenders are creating drinks with flavors specifically designed to complement dishes, and operators are developing pairings for multicourse meals.
This trend allows bartenders to highlight signature drinks and bring a new level of balance to main-course food offerings.
One example is the classic Sazerac at New York’s North End Grill, made with local Long Island Rough Rider rye. It’s paired with the restaurant’s Fiorentina-style Porterhouse Steak for a combination meant to balance the intense and rich flavor in the dish.
At Square Root in New Orleans, chef Phillip Lopez draws on his Mexican-American background to bring modern food paired with creative cocktails to his all-tasting menu concept.
