The driving force of cocktail trends this spring goes beyond what you can taste in a glass. Your cocktail menu should indulge all the senses and especially be visually appealing for reels on social media. Now is the best time to get creative behind the bar.
Briny Booze
This year is all about savory, briny cocktails — and we're not just talking about the dirty martini. Ingredients that have recently dominated food trends — pickled mushrooms, seaweed — are now shifting over to the glass. Consider carrot or celery juice that will lend a vegetal freshness to gin or vodka. Simple syrups need not be fruity to pack a punch either. Add an equal ratio of sugar to juiced sweet potato, squash, or even beets to create unique flavor profiles.
Toast to Treats
Not only is food becoming more integrated within the drink, but as cocktails get more extravagant, so do the garnishes. A jumbo olive may still cut it for some, but precise plating is no longer reserved for the kitchen. Food pairings usually only available with beer and wine are finally elevating the experience on the rocks.
Consider a small bite served alongside your cocktail that complements its flavors: aquavit and smoked fish, brandy and blue cheese, mezcal and tacos, and even bourbon with barbecue are all stellar examples. Some restaurants are even serving up dollops of caviar, a side order that can make the sipping experience more extravagant. Any bite-sized addition ups the wow factor and your selling price.
A Sensory Experience
As mixology becomes more mainstream, cocktails are going beyond tantalizing our taste buds and impacting all senses, creating an experience that will linger long after the glass empties.
Entice your guests visually with vintage, nostalgic drinkware like retro-colored coupes or delicate teacups that pair with the theme of the drink. Since smell is strongly connected to memory, what feelings can you evoke with a puff of smoke or a spritz of floral or herbal essence when serving? Textures not typically found in a beverage can also intrigue the sense of touch — beyond classic egg whites. Using lecithin powder (or vegan aquafaba), you can concoct a playful bubble air infused with anything your imagination concocts.
Give ‘Em Agave
Tequila sales are toppling bourbon and whiskey, and while interest has been growing in aged tequila and mezcal for a while, expect to see heightened popularity in lesser-known agave-related spirits such as Avila (less earthy and more citrusy than tequila), raicilla (mezcal's vegetal, funky cousin), and sotol, produced solely from the Dasylirion plant, which takes 15 years to mature and yields only one bottle per plant. Experiment with these in margaritas and Old-Fashioned cocktails to make them easily approachable — but also consider educational flights or minimalist cocktails with these. They are truly in a class of their own.
Vermouth Versatility
More than ever, winemakers are creating delicious botanical-fortified wines, aka vermouth — from light and floral to rich and jammy. Adding these to cocktails is a great way to elevate your Manhattans. And the quality we're seeing now means they are a delight on their own as an apéritif, paired with dinner as you would a wine, or served over ice with seltzer for a refreshing low-ABV cocktail. Just remember to store vermouth in the fridge to avoid oxidation and off-flavors in those cocktails you've just perfected to the drop.
Get Low
The non-alcoholic spirit market was just valued at $5.03 million, up a whopping 88.4% from 2021. But it's not only sober or sober-curious looking for NA tipples. Even regular alcohol consumers are looking for lower-ABV options or spending the night "tiger-striping" — alternating between an alcoholic drink and an NA one.
Add non-alcoholic liqueurs to alcoholic base spirits for cocktails with lower overall alcohol content. Perks of lower ABV mean that your guests can indulge in more than they normally might. Give mocktails the same star treatment as your upscale alcoholic menu, and guests will be reaching for these as much as their boozier counterparts.
