If you run a bar or restaurant, you can’t fail to have noticed the growing popularity of cocktails. In the past, cocktails were mainly found in expensive city centre bars, but these days many customers expect to be able to order a cocktail wherever they go. Cocktail styles and tastes have evolved over the years and here are some of the hottest new cocktail trends.
Serve Them in Something a Little Different
East London regulars will have noticed that hipster cocktails are now often served in mason jars with funky striped straws. Cutting-edge bars are now serving cocktails in a variety of unusual containers, from jars to teacups or cut-glass tumblers. Don’t forget fun accessories; kitsch umbrellas and stirrers are always welcome for a light hearted feel.
Think up New Flavours
Modern cocktails take inspiration from all sorts of flavours. Think gin and Earl Grey tea, salted-maple soda with rum, and even rosemary and lavender with lemon and vodka. Take inspiration from cooking and baking, and pair up flavours that might be found in the kitchen. Keep experimenting and you may invent an amazing new combination. New York Magazine has some great ideas: so check out their top cocktails for 2015. Also consider food and drink combinations; so serve a light, fruity cocktail with a sweet snack, and a deep, rustic cocktail with some smoky bar snacks.
Reinvent Old Classics
The Huffington Post has a list of the top cocktails in 2013, and it includes lots of old classics with a twist. Brush up on the basics before moving on to trend-led cocktails. After all, any barman or woman should be able to serve up a perfect Martini, Cosmopolitan, or Old Fashioned.
Use Top Quality Ingredients
Make sure that you have fresh, juicy lemons and limes, as well as top-quality fruit juices. For mixers, cheaper spirits are acceptable, but for a perfect Gin & Tonic a good quality gin is needed. Make sure you have all the extra bits and pieces you may need; sugar, syrups, ice and shakers. Make sure your fruit juice, mixers and spirits are ice cold; you can store them in commercial bottle coolers. You can review a selection of bottle coolers by Fridgefreezerdirect.
Follow our top tips for cocktail trends and your customers will be delighted with your drinks.
