Pour us another one: Britain’s cocktail sector continues to surge as more than three quarters of bars now offer mixed drinks
If you thought you'd seen way more cocktails being ordered in the City lately, new research shows you were probably right.
More than three quarters of British bars, 78 per cent, now sell the mixed drinks, with healthier and premium choices driving the flourishing cocktail market, according to the latest Mixed Drinks Report from CGA Strategy.
Cocktails account for around six per cent of all alcoholic beverages.
The minty mojito stands firm as Britain's favourite, but the Pornstar Martini, a passion fruit, vodka and champagne creation with absolutely nothing to do with the vermouth classic, is catching on. Much to your bartender's disdain, a Pornstar Martini is now one of the most popular orders, and was the biggest riser over the last year
Across the licensed trade as a whole, which includes pubs, restaurants and hotels as well as bars, cocktails are now on offer at almost 30 per cent of sites.
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Not surprisingly, Londoners have been woo-wooed by the new trend. Cocktails are most popular in the city, where 36 per cent of outlets now sell them.
Vodka is still the most common ingredient, featuring in nearly two thirds of served tipples, while gin and sparkling wine have also come into play, drawing 16 per cent and 11 per cent of sales respectively.
Men also now account for 45 per cent of total cocktail consumption, proof that the days of cocktails as the preserve of female drinkers are long gone.
"Our research reveals how bars have transformed the cocktail market, taking mixed drinks from the niches of drinking-out to a hugely popular mainstream consumer choice," CGA Strategy client services director Rachel Perryman said.
"And with the peak cocktail season of summer fast approaching, this report illustrates the great opportunities that bars, pubs and restaurants now have to take their sales to new heights.”
Read more: London Cocktail Club adds crowdfunding to the mix
CGA Strategy’s research also shows that well over a quarter (29 per cent) of cocktail drinkers now prefer to order skinny options – up by 13 percentage points on last year, and fitting in with a wider UK trend of healthier drinking and eating.
It looks like Brits are getting fancy with their firewater: one in four people frequently drink cocktails made with premium spirits, a sign of surging interest in craft producers and micro distilleries.