From top left: Jackson Cannon, bar manager, Eastern Standard Kitchen & Drinks

in Boston and their “Alpine” cocktail; Neyah White, head bartender at

San Francisco’s Nopa and their “Sherry Shrub” cocktail

The

Cocktail’s Future
What’s next for America’s drinkers?
By Jack Robertiello

I
t’s impossible to overstate the popularity of the cocktail today.
Every magazine and newspaper, it seems, features regular coverage of
beverage trends and local mixology stars. Drink websites blossom and
flourish, cocktail-making classes sell out and, with feverish enthusiasm,
mixologists continue to mine the old, explore the new and invent any-
thing they can’t find to make amazing drinks.

With spirits being introduced in the U.S. at an unprecedented
rate and pre-Prohibition drinks spreading beyond the major cocktail
markets, it’s hard to pin down what’s next. Just ask cocktail sooth-
sayer Gary Regan.
“I am not exactly sure which direction cocktails will head into in
2009, and that’s probably because I believe that they will continue
to grow in every which way,” he says. Regan, who’s long followed
drinks for the San Francisco Chronicle and ArdentSpirits.com and
has developed the Worldwide Bartender Database, says the ubiquity
of fancy drinks and consumer interest is pushing bartenders to fur-
ther experimentation.
“We’ll see more and more twists on the classics, bartenders will
create their own bitters, tinctures and marigold-infused sweet and
dry vermouth or some such thing, and they’ll create drinks that
we can’t even dream about making at home. They will push the
envelope far too far, and that’s what I think has to happen next in
 WhaT To WaTCh
For iN 2009 IN
Savory spirits:
Gin has become the bartender’s best
friend once again, and its flavor spectrum
is being expanded by both big and small
companies. Now, once again, Dutch-style
Genever (from Bols) is widely available in
the U.S., and bartenders are starting to turn
away from even high-grade sweet spirits,
looking to the savory side for inspiration.
Rye, less sweet and spicier than most
bourbons, has already benefited from this
trend, and even vermouth makers, like Noilly
Prat, are returning to traditional recipes.
Value cocktails:
Is the $12 cocktail on life support yet? As the
economy teeters, some restaurants are trying
to bolster sales and build traffic with smaller
or less expensive cocktails. Amidst the flood
of spirits are numerous value brands, especially
among bourbons and vodkas, that are making their
way to the well to replace the super-premiums or at least
become an essential part of the back bar. Look for more.
Nutriceutical cocktails:
At NYC’s Apotheke, mixologist
Albert Trummer lists drinks
boasting the ability to stimulate,
calm, or otherwise affect
one’s mood, much like the
vitamin and nutrient-enhanced
bottled waters and teas so
popular today. Apothecary
Apotheke, NYC
in Philadelphia does much
the same, using essences,
tinctures, medicinal herbs and other non-traditional bar
ingredients to add more than flavor to a drink.
Do-It-Yourself cocktails:
Look for more bars involving customers in the drink crafting.
At Copa d’Oro in Los Angeles, guests peruse ingredients
at the bar or refer to a daily menu listing available spirits,
herbs, fruits and vegetables, and can mix and match to make
their own concoction or ask a bartender for collaborative
suggestions.
Cordials with less sweetness:
Producers of some well-known liqueurs use
different formulas when making products
for the U.S. market, generally sweeter and
with lower alcohol. Bartenders who travel
internationally often return with a few bottles
of stronger and intensely fruity liqueurs and have
been pushing companies to bring better liqueurs
here. A number of small producers are readying
some superior ones for entry soon.
Martini glass
lineup and restaurant
diners at
Mint/820 in
Portland, OR
order for us to find a level at which to operate,” he continues.
As Regan suggests, tracking the latest developments can be a dizzy-
ing endeavor, but there are two general areas on which contemporary
cocktail advocates are focusing with laser intensity: a closer attention
to ingredient selection and the development of diverse philosophical
approaches, based on regional differences and trends.
Meanwhile, bartenders are relishing the attention they’re getting,
and putting it to good use. “There’s this general sense that this cock-
tail thing has penetrated the mainstream,” says Jackson Cannon, bar
manager of the celebrated cocktail spot Eastern Standard Kitchen &
Drinks in Boston. “Now, the rank and file guest in our restaurant is
very interested in our specialties. They’re not as quick to question the
brands we use but are more interested in drinks with identity of the
place.” This openness encourages Cannon and others to create drinks
that may recently have been considered too off-beat or challenging for
the average customer to accept.
As customer knowledge increases, bar staffs are trying to keep up,
says Neyah White, head bartender at San Francisco’s Nopa. “If you want
to have a serious bar program, a huge education component really is im-
portant. You have to be able to talk about the spirits, but also the drinks,
because at every place, it seems, the drinks are all new. People are taking
risks, and the guests that get it, really get it and are proud of knowing the
ingredients and details about distilleries.”
A Cocktail List That Stands Out
With this consumer openness and knowledge in the background, and an
increasing competition to stand out in a crowded cocktail field, bars and
restaurants are staking out territory with a mix of the old and new. The
so-called classic cocktail is now firmly established as a bar necessity, and
bartenders are continuing to mine the pre-Prohibition era for old/new
ideas: for instance, punch has quickly evolved from a quirky concept to a
niche service style. At the Clover Club in Brooklyn, in just one example,
punches are made for groups of three or more and served in bowls com-
ing from owner Julie Reiner’s private collection. Other, slightly more
difficult drinks, like shrubs, which employ flavored vinegars, are also
finding favor.
“It begins and ends with the guest and what they will accept,” says
Cannon. “The list of what’s considered exotic is shrinking.”
 TheCocktail’sFuture

OUT
Fruit bombs:
Appletinis,
Cosmopolitans and
other overly sweet drinks
seem to have peaked in
popularity, as cocktails with
flavor profiles balanced among
tart, sweet, bitter and salty
gain advocates and fans daily.
The return to classic and pre-
Prohibition drinks has given
birth to a new generation of
drinkers.
Apothecary
Big vodka: bar & lounge
There will be increasing pressure in Philadelphia
on mass market vodkas from the
on-premise, especially as bars and
restaurants look to shrink overly large
inventories, make room on the back
bar for newer, more modern spirits.
Cost-cutting might help, but no one
Mixologists will pay
wants to go there. Yet.

Excessively large
even closer attention to
glassware:
In the early part of the
ingredient selection and
decade, bars started
serving customers large the development of diverse
and expensive drinks
looking to build check
averages. But the drinks
philosophical approaches
warm quickly and are often
too sweet for contemporary
this year.
tastes. Look for more modest-
sized glasses like the coupe.
An increased interest in fresh ingre-
Extreme cocktail-making: dients and the simultaneous explosion of ingly broader range of spirits for their drinks.
Some popular techniques – like
South American produce in the U.S. has To make more room on the back bar, opera-
fat-washing or ingredient smoking
– can add remarkable depth and allowed operators to introduce drinks tions stocking dozens of vodkas, especially
character to drinks. But foams, made with kumquats, gooseberries, lime in times of economic belt tightening, are
gels and other enhancements often leaves and other “once impossible ingredi- shrinking that inventory as they pick and
seem gimmicky and add little to a ents,” says director of mixology for South- choose among all the new liquors available.
customer’s enjoyment, and the bars
ern Wine & Spirits, Francesco Lafranconi. “There will be even more premium spirits,
and restaurants that don’t focus
on the customer in 2009 won’t be Even chain restaurants are experimenting but now with perhaps a touch more thought-
around in 2010. with switching to fresh ingredients when ful decision-making regarding quality and
possible, a challenge for multi-unit, na- value versus flamboyant and superfluous,”
Astringent bitterness: tionwide operations. notes Steve Olson, wine and spirits consul-
Some contemporary bartenders “Having something seasonal or occa- tant and one of the founders of the Beverage
who like to tinker and experiment to sional as in limited-time-offer fashion in the Alcohol Resource training program.
recreate extinct bitters or develop
menu grabs customers’ attention, and it’s
their own creations seem to fall in love
with their own products and end up also a great promotion,” says Yuri Kato of
serving potions as unpleasant as a Cocktailtimes.com. “San Francisco or New the next big spirit
witch’s brew. Customers may feel too York is ahead of the game in terms of offering As vodka becomes less popular as an ingre-
intimidated to say anything, but they cocktails prepared with seasonal produce.” dient in cocktail-focused, stand-alone op-
will eventually turn away from bars Beyond more fresh and seasonal ingre- erations, bartenders there will be focusing
where bitter is the new sweet.
dients, bartenders are adopting an increas- on cocktails made with whiskey (especially
 TheCocktail’sFuture
rye), gin, aged rums and tequila. Pisco is of-
ten seen as the next big spirit, and this year
is no exception, says Derek Brown, bar man-
ager and consultant at Washington, D.C.’s
The Gibson. “People have predicted that
before but I’ve seen a rise in the number of
bars carrying pisco and bartenders that can
execute a pisco sour. Some even have two.”
Yuerba Buena in New York now offers four
pisco-based cocktails – the Pisco Sour, Pisco
Punch, Pisco Guava and Pisco Yerba Maté.
Mezcal and shochu are also cited as spir-
its on the verge of serious growth, and sherry,
bolstered by an annual cocktail competition
supported by the region’s producers that has
attracted some of the country’s best bartend-
ers, is getting greater play in new drinks as
well. “I think the nation’s top mixologists
will continue to experiment with less-
known foreign beverage alcohol products
including shochu, pisco and even Japanese
whisky,” says Kato. “I think having global
knowledge or experience as a mixologist is
an important thing for them.”
Still, vodka pays a lot of bills, and Can-
non thinks a reverse vodka backlash may be
coming. “We’ve done so much work on the
young generation, talking to them about gin
and whiskey, that many of them are at a loss
on how to work with vodka. I actually think
you’ll see some really serious mixologists try
to hit classic styles of vodka in cocktails.”
Look for more drinks with locally
sourced ingredients, following the culinary
“locavore” movement, as well as more em-
phasis on organic spirits and those made by
micro-distillers. “They are becoming more
mainstream and customers are more familiar
with organic brands like Square One vodka
and Four Copas tequila, and they sell pretty
Expect to see more
exotic beverage alcohol
products like shochu
and pisco.
well on menus,” says Brown.
Organic spirits have built some con-
sumer interest (see sidebar), but have gener-
ally been available in limited supply. But as
small niche distilleries get up and running,
their brands are winning favor fast. “I’ve
been asked to do a cocktail menu of drinks
with spirits made in the Northeast. Fun-
nily enough, I think I can now,” says Brown,
whose offerings include a vodka made in
Virginia, a gin from Philadelphia and New
York whiskies.
Lafranconi helped create the drink
menu now in place at Morton’s the Steak-
house chain, where foams are used to finish
drinks, but he says molecular mixology may
have stalled as a movement, and thinks
adapting eggs for use at major national
chains is difficult, given concerns about
liability. Still, other observers believe that
in niche bars, cocktails using egg whites,
like the “Ramos Gin Fizz”, are firmly en-
trenched and even growing — as Cannon
points out, even major spirit companies are
sponsoring drink competitions incorporat-
ing eggs as part of the mix.
Using ingredients like eggs may be part
of the return to yesterday, but it’s also one
way bartenders are focusing more on the cu-
linary and heightening the bar-kitchen rela-
tionship, especially with pastry chefs. An-
other way is through flowers. Floral notes
are the latest hot flavor profile, according
to Danielle Eddy, spokesperson for the
Distilled Spirits Council, who is seeing
mixologists incorporate edible flowers,
Salad Days Sour phootograph by Elba Giron / Clover Club phootographs by Oleg March
floral extracts, flower- based spirits, syrups
and extracts as well as floral garnishes.
Bitters, especially housemade versions,
are still on a roll, though some observers
predict a dialing back of the aggressively
astringent drinks favored by many modern
cocktail enthusiasts.
Customers are also seeking more so-
phisticated non-alcohol cocktails, says Lucy
Brennan, owner of Mint/820 in cocktail-
mad Portland, OR. Brennan creates non-al-
cohol versions of her seasonal cocktails, and
her cocktail classes which feature them and
all sorts of cocktails continue to sell out.
Olson and Lafranconi agree that small is
Bottom left:
“Salad Days
Sour” created
by Derek Brown
for The Gibson,
Washington
DC; “Bermuda
Swizzle and
Clover Club”
cocktails (right)
and interior from
the Clover Club,
Brooklyn, NY
(below right)
 TheCocktail’sFuture
green minded
Bars and restaurant operators may be worrying about red ink,
but customers are increasingly turning to the green.
A few outposts – like Counter in New York City’s East Village
(above) – have catered to the growing interest in organic and
vegetarian demands of customers. As more beers, wines and
spirits arrive with the organic imprimatur, it is increasingly easy to
build a bar program with all – or mostly all – organic ingredients.
Cafe Flora, one of Seattle’s favorite vegetarian and vegan
restaurants, just launched its first cocktail program based
on organic and sustainable products from local farms, nearly
100% vegan. Many of the innovative drinks are variations on
classic favorites. Others are more current, featuring ingredients
like prickly pear and fennel-infused vodka, tea-infused sweet
vermouth and house-made ginger beer. The signature cocktails,
priced at $8, include “Red Sky at Night” (prickly pear and
fennel-infused light rum, house-made Ginger Beer) and the
“Blueberry Cucumber Rickey” (gin, blueberry purée, soda water,
cucumber and fresh lime juice.)
Cafe Flora’s not alone. Green vodka 360 is being used to make
a number of cocktails. At the Pagoda in Houston, the “360
Eco-Teani” is topped with sweetened green tea, whereas at Blu
Sushi in Ft. Myers, FL, Larry “Smokey” Genta created the “360
KoKo Drop”, with 360, a splash of Licor 43, a drop of DeKuyper
Blue Curacao and organic coconut milk.
With the help of Tru Organic Spirits, the Mandarin Oriental
in Miami launched an all-organic cocktail menu recently for the
hotel’s restaurant, Azul and M Bar. The list includes the “Basil
Melon” (Tru Organic Lemon Vodka, melon, lime, basil, grapefruit
juice, simple syrup and seltzer) and “Mandarin Delight” (Tru
Organic Vodka, cucumber juice, simple syrup and tonic).
Among the flavors and
ingredients mentioned as hot
for 2009: jalapeno, lychee,
açai berry and agave.
beautiful, and predict smaller portions than the current 12-ounce
monsters, perhaps down to six- or seven- ounce glasses, not only
because of aesthetics, but also due to concerns about over serving.
In fact, many national chains and hotels are trying to promote
drinks with lower alcohol content. At least one major chain is
developing a three- to four- ounce cocktail to be served at certain
times of the day.
Also coming: more recession-aware pricing. Consultant Tad
Carducci, who with partner Paul Tanguay developed the drink
menu at Apothecary in Philadelphia, introduced a “Recession
Proof Menu” last October, installing $6 drinks on weeknights on a
menu where standard drinks range from $10 to $14.
Among flavors and ingredients mentioned as hot for 2009, cu-
cumber is still strong, with jalapeño, lychee, açai berry and agave
frequently cited. Tea-based drinks and those using wine and wine-
syrup are bubbling up, too, and Lafranconi is confident of the
emergence of more beer-based cocktails using fruit lambics from
Belgium or the coriander and citrus flavored weiss beers.
Whatever changes are next, one that is widely wished for is a
greater acknowledgement that cocktails are not about the old days,
or molecular mixology or even the correct way to drink. As Ol-
son points out, warm, friendly service communicating pleasure that
guests are coming out to drink in troubled economic times would
be nice. Or as Regan says about the high-end tinkerers: “Some ex-
periments will be disasters, and some will be magnificent. Above all,
though, I’m hoping that bartenders will not forget that their true
mission is not to serve cocktails, but to serve their guests.” n
Bella cocktail at
Mint/820 in
Portland, OR