Brazil drinks twice as much cachaça as the world drinks gin, but its popularity has never really translated beyond its domestic market. In the Cocktail Report we published last May, its calling card, the Caipirinha, ranked as the 45th bestselling classic cocktail in the world’s best bars – down 13 places on the previous year. So, while there is a demand it isn’t massive and it may be on the wane.
That said, 85% of bars stocked at least one brand and many find that sufficient – only 39% stock three or more.
The top two bestsellers are unchanged from last year. Leblon makes it three on the bounce at number one. It was the house pour in 18% of bars and a top three in more than a quarter. Since it was launched by former LVMH executive Steve Luttmann, Leblon has held a more international outlook than most of its category mates and after the brand’s full acquisition by Bacardi in 2015 it has continued to be a pioneer of premium cachaça in the US, Europe and Asia.
While Leblon has the benefit of its parent company’s inroads to the on-trade, in can’t compete with second-placed Cachaça 51 in terms of volume and value. The brand is one of the most popular in Brazil and while a house pour in 14% of our bars its good value meant it was a top-three cachaça in 31%.
This year’s bestselling list indicates that, internationally at least, craft cachaça counts. Third-placed Abelha is produced by a social enterprise of sugarcane farmers, Yaguara, Novo Fogo and Avuá are all independent and organic. These brands may be a drop in the ocean of the domestic cachaça market, but hold weight in the world’s best bars.
There are other volume brands in the list, namely Sagatiba and Magnifica, but the underlying numbers show they’re not as valued at the top end of hospitality.
How we did it
The Annual Brands Report results are the culmination of a survey of 100 bars from around the world which have been nominated or won international awards. The report offers a picture of the buying habits of the world’s best bars – not only which brands sell best, but also what’s trending to indicate the brands that are hot right now.
To view the page-turner edition of the Brands Report click here.
The Brands Report will be serialised on drinksint.com throughout January.
