Don Julio has maintained its dominance as the bestselling tequila brand in the world’s best bars. Diageo’s flagship brand has taken poll position in the Brands Report in every edition since 2016, but it’s never been this tight at the top.
This year Don Julio only held on to its position by virtue of more often being the house pour, it was the bestselling tequila in 18% of our polled bars to Patrón’s 16%, but if the Bacardi-owned brand was a top-three selling tequila in just one more bar, the two positions would have been reversed.
The top two tequilas are arguably the highest-profile names in the category, and third and fourth place go to a pair of bartender favourites. Altos was co-created by bartenders Dre Masso and Henry Besant and has remained close to the trade since sponsoring The World’s 50 Best Bars and hosting frequent bartender trips to Guadalajara.
In fourth is Ocho, now owned by Heaven Hill but always the living legacy of Tomas Estes. The brand continues to hold a place in the hearts of bartenders with its single-field agave philosophy and at a price that keeps it pourable.
While several filed lawsuits could have seen a diminishing of trust in the Diageo agave spirits portfolio, the opposite appears to be the case.
Alongside the group’s first-place finish, Casamigos bags its highest finish in the bestselling list to close out the top five.
How we did it
The Brands Report has been released every January for the past 16 years and aims to provide data analytics into the buying habits of consumers in the world’s best bars.
To collect the data, we first curate a sample of industry-acclaimed bars from a combination of The World’s 50 Best Bars and its regional North America and Asia lists.
In order to ensure the best global coverage, about 5% of the poll were ‘editor’s picks’ – highly rated bars in regions less represented to assure a truly global data pool reflective of the current bar industry. Each year the panel rotates to ensure a fair and accurate set of results.
As part of the survey, we ask each bar owner or head bartender to dig out their sales spreadsheets and rank the three bestselling products in each spirits category, as well as beer, champagne and mixers. The bestselling list is based on hard data, while top trending is more subjective – the brand which isn’t necessarily shifting big volumes but is seen as in vogue by each bar. Often, the brands that figure highly in the trending list move on to the bestselling list the following year, as curiosity and excitement transition to weight of sales.
We also ask our poll to declare the house pour in some of the world’s bestselling classic cocktails. The drinks are chosen to specifically represent major spirits categories and are generally big hitters in the Cocktail Report’s list of the 50 bestselling classic cocktails, due to launch in spring.
To view the page-turner edition of the Brands Report click here.
The Brands Report will be serialised on drinksint.com throughout January.
