While some bars see the added alcohol hit of port as a plus, others pushing lower-alcohol cocktails might omit the spirit and lead with port. Amid both trends, and with a range of styles to call on – from vintage to LBV, ruby, tawny, white and rosé – port has an important role to play in the bar.
Our poll makes Taylor’s the leader – just. As a global brand it is a best seller at The Envoy, Hong Kong, Singapore’s 28 Hongkong Street and Le Chamber, South Korea. The Fladgate Partnership brand also tops our trending list.
Graham’s is a close-second – indeed it and Taylor’s assume a duopoly, accounting for more than half of house ports at our polled bars. Dow’s is also frequently stocked, though is more likely to be a second or third choice, rather than the house pour.
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Methodology
The Drinks International Annual Bar Report looks to gauge the buying habits of the best bars in the world by conducting a survey of their owners, head bartenders and bar managers.
The bars that took part – what we refer to as the best bars in the world – are a sample of 108 bars that finished in the top 250 places of the World’s 50 Best Bars survey, now owned by William Reed Business Media. Given the depth and scope of The World’s 50 Best Bars poll (voted for by 476 global bar experts) we feel this is the most credible place to source our sample of bars.
In each instance we asked the bartender to rank their three best selling products in each category, giving us an indication of the brands that are selling best.
As we know, a best selling brand, even in the best bars in the world, earns its place on more than taste, so we also wanted to know the brands that are not necessarily doing huge volumes but have cool-appeal right now. This is where the Trending brands come in. These are the brands customers are increasingly asking for, perhaps because of word of mouth, or even on bartenders’ recommendations.
For more on the methodology see How we did it
