Hartreuse is a drink sandwiched between two liqueur brands that have increased in volume and value thanks
to the demand for bitter drinks. The Negroni has helped to catapult Campari from seventh best selling in 2015 to most requested liqueur brand. Aperol was nowhere to be seen two years ago but the Aperol Spritz has taken hold and shot the drink’s namesake from zero to hero last year and there it has stayed.
Pietro Mattioni, managing director of Campari UK, said: “The aperitivo moment is a ritual. It’s a pleasure to see this traditional Italian celebration continuing to grow as a trend in London, a city renowned as one of the world’s most forward thinking cocktail destinations.”
Campari isn’t just a London-centric phenomenon. Amsterdam’s Door 74, Himkok in Oslo and The Barking Dog in Copenhagen – to name but a few – all said it was their best selling or top trending liqueur. The top five most requested liqueurs are frozen this year but the same cannot be said of trending.
Liqueurs is one of the most fluid lists of fluids when it comes to what’s hot and what’s not. Chartreuse is on the wrong side of this curve, falling from first to fourth. Spare a thought for Strega, which has fallen even further and no longer graces the list at all. Four brands muscle their way into the top 10 this year at the expense of Fernet Branca, Bols, Merlet and Strega.
But, if the past is anything to go by, then Becherovka, Cointreau, Curaçao Pierre Ferrand and Benedictine shouldn’t get too cosy.
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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
