1、001 Cover CR2023.indd 1001 Cover CR2023.indd 125/04/2023 14:5725/04/2023 14:57drinksint Drinks International Cocktail Report 2023 3 EDITORIALSupplement EditorHamish SEditorShay WWebsite Editor Oli Doddoli.doddagilemedia.co.ukEditorial Researcher Angel BProduction Editor Jaq BReporter&Editorial Resea

2、rcher Eleanor YDESIGNArt Director Christine Freemanchristine.freemanagilemedia.co.ukArt Editor James Downjames.downagilemedia.co.ukADVERTISINGCommercial Director Rob Cullen+44(0)1293 Senior Account Manager Carmen Poel Francesch+44(0)1293 PUBLISHERJustin Smith+44(0)1293 590041 ACCOUNTSAnnet e OConnel

3、lannet e.oconnellagilemedia.co.ukMANAGING DIRECTORRussell Dodd+44(0)1293 590052 DRINKS INTERNATIONALJubilee House,56-58 Church Walk,Burgess Hill,West Sussex,RH15 9SNT:+44(0)1293 Cover image:Design by James DownAGAINST THE FANTASTICAL nature of todays menus,you could easily underestimate the importan

4、ce of classic cocktails in the modern bar.T ese time-honoured recipes might not be what modern cocktail culture is sold on,but they certainly make up a signif cant chunk of its sales.But classics are just classics,right?Not new,not novel,just a constant.Well,not entirely so.Look closely and this sup

5、posedly frozen landscape is actually moving both in terms of what cocktails are considered classics,the classics that are in fashion,and the way they are made too.And thats where Drinks Internationals Cocktail Report comes in.Weve surveyed the worlds best bars(more on the methodology on p5)to f nd o

6、ut which classics bars are serving right now.And if thats useful information to bartenders,bar operators and brands,were also able to show you how its changed.Weve been tracking cocktail-making behaviour at the worlds best bars for the best part of a decade.In that time,weve seen how the Old Fashion

7、ed has made way for the Negroni as the most-made cocktail in the worlds best bars.Weve observed the recent meteoric rises of cocktails such as the Espresso Martini and Paloma.As trends move to lighter serves,we can see how stirred-down-and-brown classics arent as popular as they once were,but also h

8、ow these boozy favourites are far more popular than todays trend analysis might have you believe.When one trend makes landing,the existing trend doesnt immediately disappear.More on the changing world of classics on p6 and an analysis of this years list on p34.T e Cocktail Report doesnt end there.We

9、 also delve into the most-used spirits in cocktails at the worlds best bars.Spoiler:our survey says gin is still in,but there is underlying data to suggest its dominance has plateaued and other categories are now making gains.If trends in classic cocktails are slow-moving,spirits category fashions a

10、re even slower.But,as the Cocktail Report lays witness,shif they do.And in this business,it pays to have ears to the ground.HAMISH SMITHSUPPLEMENT EDITORJOIN US ONLINE OR BE SOCIAL DRINKSINT.COMDRINKSINTISTOCK.COM/SOUTHWORKSCONTENTS5 HOW WE DID IT6 DEFINING A CLASSIC9 BESTSELLING CLASSICS32 UNDER TH

11、E NUMBERS36 BESTSELLING SPIRITS38 THE LIST AT A GLANCE003 Contents leader CR2023.indd 3003 Contents leader CR2023.indd 325/04/2023 14:1925/04/2023 14:19drinksint Drinks International Cocktail Report 2023 5 Our all-new Cocktail Report pivots on two pieces of research.One into bars bestselling classic

12、 cocktails,the other their bestselling spirits.But how do we compile these lists?Well,they are result of our survey in late 2022 of a sample of venues we call the worlds best bars.T is invitation-only 100-strong pool is made up of venues that have appeared in recent editions of T e Words 50 Best Bar

13、s(1-100),Tales of the Cocktails Spirited Awards,Top 500 Bars,plus regional awards such as North America and Asias 50 Best Bars and the Mixology Bar Awards(which cater to the German-speaking world);and countrywide awards:the Class Bar Awards,Australian Bartender Awards and the Time Out Awards from va

14、rious markets around the world.So the panel rotates each year as it tracks to the success stories of the industry.Where we have a few holes in our coverage,we carefully stitch in some patches.Five per cent of those invited to take part were editors picks bars of high regard in regions less represent

15、ed by awards.THE BARST is year,the 100 bars taking part in the survey were drawn from 33 countries.As youd expect,markets with a high concentration of top-end bars are HOW WE DID ITrepresented accordingly.Europe,with strong bar scenes across many developed drinks markets,made up 34%of the sample.T i

16、rteen countries in Europe contributed bars,led by Italy,the UK and France.By way of example,50 Best 2022 bars 1930,Himkok,Red Frog,Satans Whiskers and T e Clumsies all took part.T e North American contingent swelled to 24%this year,led by the US,with Mexico and Canada contributing voices.Award-winni

17、ng bars from the US such as Caf la Trova,Employees Only,Broken Shaker and Herbs&Rye took part,while in Mexico we called on Handshake Speakeasy and in Canada,Bar Mordecai and Bar Raval.Asia made up 22%of the sample of the worlds best bars once again.Bars from seven Asian countries took part,with Sing

18、apore,China and Japan providing the most.T is year,the likes of Coa from Hong Kong,Sago House and Jigger&Pony from Singapore and Bar Benf ddich from Tokyo took part.Bars from Africa&the Middle East in this poll Israel,South Africa and UAE made up 7%,with Galaxy Bar,Cause Ef ect Cocktail Kitchen and

19、Imperial among them.Australasia essentially Australia and New Zealand also made up 7%of our sample,with Maybe Sammy,Byrdi,Re and Clipper notable inclusions.South America was down to 6%,but among them were 50 Best bars Cochinchina and Tres Monos.THE SURVEYFor the Bestselling Classic Cocktails list we

20、 ask bars to name their top 10(which bars rank,and to which we add an appropriate weighting)from an extensive list of established mixed drinks.As we discuss in this supplement,the list of cocktails you might consider classics is hard to def ne,so we select those that appear most frequently on menus

21、and in books.Each year we add to this list,as old recipes are exhumed and aired and newer recipes become considered neo-classics.We also provide the option for bartenders to add a classic not from the list.Essentially,if enough bartenders think a cocktail is a classic,its a classic.Meanwhile,for the

22、 spirits list,bartenders are asked to name their bars top-f ve most used spirits in cocktails.ISTOCK.COM/FRANKRAMSPOTTT e panel rotates each year as it tracks to the success stories of the industry24%North America6%South America34%Europe7%Africa7%Australasia22%Asia005 How we did it CR2023.indd 5005

23、How we did it CR2023.indd 525/04/2023 14:1925/04/2023 14:196 Drinks International Cocktail Report 2023 Quite of en,classic cocktails are misunderstood,thought of,as they sometimes are,as museum pieces,embalmed for eternity from the point of creation.Instead,think of them as stories around campf res

24、or clapping games in schools;they have an ethereal sort of existence,amorphously evolving over time.Where classic cocktails are documented in books,on websites,or passed from bartender to bartender,their recipes are a snapshot a moment when that was the way the cocktail was made,by one maker,in one

25、particular place in time.Of course,a classic must retain its fundamental framework to carry its name normally its spirit,the bitter or sour element and or/the key modif ers but they never stop being ref ned,their specs chiselled and embellished to sate the tastes of the time.And its this process tha

26、t makes classic cocktails the perfect product.At the point you drink one,it has received the collective feedback and blessings of a million mouths before yours.QUIET IMPORTANCEAccording to our research,of -menu classics are somewhere between 20%and 50%of most bars cocktail sales.Yet they dont always

27、 receive the headline billing that their importance deserves.Under the PR pressure to launch ever more frequent and inventive menus that set a bar apart and showcase its values and talents,classics arent always immediately visible.In many bars,they are reduced to the back pages of a menu,or to of -l

28、ist calls across the counter.And there cant be a better illustration of their importance than this the shared language between bartender and customer.Classics are so pervasive that,no matter what cocktail bar youre in,no matter what part of the world,there is an expectation among customers that a ba

29、r should serve them.And an expectation among bartenders that customers will order them.DEFINING A CLASSICClassic cocktails are as relevant now as theyve ever been,says Hamish Smith,but is their creation slowing?T e ease with which a classic cocktail can be made including the accessibility of its ing

30、redients is one of the key contributors to its success.T e Negroni is just three ingredients gin,Campari and sweet vermouth the Old Fashioned is whiskey,sugar and bitters.In fact,most of the cocktails in our list of bestselling classics can be made with three or four components(discounting sugar).T

31、ose that require fresh ingredients beyond citrus are in the minority and,if the cocktail calls for something esoteric,esoteric the cocktail becomes.CLASSICAL FASHIONSRecipes change with tastes but also for ef ciency.Few bartenders these days dribble bitters on to sugar cubes for the Old Fashioned,th

32、e Sidecar famously imbalanced is rarely made to the early specs and the less said about T e Savoy Cocktail Books ratios the better.But thats all okay,because classics are just ideas,pencil lines that guide us.T ey are also not immune to fashions and trends.Indeed,around 90 cocktails have populated o

33、ur bestselling classic cocktails list since weve been polling.And thats data yielded in under 10 years think what the bestselling cocktails of the 1990s might have been.Todays bestsellers would probably have more in common with a list from a century before.T ere are several hundred cocktails you mig

34、ht consider to be classics,but at any one time,far fewer are in the everyday repertoire.But do classic cocktails track to trends,or have a hand in determining them?Probably a little of both.When in the early 2000s cocktail culture was enjoying its renaissance,yesteryear recipes from the f rst Golden

35、 Age of the cocktail were being unearthed on an almost daily basis.T ey were mostly stirred-down,stif drinks made from shelf-stable ingredients which then became the trend.At the same time,and partly as a result of this classic cocktail revival,we saw gin have its moment fast-forward 10 years and th

36、e Negroni is a household name.006-007 Classic Cocktail CR2023.indd 6006-007 Classic Cocktail CR2023.indd 625/04/2023 14:2025/04/2023 14:20drinksint Drinks International Cocktail Report 2023 7 this to the Aperol Spritz,which has steadily climbed our list and is now in our top 10.If new classics are b

37、eing created now,they will represent the times they were created in.NEO-CLASSICSBut,are there new classics emerging?What we can say is that there are a handful of bona f de classics that have emerged from this side of the year 2000.Audrey Saunders Old Cuban,Douglas Ankrahs Pornstar Martini,Sam Ross

38、Penicillin and Jrg Meyers Gin Basil Smash all made our list of 50 this year and there are a handful more from that period that are at dif erent stages of establishing themselves.T ey join drinks from the vastly less-celebrated period of the 70s-90s,which contributed the likes of the Espresso Martini

39、,Bramble and Cosmopolitan and some others that havent aged as gracefully.But there is only one cocktail in our list of 50 that is from the 2010s the Naked&Famous by Joaqun Sim and nothing from 2011 onwards.Could it be that cocktails destined for classic status are still being incubated?Possibly,but

40、that might be wishful thinking.If anything,youd expect classics to gain traction faster,not slower,these days,given the globalised nature of the bar industry.Some classic cocktails will likely emerge from this period,but far fewer than you might expect,given the sophistication of the industry.T ats

41、not because bartenders dont know what it takes to make classics,but more that the direction of the industry has pulled them away from what it takes for classics to gain traction repeatability.With more of a focus on seasonal drinks,sometimes with abstract themes,or complex technical processes,modern

42、 cocktails lack the basic features of classic cocktails.Compounding this is that bartenders no longer need classic cocktails to make their names.Notoriety these days comes from the spoils of competition,awards,and daily performances in front of tens of thousands of Instagram followers.Unless they ca

43、n monetise classics an article for another day theres just not the incentive for modern bartenders.So,when future generations look back at the current-day cocktail movement what will they see?A period of great enlightenment,where new techniques were established,and in which knowledge and expertise b

44、ecame pervasive?Perhaps undoubtedly cocktail culture has never been better established globally.But it will also be notable that few classics can be associated with this period and that is a shame.T e generation before Saunders,Ankrah,Ross,Meyer and Sim have their names etched into the cocktail lexi

45、con.ISTOCK.COM/MAURESE Around 90 cocktails have populated our bestselling classic cocktails list since weve been pollingLikewise,trends can be born from the consumer side of the tracks.T e trend to lighter,fresher serves,to longer drinks,or lower abv,was part of a wider health-conscious movement amo

46、ng younger people.T ere will be classics pulled from the back catalogue to cater to this,perhaps some adapted note the emergence of the lighter Old Fashioned trend were seeing but if not,the booziest of classics will fade.By way of example,the Sazarac was the third bestselling classic according to o

47、ur poll in 2015 in 2023 its down in 29th.Compare 006-007 Classic Cocktail CR2023.indd 7006-007 Classic Cocktail CR2023.indd 725/04/2023 14:2025/04/2023 14:20drinksint Drinks International Cocktail Report 2023 9 THIS QUINTESSENTIALLY ITALIAN aperitivo has become ubiquitous in recent times,and justif

48、ably so.T e Negroni is punchy and complex,yet bright and lif ed,with a gorgeous colour.And its dif cult to make badly,thanks to an easy,equal-parts ratio of gin,sweet vermouth and Campari.Like any self-respecting classic,the Negronis origins are contested,and will likely ever remain so.Perhaps the b

49、est tale of its creation involves an Italian cowboy with a cheeky request for more booze in his aperitivo.T e former cattle farmer a count,no less was Camillo Negroni,who returned to his native Florence af er his travels in the US.T e beverage in need of more kick was the Americano,an approachable m

50、ix of Campari,sweet vermouth and soda.Count Negroni,the story goes,moseyed up to the bar at the Caf Casoni somewhere around the year 1919,and instructed bartender Fosco Scarselli to spruce up his drink with some gin.Scarselli is said to have added a twist of his own,replacing the customary lemon gar

51、nish with orange,and a legend was born.A word on the cocktail genealogy here,as the Americano is itself a twist on the Milano-Torino,a deceptively simple combination of Campari and sweet vermouth.T e addition of soda water made it more palatable to American tourists,likely giving the drink its name.

52、T e Count Negroni followed,with his hard-drinking ways,but thats not where the family tree ends,of course.T eres the recently TikTok-famous Negroni Sbagliato,for example,created in the 1970s through yet another ingredient swap.According to legend,Milan bartender Mirko Stocchetto,making a standard Ne

53、groni,accidentally picked up a bottle of prosecco instead of gin.And so the wheel turns.Nowadays youll f nd bartenders switching any and all of the Negronis components the next enduring variation may already be out there.1.NEGRONIISTOCK.COM/MAURESET e no.1 in 26%of bars and a top-2 in 46%NON-MOVER00

54、9-11 Cocktails 1 to 5 CR2023.indd 9009-11 Cocktails 1 to 5 CR2023.indd 925/04/2023 14:2125/04/2023 14:2110 Drinks International Cocktail Report 2023 NOTHING SAYS GOOD times quite like tequilas f agship cocktail,the Margarita.Its most classic incarnation,in which tequila is shaken with lime juice and

55、 orange liqueur,most likely has its origins in the pre-Prohibition drink the Daisy.More of a template than a specif c cocktail,the Daisy combined a spirit with lime juice and either orange liqueur or grenadine.T e tequila version eventually came to be known by the Spanish word for daisy,and it went

56、on to conquer the globe.T e Margarita has endured countless takes and variations in its time,many of them ignoble,to say the least,and the less said of those the better.But one version that unquestionably elevates the original is the Tommys Margarita,created by Julio Bermejo of Tommys Mexican Restau

57、rant in San Francisco.His version,which replaces the orange liqueur with agave syrup,puts tequila centre stage,where it belongs.THE OLD FASHIONED recalls a simpler time of no-nonsense,spirit-forward cocktail drinking.T e essence of the earliest def nition of the word cocktail comprising spirit,sugar

58、,water and bitters this classic emerged in the mid-to-late 1800s in opposition to new-fangled cocktail additions such as maraschino or absinthe.“Gimme an old-fashioned Whisky Cocktail,”a patron would say,curbing the enthusiasm of an eager barkeep.For all its simplicity,theres no shortage of nuance a

59、nd customisation here.T eres the spirit,of course,with bourbon and rye at the forefront,but variations using other aged spirits too.Sugar comes in syrup or cube form,with demerara and the like to choose from,and theres a vast array of bitters to incorporate,singly or in combination.T en theres the g

60、arnish,mercifully limited to orange or lemon zest nowadays.Gone,mostly,are the dark days of muddled fruit Old Fashioneds too fancy for this humble drink.2.OLD FASHIONED3.MARGARITAISTOCK.COM/BFK92 ISTOCK.COM/MPAK ART STUDIO|ILARION ANANIEVT e no.1 in 15%of bars and a top-3 in 45%Top-3 in 27%of bars a

61、nd top-5 in 45%UP 1 NON-MOVER009-11 Cocktails 1 to 5 CR2023.indd 10009-11 Cocktails 1 to 5 CR2023.indd 1025/04/2023 14:2125/04/2023 14:21drinksint Drinks International Cocktail Report 2023 11 4.ESPRESSO MARTINIEQUAL PARTS FUNCTIONAL and f avourful,this caf einated classic has been on the rise in rec

62、ent years.It was at some point in the 80s,at the Soho Brasserie on Old Compton Street in London,that legendary bartender Dick Bradsell received a request from a young lady for“something thats gonna wake me up,then fuck me up”.T e resulting Vodka Espresso had all the ingredients of todays version vod

63、ka,sugar syrup,cof ee liqueur and espresso but was served on the rocks.Later,when Bradsell was working at Match on Clerkenwell Road,the drink evolved into the Espresso Martini,complete with three cof ee beans as garnish.At times going by the name Pharmaceutical Stimulant,this is the version that con

64、tinues to perform its original function for drinkers today,but it wasnt until a few years ago that it really took of ,no doubt benef ting from cof ees recent rise in popularity.5.DAIQUIRITHE VERY ESSENCE of simplicity,and a study in perfect balance,the Daiquiri elevates its three humble ingredients

65、into something far greater than their sum.It also might be the most bastardised of cocktails,suf ering one lurid,sickly-sweet transformation af er the next,over the course of its long history.It has spawned its fair share of worthwhile variations too,at least everything from the Hemingway Daiquiri o

66、f Havanas El Floridita,to Gregor De Gruythers Nuclear Daiquiri.Meanwhile,the original simply combining rum,lime and sugar endures.Origin stories abound,with a number featuring American engineer Jennings Stockton Cox,stationed near the village of Daiquiri in Cuba from the late 1800s.Some say that Cox

67、 reached for the local spirit when he ran out of gin while entertaining some American guests,others that he was inspired by his workers and their practice of mixing their rum ration with cof ee.Likely,the combination of rum,lime and sugar predated him.ISTOCK.COM/MAXIMFESENKOISTOCK.COM/MARGARITA KHAM

68、IDULINATop-5 in 31%of barsTop-3 in 16%of barsUP 3 NON-MOVER009-11 Cocktails 1 to 5 CR2023.indd 11009-11 Cocktails 1 to 5 CR2023.indd 1125/04/2023 14:2125/04/2023 14:2112 Drinks International Cocktail Report 2023 AS A CATEGORY of cocktail,the Sour is a venerable one,and its whiskey-based incarnation

69、is the most prevailing.Countless citrus-and-spirit classics have followed,but the Whiskey Sour stands relatively unchanged,aside from a few details.T e egg white thats near-essential nowadays wasnt always so,for example,but the core elements of whiskey,sugar and lemon juice come to us directly from

70、the mid-1800s.T e earliest written references to the Whisky Sour date back to around 1870,following the f rst mentions of the Sour in the 1850s.Like all the best classics,theres an interplay between the ingredients that transforms the entirety of the drink into so much more,and also lends itself wel

71、l to variation.Liqueurs such as amaretto have formed the base of popular twists,but its the original Whiskey Sour that continues to earn its spot in the top 10 of this list.ENDURINGLY ELEGANT AND sophisticated,and a masterclass in minimalism,the Dry Martini is many things,but a cocktail with a neat

72、origin story it is not.What people once knew as a Martini,or a Martinez or Martine,was a far cry from the Dry Martini of today,made with Old Tom gin,sweet vermouth and bitters.Some give credit,at least for the name,to New York resident Franklin Martine,who was mixing these ingredients together in th

73、e late 1800s.It took some time for dry vermouth to enter the picture,and dry gin too,evolving the drink into something more closely resembling what we know today.T at evolution continued,sometimes too far,such as the Anything Martinis of the 80s.But the timeless Dry Martini remains,with a range of g

74、in-to-vermouth ratios in use,all simply garnished with an olive or lemon twist.6.DRY MARTINI7.WHISKEY SOURISTOCK.COM/IHOR SMISHKOISTOCK.COM/LUCAS RANZUGLIATop-10 in 41%of barsTop-5 in 25%of barsUP 3 DOWN 3 012-014 Cocktails 6 to 11 CR2023.indd 12012-014 Cocktails 6 to 11 CR2023.indd 1225/04/2023 14:

75、2125/04/2023 14:21drinksint Drinks International Cocktail Report 2023 13 8.MANHATTANNOT ONLY THE most famous cocktail to be named af er a New York borough,the Manhattan also has some of the most colourful origin stories of the classics.One unlikely tale involves Winston Churchills mother,Jennie Jero

76、me,who is said to have held a party in 1874 at New Yorks Manhattan Club for presidential candidate Samuel J Tilden.A certain Dr Iain Marshall reportedly created the drink for the event,which may be true,but Lady Randolph Churchill was almost certainly in Europe at the time,pregnant with Winston.Anot

77、her story attributes the drinks creation in the 1860s to a man named Black,who ran a bar on Broadway.Regardless of who invented it,were fortunate to still have this transcendent combination of whiskey,sweet vermouth and bitters today,along with some of its more capable evolutions,such as the Rob Roy

78、,or more recent Black Manhattan by US bartender Todd Smith.9.APEROL SPRITZSYNONYMOUS WITH THEItalian institution that is aperitivo hour,the distinctively-coloured Aperol Spritz has been enjoying more than a moment over the past decade or so,no longer only in its native Italy,but seemingly in every c

79、orner of the globe.T e perfect low-abv accompaniment to a light bite to eat as the sun sets,the Aperol Spritz couldnt be more early-2000s if it tried,with moderation trends and a move towards lighter f avours and away from high-energy drinking occasions.T e Spritz,as a style of drink,pre-dates the c

80、reation of Aperol.It was in 1919 that brothers Luigi and Silvio Barbieri presented their new creation to the world,at the Padua International Fair.According to the brand,the Aperol Spritz itself came into being in the 1950s,soon becoming popular throughout the country.T e of cial ratio,immortalised

81、in advertising campaigns,is three parts prosecco,two parts Aperol and one part soda.ISTOCK.COM/BHOFACK2 ISTOCK.COM/MAURESETop-10 in 35%of barsTop-10 in 28%of barsDOWN 3 NON-MOVER012-014 Cocktails 6 to 11 CR2023.indd 13012-014 Cocktails 6 to 11 CR2023.indd 1325/04/2023 14:2125/04/2023 14:2114 Drinks

82、International Cocktail Report 2023 THE TALE OF the Moscow Mule,which brings together the stories of three struggling 20th-century entrepreneurs,is perhaps too neat to be entirely credible,but is an entertaining one nevertheless.Our f rst protagonist,John Martin,had recently acquired the rights to Sm

83、irnof vodka,but wasnt having much luck with the brand.Jack Morgan,meanwhile,proprietor of the Cock n Bull pub on Hollywoods Sunset Strip,was unsuccessfully attempting to launch a ginger beer brand.As they sat in the pub on a day in 1941,in walked Sophie Berezinski,looking for a way to sell a rather

84、large quantity of copper mugs from her fathers factory in Russia.With the help,some say,of bartender Wes Price,one thing led to another,and the Moscow Mule was born,leading them all to great fortune.T e classic they created continues to thrive,giving its name to all manner of ginger beer-based creat

85、ions.BORN IN THE mid-2000s,this whippersnapper of a modern classic ef ortlessly rubs shoulders on this list with drinks dating back to the mid-1800s.Its earned its place with a timeless combination of scotch whisky,lemon juice and sugar,the latter taking the form of a ginger and honey syrup.T e f na

86、l f ourish by the drinks creator,Sam Ross,is a f oat of peaty Islay single malt,adding a smoky,almost-medicinal element to the cocktails aroma.While this is quite clearly a Whiskey Sour rif ,Ross,who was working at New Yorks Milk&Honey at the time,based his creation on one of that bars well-known co

87、cktails,the Gold Rush.Itself a Sour twist,the Gold Rush combined bourbon with lemon and honey.Its evolution,the Penicillin,quickly spread beyond the bar in which it was invented,f nding itself on cocktail lists far and wide.10.PENICILLIN11.MOSCOW MULEISTOCK.COM/WIRESTOCKISTOCK.COM/ANDRII MONIUKTop-1

88、0 in 27%of barsTop-10 in 27%of barsNON-MOVERUP 3 012-014 Cocktails 6 to 11 CR2023.indd 14012-014 Cocktails 6 to 11 CR2023.indd 1425/04/2023 14:2125/04/2023 14:2116 Drinks International Cocktail Report 2023 12.PISCO SOURWHILE CHILE AND Peru both lay claim to pisco as their national spirit,the latter

89、is almost certainly the birthplace of this South American brandys most widely-known cocktail.T e drink is most commonly attributed to American bartender Victor Vaughen Morris,who arrived in Peru in 1903.Somewhere between that date and 1916,when he opened Morris Bar in the capital of Lima,hes said to

90、 have invented the drink that would put his establishment on the map.T ere are competing stories but,regardless,its the Peruvian version that endures,combining pisco with lime,sugar and egg white,garnished with bitters.14.BLOODY MARYUNIVERSAL HANGOVER REMEDY and acceptable morning drink,the Bloody M

91、ary comes in almost as many shapes and forms as there are people making it.T is savoury cocktails history includes a name change,to the Red Snapper and back,and a move from vodka to gin,and back to vodka.Among its potential inventors,bartender Fernand Pete Petiot is in the lead,said to have created

92、it in the 1920s at Harrys New York Bar in Paris.He took it with him to T e Savoy in London and New Yorks St Regis Hotel,setting it up to eventually conquer brunch menus everywhere.13.PALOMAWHILE THE REST of the world has been mixing tequila into Margaritas of varying quality,in Mexico and Jalisco in

93、 particular they have long favoured a simple long drink with grapefruit soda Squirt as the mixer.T e Paloma,meaning dove in Spanish,has been gaining ground further af eld in recent years,increasingly f nding itself on cocktail lists around the world.Most contemporary versions feature a squeeze of li

94、me juice,with many adding salt,and theres a growing number of premium grapefruit mixers to choose from.Its not uncommon to f nd classier examples made with fresh grapefruit juice either.ISTOCK.COM/BHOFACK2ISTOCK.COM/5PHISTOCK.COM/LIEK52Top-10 in 20%of barsTop-10 in 18%of barsTop-5 in 9%of barsUP 1 U

95、P 2 UP 8 016-017 Cocktails 12 to 17 CR2023.indd 16016-017 Cocktails 12 to 17 CR2023.indd 1625/04/2023 14:2325/04/2023 14:23drinksint Drinks International Cocktail Report 2023 17 ISTOCK.COM/VIENNETTAISTOCK.COM/ANDRESRISTOCK.COM/BHOFACK215.FRENCH 75NOTHING LIKE A light,celebratory champagne-based cock

96、tail named af er a f eld gun used in World War I Taking its name from the Matriel de 75mm Mle 1897,the French 75 has evolved signif cantly in its time.T e modern-day incarnation,a bright and refreshing combination of gin,lemon,sugar and champagne,began to emerge from the late 1920s,but earlier versi

97、ons named for this piece of artillery variously included grenadine,applejack,calvados or absinthe.While its of en served in champagne f utes nowadays,theres a growing number returning this classic to an earlier style,on the rocks in a Collins glass.16.MOJITOWITH A CAST that includes everyone from Si

98、r Francis Drake to Ernest Hemingway,the Mojito has a long and colourful history.Well probably never know whether the 16th-century English seafarer said to have given the drink its former name,the Drake or Draque,was actually involved in its creation.Or whether,instead,the drink originally hails from

99、 Havanas Bodeguita del Medio,where Hemingway is said to have enjoyed his fair share of them.We do know that only a few years ago it was so popular as to become the bane of bartenders lives,although thats begun to wane more recently.17.LAST WORDTHE STORY OF the Last Word is less about where it was in

100、vented possibly the Detroit Athletic Club and more about those who have kept it alive over the years.Vaudeville actor Frank Fogarty spread the word af er visiting the club in 1916,and Ted Saucier of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel included it in his cocktail book Bottoms Up in 1951.More than a few decades

101、 of obscurity followed,ending when bartender Murray Stenson unearthed a copy of that same tome in the early 2000s and put the forgotten classic on his menu.T e Last Word is made with gin,Green Chartreuse,Maraschino and lime and is the highest climber on this list.Top-10 in 17%of barsTop-3 in 5%of ba

102、rsTop-5 in 9%of barsUP 26 DOWN 7 UP 2 016-017 Cocktails 12 to 17 CR2023.indd 17016-017 Cocktails 12 to 17 CR2023.indd 1725/04/2023 14:2325/04/2023 14:2318 Drinks International Cocktail Report 2023 18.BOULEVARDIERBEARING AN UNCANNY resemblance to the number one cocktail on this list,this whiskey,Camp

103、ari and sweet vermouth drink has,remarkably,a history all of its own,and one that might pre-date that of the Negroni.T e Boulevardier is widely attributed to Erskine Gwynne,socialite and editor of a Paris magazine entitled T e Boulevardier in the 1920s.Bartender Harry McElhone namechecked Gwynne as

104、the creator of the drink in his 1927 book Barf ies and Cocktails,recommending equal parts of the drinks three ingredients.Modern-day versions dif er,usually with a larger proportion of bourbon,or even rye.19.MAI TAIFIRMLY AMONG THOSE cocktails that are transcendent when made properly,but have been m

105、uch abused over the years,the Mai Tai is the most legendary of tiki classics.Victor Jules Bergeron Trader Vic claimed to have invented it in 1944,although hes not the only one.His account in which he combined J Wray&Nephew rum,lime juice,curaao,orgeat and rock candy syrup in his bar in Oakland also

106、of ers the best story regarding the drinks name.Giving this new creation to a pair of friends visiting from Tahiti that night,one exclaimed“mai tai-roa a”,meaning,in Tahitian:“Out of this world the best.”20.AMERICANOPRECURSOR TO THE Negroni,before the eponymous Italian count jacked up its abv with a

107、 slug of gin,the Americano is a f ne aperitivo in its own right.It also couldnt be more now,with its bitter f avour prof le,low alcohol content and Highball-style presentation.T is classic,thought to have originated at Gaspare Camparis bar in the 1860s,probably only gained its name much later,when A

108、merican tourists taking a holiday from Prohibition favoured this over its stronger-f avoured precursor,the Milano-Torino.An inspired splash of soda lightened up the latter drink,with its equal-parts blend of Campari and sweet vermouth.ISTOCK.COM/DUDITSISTOCK.COM/BHOFACK2ISTOCK.COM/5PHTop-3 in 5%of b

109、arsTop-10 in 16%of barsTop-10 in 13%of barsDOWN 6 UP 5 NON-MOVER018-021 Cocktails 18 to 26 CR2023.indd 18018-021 Cocktails 18 to 26 CR2023.indd 1825/04/2023 14:2625/04/2023 14:26drinksint Drinks International Cocktail Report 2023 19 23.AMARETTO SOURIF THERES ONE cocktail that has only become better

110、with age,its the mass-appeal Amaretto Sour.When it was making its f rst appearances,likely around the year 1974,it was little more than a combination of Amaretto and lemon juice,the latter quickly turning into sour mix thanks very much,80s bartending.T at original formulation has evolved and improve

111、d since then,taking cues from the far more established Whiskey Sour.Portland bartender Jef rey Morgenthaler has done much to bring honour to the Amaretto Sour with his version from around 2012,combining the liqueur with cask-strength bourbon,lemon juice,sugar syrup and egg white.22.CLOVER CLUBLIKE T

112、HE GROUP of businessmen who would meet at Philadelphias Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in the early 1900s,whose club gave this classic its name,the Clover Club had something of a f eeting heyday.T is delightful blend of gin,vermouth,lemon juice,raspberry syrup and egg white went from pre-Prohibition accla

113、im to outright mockery in just a few decades.Unlike the original club,the drink has thankfully made a comeback,and deservedly so.T is is a beautifully structured drink,simultaneously light and indulgent,bright and silky,with balanced complexity from its various components,not to mention its wonderfu

114、l pink hue which is,like,so in right now.21.GIMLETBORN OUT OF necessity that being scurvy prevention this deceptively simple combination of gin and lime cordial has survived relatively intact since the late 1800s.Whether named for the Royal Navys Sir T omas Desmond Gimlette or the sharp tool used to

115、 tap barrels on ships,the Gimlet is inextricably linked with Roses Lime Cordial.T e f rst-ever fruit concentrate,it was patented in 1867,the same year that the Navy began requiring ships to carry lime or lemon juice.Many modern takes have moved on from Roses,with other cordials or fresh juice taking

116、 its place,but the spirit of the drink remains.ISTOCK.COM/DJMIKOISTOCK.COM/BHOFACK2ISTOCK.COM/VALENTINA MAKAROVATop-5 in 6%of barsTop-10 in 13%of barsTop-10 in 13%of barsUP 3 DOWN 1 DOWN 3 018-021 Cocktails 18 to 26 CR2023.indd 19018-021 Cocktails 18 to 26 CR2023.indd 1925/04/2023 14:2625/04/2023 14

117、:26drinksint Drinks International Cocktail Report 2023 21 24.JUNGLE BIRDREFRESHINGLY,THIS TIKI classics origins arent disputed,or lost to the mists of time.Believe it or not,we know with relative certainty when it was invented,and who by.Considered to be Malaysias only widely-recognised classic,the

118、Jungle Bird was created by Jef rey Ong,beverage manager for Kuala Lumpur Hilton when it opened in 1973.Served at the hotels opening that year,the drink was presented in a ceramic bird-shaped vessel,all in keeping with the hotel bars avian theme.T e addition of Campari of ers a welcome twist to the d

119、rinks tropical ingredients of dark rum and pineapple juice.25.GIN FIZZA VENERABLE CLASSIC,this non-Ramos Gin Fizz has consistently outranked that famously labour-intensive variant on this list over the years,the latter not cracking the top 50 at all this year a well-deserved respite for bartenders a

120、rms,if nothing else.Requiring comparatively less shaking,the original dates all the way back to the mid-1800s.T e Jerry T omas version from the late 1880s,with Holland gin,lemon juice,sugar and soda water,is not only a f ne drink,but an excellent base for twists and variations of all sorts.Many cons

121、ider egg white to be an essential component,but if were being pedantic,thats a Silver Fizz.26.SAZERACOFTEN THOUGHT,PROBABLY erroneously,to be the very f rst cocktail,the Sazerac is nevertheless a f ne historical artefact,and a damn good drink too.Some classics change from one season to the next,but

122、the Sazerac has remained f rm since its origin in the mid-1800s.Its birthplace,legend has it,was the Exchange Cof ee House in New Orleans,later renamed the Sazerac Cof ee House.Here,Sazerac de Forge et Fils cognac is said to have met the new Peychauds bitters,with absinthe joining the party soon af

123、er.Phylloxera caused rye to replace cognac for a time,although its not uncommon to see both used together nowadays.T e Sazerac was trademarked by Sazerac Co in 1900.ISTOCK.COM/BHOFACK2ISTOCK.COM/BHOFACK2ISTOCK.COM/5PHTop-10 in 10%of barsTop-10 in 11%of barsTop-10 in 10%of barsUP 3 DOWN 2 RE-ENTRY018

124、-021 Cocktails 18 to 26 CR2023.indd 21018-021 Cocktails 18 to 26 CR2023.indd 2125/04/2023 14:2625/04/2023 14:2622 Drinks International Cocktail Report 2023 29.ZOMBIERANKING,FITTINGLY,JUSTbehind the Corpse Reviver 2 this year,the Zombie,like its namesake,continues to show signs of life.Its spot on th

125、is list suggests its more than just a Halloween favourite,and also that the moderation trend hasnt inf ltrated every drinking occasion just yet.T is famously boozy tiki favourite,created by Donn Beach in the 1930s,combines a staggering amount of rum with a varying mix of falernum,fruit juices and mo

126、re the original recipe was a secret,af er all.Few modern takes are as lethal as the original,limited to two per customer at Don the Beachcomber,where they were f rst served.28.CORPSE REVIVER 2THE MOST UNDYING of Corpse Revivers,this century-old sharpener combines gin,triple sec,Lillet Blanc and lemo

127、n juice in equal parts,with a reanimating dash of absinthe,to great ef ect.Whether bartender Harry Craddock invented it or not,he certainly popularised it,including it in T e Savoy Cocktail Book,published in 1930.T eres no doubt about its revivif cation recently,climbing these ranks with almost as m

128、uch alacrity as the Last Word,to which it bears a passing similarity.T ose using the Corpse Reviver 2 for its purported benef ts should bear Craddocks contraindication in mind:“Four of these taken in swif succession will unrevive the corpse again.”ISTOCK.COM/BHOFACK2ISTOCK.COM/DIVANETH-DIAS ISTOCK.C

129、OM/BHOFACK227.PIA COLADAWHILE ITS DISTANT origins likely lie in Cuba,with a drink that combined rum and pineapple with sugar and lime,the indulgent coconut-cream cocktail we know and love is almost certainly a Puerto Rican invention.Far less certain is which of three contenders is actually responsib

130、le either Ramn Prez,at San Juans Caribe Hilton Hotels Beachcomber Bar in 1952,his colleague Ricardo Garcia,or Ramn Mingot in 1963,while bartender at Barrachina in Old San Juan.Regardless of who f rst mixed these ingredients together,the Pia Colada has made a rather triumphant return in recent years,

131、and has spawned some rather excellent modern takes too.Top-10 in 10%of barsTop-10 in 9%of barsTop-10 in 9%of barsDOWN 1 UP 20 DOWN 2 022-024 Cocktails 27 to 35 CR2023.indd 22022-024 Cocktails 27 to 35 CR2023.indd 2225/04/2023 14:2825/04/2023 14:28drinksint Drinks International Cocktail Report 2023 2

132、3 ISTOCK.COM/MIZINAISTOCK.COM/LIUDMILA CHERNETSKAISTOCK.COM/MELANIEMAYA30.BEES KNEESIN LIEU OFactual facts,this Prohibition-era favourites history consists primarily of inference and conjecture,and a few competing theories.A rather appealing blend of gin,honey and lemon,with optional orange juice,th

133、e Bees Knees has at times been attributed to Margaret Brown,otherwise known as Molly Brown,American socialite and Titanic survivor.Perhaps more likely is that Frank Meier,head bartender at the Ritz in Paris in the 1920s,was behind its creation,and this is backed by some of its early appearances in p

134、rint.Or it may have merely emerged,as some think,as a way of making the questionable gin of Prohibition times palatable.31.DARK N STORMYWITH THE DUBIOUShonour of being the highest-ranked trademarked cocktail on this list,the Dark n Stormy has undoubtedly weathered the test of time.Unsurprisingly,the

135、res no neat origin story for when rum was f rst mixed with ginger beer,but its likely that this inspired combination,well-established in Bermuda in the 1800s,received a boost from Prohibition.T e same Americans who would take rum-fuelled holidays to nearby islands during those years continued to mix

136、 these ingredients af er repeal.Cut to the 1970s,and Bermudan rum Goslings trademarked the name,although that hasnt stopped other rums from being mixed with ginger beer,of course.32.PORNSTAR MARTINIWITH ITS APPROACHABLE,fruity f avour prof le,and distinctive appearance not least the shot of f zz ser

137、ved alongside the Pornstar has always had both the looks and the personality to become one of the most successful and mainstream of modern-day classics.Indeed,as its creator the late Douglas Ankrah once wrote,the f rst time he made these,in 2002,the whole bar was ordering them by the end of the nigh

138、t.T e bar in question was Ankrahs Townhouse in Londons Knightsbridge,but his other venue,Sohos L B,of en gets the credit.Today you can get one pretty much anywhere.Top-10 in 9%of barsTop-10 in 8%of barsTop-10 in 8%of barsRE-ENTRYDOWN 9 UP 6 022-024 Cocktails 27 to 35 CR2023.indd 23022-024 Cocktails

139、27 to 35 CR2023.indd 2325/04/2023 14:2825/04/2023 14:2824 Drinks International Cocktail Report 2023 33.GIN BASIL SMASHTHE GIN BASILSmash is among the youngest drinks on this years list,created in 2008.T is youthful upstart is based on a historic style of drink,the only Smash featuring in this years

140、top 50.T e person responsible for its creation,keeping the Smash alive in the process,is Germanys Jrg Meyer.T e way he tells it,he was drinking a lot of Whiskey Smashes at the time,thought to make a gin version,and simultaneously came across another drink with basil as a garnish.Cue some experimenta

141、tion and muddling,and a modern-day classic was born.34.NAKED&FAMOUSWITH ITS PROGENITORthe Last Word ranking so high this year,its no surprise that the Naked&Famous is getting its share of the limelight too.Its creator,Joaqun Sim,describes it as“the bastard love child born out of an illicit Oaxacan l

142、ove af air”between that venerable classic and the more contemporary Paper Planes cocktail,resulting in a combination of mezcal,Yellow Chartreuse,Aperol and lime juice.T e Naked&Famous has lived up to its name,or at least half of it,in the brief time since he mixed the f rst one in 2011,appearing on

143、menus far and wide.35.MEZCAL MARGARITAITS NOT THEgreatest conceptual leap to replace the tequila in a Margarita with its fellow agave spirit mezcal,and well probably never know who was the f rst to make the swap,but we nevertheless owe them a debt of gratitude,whoever they are.Playing on mezcals of

144、en-smoky characteristics,the result tends to be punchier and more complex than the original and with the inexorable rise of mezcal at the moment,its becoming ever more prevalent.Some elect to retain the triple sec of the original Margarita,while others opt for the more modern Tommys approach,simply

145、combining mezcal,lime juice and agave syrup.ISTOCK.COM/LINDA RAYMONDISTOCK.COM/BHOFACK2 ISTOCK.COM/BHOFACK2 Top-10 in 8%of barsTop-10 in 7%of barsTop-10 in 8%of barsNEW ENTRYNEW ENTRYNEW ENTRY022-024 Cocktails 27 to 35 CR2023.indd 24022-024 Cocktails 27 to 35 CR2023.indd 2425/04/2023 14:2825/04/2023

146、 14:2826 Drinks International Cocktail Report 2023 36.VODKA MARTINISPARE A THOUGHT for the Vodka Martini,Vodkatini,Kangaroo whichever you prefer.A drink whose fortunes have always been at the whim of passing fads,perhaps more than most.No doubt benef ting from vodkas ascendence in the 1950s,and fuel

147、led by a certain spy who loved them,its popularity peaked for a few decades,edged out in later years by a slew of colourful,fruity Tinis.As we collectively came to our senses,the Gin Martini made its rightful return,leaving the Vodka Martini somewhat out in the cold.Regardless,this vodka and vermout

148、h mix is def nitely back,at least for the moment.38.PAINKILLERCOCKTAIL STORIES DONT come more colourful than the Painkillers,starting with its birthplace,the six-seater Soggy Dollar Bar on a white beach in the British Virgin Islands,where the absence of a dock made it troublesome to keep your cash d

149、ry as you waded ashore.It was known in the 1970s for a drink that English proprietor Daphne Henderson made with Pussers rum,cream of coconut,pineapple and orange the Painkiller.Among her regulars was Pussers founder Charles Tobias,who tried in vain to get the recipe from Henderson,eventually f gurin

150、g it out himself.Pussers has since trademarked the name.37.VESPERIAN FLEMING,CREATOR of James Bond and Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang,of course is also responsible for this enduring gin/vodka Martini hybrid.Making its f rst appearance in 1953,in the f rst Bond novel,Casino Royale,the Vesper ordered by 007

151、contains three parts gin and one part vodka,as well as the now-discontinued Kina Lillet shaken,of course.In the novel,Bond names his creation af er agent Vesper Lynd,and the rest is history.Bartenders may need to improvise when it comes to one of its core ingredients,but the Vesper lives on neverthe

152、less,no doubt aided by the enduring popularity of Bond himself.ISTOCK.COM/CONNERSCOTT1 ISTOCK.COM/5PHISTOCK.COM/DENISMARTTop-10 in 7%of barsTop-10 in 7%of barsTop-10 in 7%of barsDOWN 9 DOWN 4 DOWN 5 026-027 Cocktails 36 to 41 CR2023.indd 26026-027 Cocktails 36 to 41 CR2023.indd 2625/04/2023 14:3025/

153、04/2023 14:30drinksint Drinks International Cocktail Report 2023 27 ISTOCK.COM/MELANIEMAYAISTOCK.COM/MARIA_LAPINAISTOCK.COM/MAXIMFESENKO39.VIEUX CARRONE OF THEnumerous gif s New Orleans has given to drinking culture over the years,the Vieux Carr traces its origins to the citys Hotel Monteleone,aroun

154、d the year 1938.In what was then known as the hotels Swan Room,now the Carousel Bar,head bartender Walter Bergeron is said to have created his soon-to-be-famous Vieux Carr.Bergeron not only named his creation in honour of the citys French Quarter(“old square”),but threw in a couple of French ingredi

155、ents too,with cognac and Benedictine liqueur meeting more local rye whiskey and Peychauds with Italian vermouth and Angostura from further af eld.41.BRAMBLETHE ESPRESSO MARTINI might be the best-known creation of the legendary,late Dick Bradsell,but there are other masterpieces in his oeuvre.Among t

156、hese is the Bramble,created while Bradsell was working at Soho members club Freds in the 1980s.Setting out to make a distinctly British drink,and working with the Sour as the cocktails basic structure,he def ly combined gin,lemon juice and sugar syrup in a glass with crushed ice,f nishing the drink

157、of with some blackberry liqueur,crme de mre creating a timeless classic distinguished not only by its simplicity and balance,but by its eye-catching appearance too.40.COSMOPOLITANFOR A UNIVERSALLY-RECOGNISED classic with only a few decades of history,youd think that we would have a good idea of wher

158、e this brightly-coloured combo of vodka,cranberry,triple sec and lime came from,but there are competing stories.T e earliest claim comes from Neal Murray,a Minnesota bartender said to have mixed the f rst in 1975,while Toby Cecchini says he invented the iconic pink drink in New York in 1988.Miami ba

159、rtender Cheryl Cook is another contender,said to have created it in 1989.Whoever was originally responsible,Sex and the City made it so that the Cosmo wont be forgotten in a hurry.Top-10 in 5%of barsTop-10 in 7%of barsTop-10 in 7%of barsRE-ENTRYDOWN 1 DOWN 12 026-027 Cocktails 36 to 41 CR2023.indd 2

160、7026-027 Cocktails 36 to 41 CR2023.indd 2725/04/2023 14:3025/04/2023 14:3028 Drinks International Cocktail Report 2023 42.SIDECARTHE OFT-MALIGNED SIDECAR,one of cognacs only really enduring classics,has survived over the ages,even if the details of its origins havent.With its combination of brandy,t

161、riple sec and lemon juice,complete with sugar rim at its most gaudy,some consider it to be an evolution of the New Orleans classic the Brandy Crusta.T eres some debate about whether the Sidecar was born in England or France,with the case for the former attributing it to Pat McGarry of Londons Bucks

162、Club,while others trace it to Harrys New York Bar in Paris,giving Harry MacElhone the credit.43.AVIATIONFLYING THE FLAG for f oral-scented classics,the Aviation has actually existed without its most distinctive ingredient for much of the time since it f rst took f ight in the early 1900s.Crme de vio

163、lette is certainly accounted for in the drinks f rst printed recipe,in Hugo Ensslins 1917 book,Recipes for Mixed Drinks,alongside gin,lemon juice and maraschino.A few years and one Prohibition later,the violet liqueur becomes absent from Harry Craddocks recipe in his 1930 Savoy Cocktail Book.It rema

164、ined AWOL until the early 2000s,resurfacing out of the blue to restore the Aviations point of dif erence and rightful appearance.44.OLD CUBANTHE DECEPTIVELY-NAMED OLD Cuban is actually quite new by classic cocktail standards,drawing generously from far more venerable beverages for inspiration.Create

165、d in 2001 by Audrey Saunders,it rather def ly twists the Mojito,borrowing elements from the French 75,and referencing the Sour family of drinks too.T e result is a combination of aged rum,mint,sugar syrup,lime juice,Angostura and champagne,served up.Saunders was working at Beacon restaurant in New Y

166、ork when she came up with it ahead of opening Pegu Club in 2005 and it didnt take long for it to attain modern classic status.ISTOCK.COM/ETORRES69ISTOCK.COM/BHOFACK2ISTOCK.COM/DANIEL VIEROTop-10 in 4%of barsTop-10 in 5%of barsTop-10 in 5%of barsDOWN 12 DOWN 9 UP 7 028-031 Cocktails 42 to 50 CR2023.i

167、ndd 28028-031 Cocktails 42 to 50 CR2023.indd 2825/04/2023 14:3325/04/2023 14:33drinksint Drinks International Cocktail Report 2023 29 47.RUM OLD FASHIONEDMUCH HAS BEEN said of the Old Fashioned,taking second place in this years list.More a style of drink than a cocktail,its most of en associated wit

168、h rye whiskey or bourbon,of course,but rum is next in line.T is variant goes in and out of favour,no doubt tied to the popularity of rum in general it dropped out of the top 50 last year entirely,af er placing 27th the year before.T e Rum Old Fashioned is back,for now,and remains a very ef ective me

169、ans of showcasing aged rum in a cocktail without too much adornment.46.ARMY&NAVYWAS THE ARMY&Navy created to commemorate a traditional football match between two branches of the US military,or indeed f rst served at Washington DCs Army&Navy Club?Who knows,frankly,and we may never know for certain.It

170、 was certainly served at that club,which claims to be responsible for introducing the Daiquiri to the US in 1909.T e drink in question,meanwhile,f rst appeared in print in 1948,in David Emburys T e Fine Art of Mixing Drinks.He described the original recipe,with two parts of gin to one part each of o

171、rgeat and lime juice,as“horrible”,suggesting a more gin-forward ratio.45.CAIPIRINHATHE SIGNATURE COCKTAILof Brazils national spirit,cachaa,this charmingly lo-f drink resembles a Daiquiri on paper cane spirit,lime juice,sugar but is very much its own thing.Its all about the unfussy preparation,with l

172、imes muddled with sugar directly in the glass.Its a wonderful showcase for the spirit,and also a good base for variations,whether switching up the spirit or adding various other fruits.As for the Caipirinhas origins,there are a few stories to choose from.Some link its origin with sailors and scurvy

173、preventatives,others with a Spanish f u remedy from the early 1900s.ISTOCK.COM/BHOFACK2ISTOCK.COM/RACHEL BARRINGERISTOCK.COM/DELUXE-PIXTop-10 in 4%of barsTop-10 in 4%of barsTop-10 in 4%of barsRE-ENTRYNEW ENTRYDOWN 13 028-031 Cocktails 42 to 50 CR2023.indd 29028-031 Cocktails 42 to 50 CR2023.indd 292

174、5/04/2023 14:3325/04/2023 14:33drinksint Drinks International Cocktail Report 2023 31 48.HANKY PANKYTHE MOST ENDURINGcocktail created by Ada Coleman,who headed up the American Bar at T e Savoy in London between 1903 and 1925,the Hanky Panky was f rst administered to actor Sir Charles Hawtrey.Upon en

175、tering the bar and pronouncing himself“half-dead”,Hawtrey asked Coleman,known to her regulars as Coley,for something to revive him.On being brought back to life by this bracing mix of gin,sweet vermouth and a couple dashes of Fernet Branca,the thespian famously declared it to be“the real hanky panky

176、”.T e name stuck,and the drink lives on to this day.49.SOUTHSIDEMORE THAN JUST a gin Mojito although thats a useful way of thinking about it the Southside has an array of competing,colourful origin stories.Was Prohibition-era gangster Frankie McErlane the f rst to combine mint,sugar and lime juice w

177、ith gin,using it to mask the taste of bootlegged booze?Or was it created earlier,not in Chicago but New York,at Long Islands South Side Sportsmens Club,or indeed at former Manhattan speakeasy 21 Club?T e truth is likely lost to the mists of time,but the cocktail remains,having been given a new lease

178、 of life in recent years.50.AIR MAILEMERGING NOT LONG af er the communication innovation for which its named,the Air Mail cocktail was f rst mentioned in a promotional pamphlet for Bacardi in the 1930s complete with postage stamp garnish and took of from there,appearing in various cocktail books,in

179、the 1940s in particular.With its blend of rum,lime juice,honey syrup and champagne,the Air Mail shares DNA with a number of classics,not least the Daiquiri,as well as the French 75 although which cocktail topped with French f zz doesnt?Presentation has meandered somewhat over the years,although many

180、 are returning to the original Highball-style serve.ISTOCK.COM/MARGARITA KHAMIDULINAISTOCK.COM/GECKOPHOTOSISTOCK.COM/PHOTOGRAPHER AND VIDEOGRAPHERTop-10 in 4%of barsTop-10 in 4%of barsTop-10 in 4%of barsDOWN 8 NEW ENTRYRE-ENTRY028-031 Cocktails 42 to 50 CR2023.indd 31028-031 Cocktails 42 to 50 CR202

181、3.indd 3125/04/2023 14:3325/04/2023 14:3332 Drinks International Cocktail Report 2023 Lets start from the top:the Negroni is our king cocktail for 2023 and if youve been working in and around the bar industry over the past decade,youre probably not particularly surprised.In recent years,this bitter

182、ruby-hued serve has ridden the wave of the classic cocktail trend,the bitter drinks trend,the gin trend,the aperitivo trend,the Italian bartenders working in all the best bars trend then mix in the marketing prowess of Campari,and you can see how the Negroni was destined for the top.T is year,more t

183、han a quarter of bars we polled said the Negroni was the top classic and almost a half revealed it was among their top-two serves.Two-thirds said it was one of their top-four bestsellers.Only 15%didnt have it among their top 10.T ese are impressive stats,but the underling data suggests we may have p

184、assed peak Negroni its dominant,but just not as dominant as it was.T at makes sense:just when a cocktail is reaching its widest appeal,its already losing its early adopters.So could it be deposed next year by this years runner-up,the Old Fashioned?Our data suggests this is unlikely.T e Old Fashioned

185、 is in more pronounced decline,UNDER THE NUMBERSHamish Smithshares data from and insight into the bestselling classics listas the Americana movement fades and the stirred-down-and-brown trend continues to make way for lighter serves.Only 15%of our sample said the Old Fashioned was their top cocktail

186、 this year thats down from 35%in 2020.Heading the chasing pack is the Margarita.An established order in bars of all levels globally,its fortunes are wedded to tequila,which is rapidly growing with plenty of head space.T is year,5%of our sample said it was their top serve and more than a third attest

187、ed to it being a top-f ve seller.T e Margarita has the consumer recognition to top this list in the future,as does another crowd-pleaser in the top f ve,the Espresso Martini.Having steadily climbed from mid-table a few years ago,a third of our bars said it 032-034 under the numbers CR2023.indd 32032

188、-034 under the numbers CR2023.indd 3225/04/2023 15:4625/04/2023 15:46drinksint Drinks International Cocktail Report 2023 33 was a top-f ve cocktail in their venues.It makes sense with its Dick Bradsell lineage the Espresso Martini has kudos among the trade and,with cof ee continuing to be a long-ter

189、m mass-market movement,its a hit among consumers too.Next up is the Daiquiri,which shares much with the Margarita:done well,balanced and unembellished they have the potential to be bestselling classics,but their reputations suf er from mistreatment in mainstream bars.Interestingly,the top f ve in ou

190、r list are cocktails of dif erent spirit categories gin,American whiskey,tequila,vodka and rum.T e Dry Martini,in sixth,has never f nished lower in our list of 50.To the trade its a classic among classics,but it probably doesnt have a broad enough appeal among the drinking public to top our list.In

191、our sample of 100 bars,it was a top-f ve selling classic in a quarter.T e Whiskey Sour and Manhattan,in seventh and eighth on our list,are two more yesteryear favourites that still do good business in the worlds best bars,but are rarely the bestseller.Its always felt like these American whiskey cock

192、tails are the supporting acts to the Old Fashioned and follow a similar growth-decline trajectory.FASTEST CLIMBER T e top classics have remained fairly constant in the near-decade that weve been polling the worlds best bars,with the Negroni,Old Fashioned,Margarita,Daiquiri,Dry Martini,Whiskey Sour a

193、nd Manhattan never f nishing outside of the ISTOCK.COM/SEMENOVPIf there was one big mover this year it was the Last Word032-034 under the numbers CR2023.indd 33032-034 under the numbers CR2023.indd 3325/04/2023 15:4625/04/2023 15:4634 Drinks International Cocktail Report 2023 top 10.Indeed,the list

194、is relatively stable in its top half,with most of the movement occurring in the second half of the table.But if there was one big mover this year it was the Last Word.T is gin,Chartreuse,maraschino and lime cocktail climbed 26 places.Its impossible to f nger one reason for a cocktail suddenly gainin

195、g momentum,as this early 20th-century drink was rediscovered and fed back into circulation about 15 years ago.T at was the start of its journey,but spin-of classics such as the Final Ward,Paper Plane and Naked&Famous have helped to buoy its popularity.T is year,the list of 50 has 10 dif erent cockta

196、ils to last year f ve that are new to the list over its nine-year history,and f ve that reappeared having featured in editions previous.T e Pornstar Martini is in the latter category,following a patchy association with this list.T e relative obscurity of its placings particularly when compared to co

197、nsumer-facing lists which name it as the most-made cocktail prove that what happens in top bars is not what happens in the mainstream.T e new entries to the list though,are a mix of less-famed classics and newly graduated neo-classics.Of the golden oldies,we welcome Army&Navy,which dates to the f rs

198、t half of the 20th century its a gin sour with orgeat,so,while not well known,its quite at home in a list with more than a dozen gin drinks and almost as many sours.T e Air Mail a rum,honey,lime and champagne mix thought to come from the early-to-mid 1900s also debuts in the Worlds Bestselling Class

199、ic Cocktails.Classics tend to take about 10 years of incubation to be considered as such.T ough Jrg Meyers Gin Basil Smash was faster than most.It was only invented in 2008 but became famous within a few years of debuting at Le Lion in Hamburg,while the mezcal take on a Last Word,the Naked&Famous,wa

200、s a drink f rst made in 2011 by Joaqun Sim at Death&Co and,not 12 years later,makes our list.T ey join other neo-classics in Audrey Saunders 2001 cocktail the Old Cuban,and Sam Rosss mid-2000s invention Penicillin now at the giddy heights of 10th and challenging the most venerable cocktail recipes.C

201、ATEGORY CALLING CARD T eres a close correlation between category and cocktail popularity.Of the 50 cocktails,16 are gin drinks,11 are rum,six are American whiskey,f ve are vodka,with the rest shared around other spirit and liqueur categories.Overleaf is our bestselling spirits list,which shows a rem

202、arkably similar hierarchy.T is year,the list of 50 has 10 dif erent cocktails to last year f ve that are new to the list over its nine-year history,and f ve that reappearedISTOCK.COM/PIXELSEFFECT032-034 under the numbers CR2023.indd 34032-034 under the numbers CR2023.indd 3425/04/2023 15:4725/04/202

203、3 15:4736 Drinks International Cocktail Report 2023 Ever since we started asking the worlds best bars about what spirits they sell most,the answer has come back gin,gin and more gin.And weve been asking for eight years.In this edition of our survey,the juniper spirit was found to be three times more

204、 likely to be the number one spirit in bars polled than the next biggest category.But heres the thing gins presence is no longer growing.For the f rst time since weve been polling,there are clear signs of shrinking demand.If thats the picture,here are the dimensions:45%of polled bars said their top

205、spirit was gin(against an average of 55%in the past three years);70%said gin is among their top two bestselling spirits;and nearer 80%said the juniper spirit is among their top three.Of course,gin benef ts from the evergreen mixer-spirit serve in the on-trade,the G&T,the categorys f avour spectrum a

206、nd inherent mixability in cocktails and its big-brand support(Tanqueray,Beefeater,Bombay Sapphire,Hendricks and Roku being the big f ve sellers according to the Brands Report earlier this year).But also,it has classics.T is was a spirit that was in easy reach when the founding bricks of cocktail cul

207、ture were being laid and was present throughout the f rst Golden Age of the cocktail in the late 19th to mid-20th century.Its no surprise,then,that our list of 50 classics contains 16 gin drinks(depending on how you make your French 75),with the likes of the Negroni and Dry Martini being the real vo

208、lume vehicles,both featuring in the top six.THE RISE OF TEQUILAIn second this year,and for the f rst time,is tequila,heading a closely matched pack.Its tight enough between it,American whiskey and rum to not draw too many conclusions simply to say that tequila is only bested by gin in our bars.Fif e

209、en per cent of our sample said it was their top spirit,more than a quarter of bars said it was among their top two,while nearly half said it was among their top three.As consumers become ever more accepting of tequila outside of its shot and Margarita BESTSELLING SPIRITSspace,its an increasingly pre

210、valent cocktail in in-house creations.American whiskey in third was actually slightly less likely than rum to be a bars top spirit(10%compared to 14%),but was more likely to be in their top f ve(45%compared to 38%).Both have a tradition of mixing and have no shortage of classics to call their own.Am

211、erican whiskey has the mighty Old Fashioned perhaps not as hot as it was,but still a huge volume player and when you throw in Manhattans and Whiskey Sours,it has three of the top 10 classics.Aside from the Daiquiri,rum doesnt have dominant classics in top bars(the Mojito is now down at number 16),bu

212、t according to our list of 50,rum has numbers.Twelve of the 50 almost a quarter are rum cocktails.Vodka was found to be few of our respondents top spirit just 6%but as you might expect,is an important part of the back bar arsenal.It was a top-three spirit in a third of bars and a top-f ve spirit in

213、just under two-thirds.T e ever-increasing volumes of the Espresso Martini,plus the likes of the Moscow Mule and Bloody Mary mean theres always a need for this all-rounder spirit.Meanwhile,sixth is a milestone for mezcal.Every year weve polled,the Mexican spirit has been behind scotch until now.T at

214、mezcal is doing serious volumes speaks a lot for bartenders and their open-mindedness to new categories.Only one bar said mezcal was its top seller,but 18%said it was a top-three spirit and 40%named it among their top f ve what a change from a decade ago.Our list of 50 cocktails contains the Mezcal

215、Margarita and also the Naked&Famous,so mezcal has classics too.And so does scotch,but not as many as it should,given that this category has been selling internationally for a couple of hundred years the very time when cocktail culture was taking hold.Scotchs engagement with the cocktail industry sti

216、ll feels piecemeal and it shows in the volumes in bars.Almost two-thirds of our pool said scotch wasnt among their top-f ve spirits.For now scotch brands seem sold on For the f rst time since weve been polling,there are clear signs of shrinking demand for ginHamish Smith runs through the most popula

217、r spirits in this years polled cocktail barsISTOCK.COM/MAXIMFESENKO 036-037 Top Spirits CR2023.indd 36036-037 Top Spirits CR2023.indd 3625/04/2023 14:3725/04/2023 14:37drinksint Drinks International Cocktail Report 2023 37 Highballs and straight serves as the answer to increasing volumes in bars,but

218、 growth too can be found by getting behind classics such as the Penicillin.Brandy is another large,venerable category thats fallen behind in elite bars.Only 6%of our sample said it was a top-three spirit,while just 18%said it was in their top f ve.Its go-to historical recipes the likes of the Sideca

219、r(number 42),Brandy Crusta and Alexander(neither in the top 50 classics this time out)feel a little old hat but brands are trying to make headway through out-of-category serves.Spanish Brandy Old Fashioneds are a thing,as are the likes of Espresso Martinis made with brandy.But,while muscling in on o

220、ther categories patches can bring success particularly when the cocktail is improved that energy could be redirected to reinforcing their own place in the world.Brandy is not short on classical recipes.T eres the aforementioned but also the likes of the Vieux Carr(which it shares with American whisk

221、ey)at number 39 in our list,and the French 75(number 15)and Sazerac(number 26),which can both be made with cognac.T eres the Champagne Cocktail too.Despite competing for back bar space with other aged spirits such as scotch,brandy actually has a stronger and longer association with the world of cock

222、tails.Pisco,meanwhile,continues to be a fringe but visible spirit in top bars 8%of our sample said the Peruvian/Chilean spirit is among their top f ve.T e Pisco Sour(12th)carries much of the heavy load,but more and more pisco appears on signature menus.We complete our list with Japanese whisky,which

223、 cant lay claim to any well-heeled classics,but alongside its higher-end back bar presence,does have the entry-level products to also feature in cocktail bars own creations.TOP SPIRITS1.GIN2.TEQUILA3.AMERICAN WHISKEY4.RUM5.VODKA6.MEZCAL7.SCOTCH8.BRANDY9.PISCO10.JAPANESE WHISKY036-037 Top Spirits CR2

224、023.indd 37036-037 Top Spirits CR2023.indd 3725/04/2023 14:3725/04/2023 14:3738 Drinks International Cocktail Report 2023 RANKCOCKTAILSMOVEMENT1NEGRONI-2OLD FASHIONED-3MARGARITA 14ESPRESSO MARTINI 35DAIQUIRI-6DRY MARTINI 37WHISKEY SOUR 38MANHATTAN-9APEROL SPRITZ 310PENICILLIN 311MOSCOW MULE-12PISCO

225、SOUR 813PALOMA 214BLOODY MARY 115FRENCH 75 216MOJITO 717LAST WORD 2618BOULEVARDIER 619MAI TAI-20AMERICANO 521GIMLET 322CLOVER CLUB 123AMARETTO SOUR 324JUNGLE BIRDRE-ENTRY25GIN FIZZ 226SAZERAC 327PIA COLADA 228CORPSE REVIVER 2 2029ZOMBIE 130BEES KNEES 631DARK N STORMY 932PORNSTAR MARTINIRE-ENTRY33GIN

226、 BASIL SMASHNEW ENTRY34NAKED&FAMOUSNEW ENTRY35MEZCAL MARGARITANEW ENTRY36VODKA MARTINI 537VESPER 438PAINKILLER 939VIEUX CARR 1240COSMOPOLITAN 141BRAMBLERE-ENTRY42SIDECAR 743AVIATION 944OLD CUBAN 1245CAIPIRINHA 1346ARMY&NAVYNEW ENTRY47RUM OLD FASHIONEDRE-ENTRY48HANKY PANKY 849SOUTHSIDERE-ENTRY50AIR MAILNEW ENTRYAT A GLANCE038 at a glance CR2023.indd 38038 at a glance CR2023.indd 3825/04/2023 14:3825/04/2023 14:38