2013 Cocktail Trends

“I’m seeing way more daiquiris lately because rum is making a comeback. It’s such a simple drink and it’s delicious and there are just three ingredients: white rum, lime juice and simple syrup.” —Brian Means; Fifth Floor, San Francisco

Recipe: Daiquiri (left)

“The gap between the bar and the kitchen is narrowing, and chefs are starting to create ingredients to be used in cocktails. Our chef at Clover Club, Gil Calderon, created a series of chef-driven cocktails on our winter menu like the Hocus Smoke Us: smoked-pepper-infused bourbon, honey, lemon juice, pickle brine and Hellfire bitters.” —Julie Reiner; Clover Club, New York

Recipe: Carrot Colada (left)

“Bartenders are giving people the option to order more civilized low-alcohol drinks. We do a house-bottled Pimm’s Cup made with ginger beer and Campari, which has just 25 percent alcohol by volume (about half that of whiskey) and it’s one of our biggest sellers. As the American palate changes toward more of those dryer, bitter tastes and more reasonable tastes, I think you’ll see that trend growing over the next few years.” —Bryan Dayton; Oak at Fourteenth, Boulder, Colorado

Recipe: Pimm's Cup (left)

“The next big spirits you are going to see are brandy, Cognacs and Armagnacs because the world of booze is starting to become so symbiotic with the world of wine. Paul Giraud Vieille Reserve Cognac (aged for 25 years) is amazing. As far as brandy goes, Germain-Robin out of California is doing an amazing apple brandy that I would put up against Calvados.” —Bryan Dayton; Oak at Fourteenth, Boulder, Colorado

“We’ve done animal with fat-washing and we’re certainly doing vegetable. I think it’s going to be interesting to see mineral-driven cocktails. I’m planning on doing a slate-cured vodka at Butterfly. I’m going to serve mineral salts on the side that you can add to the drink, which is sort of like a dirty martini.” —Eben Freeman; The Butterfly, New York

“People are excited to see Suze coming out. It’s another bitter modifier like Campari that you can put into cocktails, which always excites bartenders; and it has only just become available in the US. Bartenders have been trying to get it for a long time or if they did get it they’d have someone ship it over from Europe.” —Brian Means; Fifth Floor, San Francisco

“You’ll start to see all of the tools that have become the fetish items for bartenders at home: long Trident spoons and Japanese-style jiggers and elegant cut-glass Yarai mixing glasses.” —Eben Freeman; The Butterfly, New York

“Yarai mixing glasses. Cocktail Kingdom sold out of them this year. Umami Mart sold out of them. If you want to impress your friends, get a Yarai.” —Brian Means; Fifth Floor, San Francisco

“I think it’s going to be the clarity of the ice rather than shape of the ice that starts to define all of the top-level bars in the country.” —Eben Freeman; The Butterfly, New York

“I think the South is going to be an interesting place, with places in Nashville like The Patterson House and the Catbird Seat opening up.” —Eben Freeman; The Butterfly, New York

“Houston has started to grow, with the talents of Bobby Heugel and Alba Huerta of Anvil Bar and Refuge.” —Jaymee Mandeville, Drago Centro

“I think the city that will continue to grow as a cocktail destination is Portland, Oregon. Specifically for the micro-distillation that’s going on there, the amazing food scene, the coffee culture.” —Jacques Bezuidenhout; Jasper’s and Grand Café, San Francisco

“Portland definitely has the right setup to keep growing. They have craft beers and craft spirits that are all locally produced. They can showcase everything in their bars and say, ‘this was made right here, this was made in Portland.’” —Brian Means; Fifth Floor, San Francisco

“Ron Cooper has really paved the path for other mezcals to hit the US market and wow, there are a lot of amazing ones out there. One of my favorites is Pierde Almas Tobaziche.” —Jaymee Mandeville; Drago Centro, Los Angeles

“Mezcal is going to make the next leap in people’s consciousness. Look for Santa Catarina Minas’s very rare Arroqueño and Santo Domingo Albarradas made from the espadín variety of maguey (agave).” —Jackson Cannon; The Hawthorne, Boston

“If you’re going to have a drink at brunch there’s two ways of looking at it: something socially acceptable and elegant like a mimosa or a Bellini, and then there’s the Bloody Mary situation—something savory but with impact. For people that want a real drink at brunch, I think that taking classic tequila drinks and brunchifying them could be fun like twists on a Paloma, which just uses grapefruit soda.” —James Hensley; Patterson House, Nashville

“I would totally drink a Paloma in the morning. It’s super-refreshing: grapefruit, bubbles, a little salt; it’s perfect.” —Brian Means; Fifth Floor, San Francisco

Recipe: Paloma (left)

“About a year ago, we put a Negroni on tap at Jasper’s and it’s been a hit ever since. We put another cocktail on tap at the Grand Café: a cognac old-fashioned with bitters, Chartreuse and Cognac. I think it’s definitely going to continue and we’ll start to see a lot more spirits on tap like Fernet and Chartreuse.” —Jacques Bezuidenhout; Jasper’s and Grand Café, San Francisco

“Stop making moonshines, stop producing them, stop bringing them to us. We’re not interested. I understand that you started a micro-distillery and whiskey sells and you need something to sell to keep your doors open while the finished product ages, and I understand that. Make a gin. Make a vodka. Make a rum. These are all things that you could do in the same time period that you’re making this unaged moonshine whiskey.” —James Hensley; Patterson House, Nashville