by KIRK MILLER

This Is What You’ll Be Drinking in 2023

Pleasure revolution

Consumers will be prioritizing new ingredients with an emphasis on “fun and frivolous flavors” (with the mojito and daiquiri the most “sought-after” cocktails). And those drinks may not be in a bar — the top places respondents are drinking were restaurants and at home.

Transformational tastes

The report suggests a “surge” in spicy drinks, with tequila or vodka-based cocktails being paired with unexpected ingredients like jalapeños and Tabasco and consumers embracing spices and seasonings such as tamarind, tajin, chipotle and cardamon. One particular benefactor of the spicy revolution: The spicy margarita, which saw 48% growth in average monthly Google searches between September 2021 and September 2022.

Virtual experimentation

We’re going online to both order drinks and learn how to make them. 35% of respondents in the U.S. now order cocktails-to-go from a bar or restaurant, while a similar percentage (33%) use a third-party delivery service. On the more extremes of the technological side, the metaverse (remember that?) figures to play a bigger role in the drinks industry; Angel’s Envy, for example, launched the first metaverse distillery in 2022.

Sophisticated sips

Bartenders are expecting “simpler serves” in 2023 but drinks that utilize more premium ingredients, thanks to consumers continuing to embrace high-end spirits — most notably tequila, but also single malts, aged rum and mezcal.

Conscious cocktails

Sustainable ingredients, reducing waste and recyclable packaging are all ideas on the minds of drinkers, although it depends on the locale.

In the fourth annual edition of the Cocktail Trends Report, five macrotrends are identified for 2023 and beyond: Pleasure revolution, transformational tastes, virtual experimentation, sophisticated sips and conscious cocktails.

Other trends mentioned included a continued interest in non-alcoholic and low-proof (NoLo) drinks, hotel bars as community hubs (and not just a place for guests to drink) and a re-embracing of fun, sugary drinks – “think 90s and 2000s ‘cringe’ cocktails like cosmopolitans and passion fruit martinis,” as the report suggests.

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