The Top 5 Cocktail Trends 2025

The drinks industry is currently experiencing significant change with consumer attitudes morphing as well as protracted economic pressure.

Predicting the cocktail trends of the future and innovating them into strategy can be transformative for brands and the growth of their brand equity. Trends allow brands to stay ahead of the curve in an industry whose trends move as quickly as those in fashion.

As moderation and the advent of the sober curious movement continue to grow, we are seeing seismic trend shifts– preferences and habits are fundamentally changing and these are manifesting into the trend we are seeing emerge.

Our cocktail trend forecasting is a blend of data-driven and anecdotal insights drawn from trend software and interviews with drinks industry experts.

We are firm believers in cocktail trend forecasting using various data points including social and online mentions, media and qualitative bartender insights.

Despite the current climate being extremely challenging for both drinks and hospitality brands, a focus on staying ahead of the curve will open up opportunities for growth.

cocktail Trends #1 – Asian Drinks

Asian drinks will be a big cocktail trend in 2025. Earlier this year we did a deep dive into the rise of Asian drinks which can be found here.

The interest in Asian culture within the UK provides the backdrop for a trend in Asian drinks and cocktails across the on-trade.

It will only be a matter of time. Asian spirits make up 6 out of 10 of the world’s most valuable brands according to a report by Brand Finance and this year Suntory have identified the UK market as a huge opportunity for their white spirits portfolio.

Further data tells us that online mentions of Asian products such as Soju are exploding, showing a strong consumer interest across social platforms including Linked In, TikTok, Reddit and Facebook as well as via search engines.

A moment of clarity has come perhaps from the success of Korean Soju brand Jinro. Albeit from humble beginnings, the brand has achieved a CAGR of 73% in the last 3 years in the UK market, which we see as a watershed moment for asain drinks.

In terms of this pushing into bar world, the indications from the North American Top 50 Bars, who have embraced Asian drinks, show us that Asian drinks and flavours will likely penetrate drinks menus across the UK in 2025. Peppered across drinks programmes in the Top 50 bars across the pond are Asian spirits, teas and unusual culinary ingredients, signalling a widespread exploration into Asian food and beverage culture.

Cocktail Trends #2 – Menus Will Evolve

The macro trends dominating the hearts and minds of consumers are moderation and wellness.

We have seen the drinks industry respond to this with innovation in the no and low category and the advent of “light spirits” as well as ever-increasing consumer choice in non-alcoholic spirits, wines and beers.

A recent report by KAM Insights claims that 1 in 3 visits to pubs are non-alcoholic which is evidence that the trend for moderation is growing.

The current problem with this rapid innovation and changes in consumer habits is how they show up on menus in hospitality.

With venues needing to maximise profitability in this challenging environment, they need to evolve how no and low drinks show up on menu.

A good starting point for venues would be to evolve their menus and in-store communication regarding the no and low drinks offered.

Better categorisation on the menu for no and low drinks is a must and a great evolution could be to offer tasting notes on the various products to support consumer education at the point of purchase.

There is no grey area – the category and consumer understanding are a long way from maturing. Venues need to work extra hard to support the category growth by exploring how they develop their menus.

With dedicated non-alcoholic and light spirits categories, it will help signpost consumers to the choices they want to make.

Another element we expect to see a proliferation of is listing cocktail and mixed drink ABVs on menu. Innovators such as Atlas in Singapore and Lab22 in Cardiff have been doing this for years with great success.

Tani Hasa of Lab 22 feels it’s a no-brainer, “We’ve been adding ABVs to our menus for the last 5 years. We see the emergence of ABV on beers/wines on menu and know that customers sometimes will or won’t order cocktails based on ABV – so why wouldn’t we add to our menus?”

Of any of the cocktail trends we have identified – this makes the most sense and will surely become mainstream in the next 12 months.

Cocktail Trends #3 – Small Format Cocktails

Experimentation and experience are key for consumers across the board and this is particularly relevant in bars.

Part of the tradition of visiting top cocktail bars is experimenting with new flavours, spirits and cocktails.

However, consumer habits are changing, with moderation and the macro economic burden on disposable income, which we are seeing globally.

The reality is – that consumers are now drinking fewer drinks in bars due to wanting to limit alcohol intake as well as keeping an eye on spending.

In America, one of the cocktail trends is for small-format cocktails, particularly martinis over the last few years which has been gathering pace.

The premise makes sense, allow adventurous customers to try 2 or 3 small format cocktails for the price of one regular serve.

This has multiple benefits including enhanced consumer experience via the opportunity for experimentation, martinis bordering on sessionable and driving consumers to try serves they might have otherwise avoided if full size.

Macchialinas in Miami offers martinis as full-sized serves and also 1.5oz small format martinis. Beverage director Jaqueline Pirolo told us about their small-format cocktail programme.

“Our Bambini-Tini program began with the idea of how I like to drink when I go out. I like to start with a cocktail and then try a few different styles of wine. But I wanted to drink more responsibly so I would often ask our bartender to make a baby martini, and then the name bambini-tin was born from there…We have been offering these options for about 4 years now and people love it!”

This is one of the cocktail trends that has been around for a while in the USA but the timing seems to be very right for more bars in the UK to start trialling mini cocktails on the menu.

Cocktail Trends #4 – Functional Ingredients In The On-Trade

Functional drinks are one of the major trends in retail right now across the UK and USA.

Consumer demand for products that support their health and wellness is on the rise, and many beverage brands are filling that need. According to NIQ’s 2023 Consumer Outlook, 46% of consumers identified physical or mental wellness as one of their top priorities.

We are pretty vocal here about the work that needs to go into the low and no category in the UK bar scene. The demand is there from consumers, but there is quite a prevalent apathy towards the category from bartenders…which needs to be overcome.

Non-alcoholic cocktails with functional ingredients have the potential to reinvigorate the interest of bartenders and serve consumer demand.

Bars across the USA are beginning to include functional cocktails in their beverage programmes, with Botanica, San Diego, and Death & Co listing Three Spirit across their portfolios.

USA bartender Grace Mestecky feels that functional cocktails are paving the way for those moderating or turning away from alcohol and give “another way for people to feel like they are not losing out on the bar experience and are getting their money’s worth”. Mestecky does caution though “If bars want to include ingredients that have a consciousness changing effect, they should employ the help of an educated specialist to help with dosing and education on how to approach serving these plants to patrons.”

Derek Brown, the former captain of some of the USA’s leading bars such as The Columbia Rooms told us that he believes functional beverages will start to be “embraced more readily” but feels “when it comes to functional beverages in the nightlife scene…we’re seeing gradual interest but it’s not quite a tidal wave yet”

The foundation seems to be in place for a growing trend for functional ingredients use in bars.

Cocktail Trends #5 – Savoury Cocktails

Savoury cocktails have been gaining prominence over the last few years and they are poised to become a much bigger deal in 2025.

Many of the top bars in London have savoury cocktails on their menus such as the Earth Martini at Three Sheets and Pearl from Nightjar.

But the momentum for savoury cocktails to start popping up in mainstream menus over the next 12 months is there.

It’s easy to see why savoury cocktails are gaining ground. For starters, there is a huge opportunity for experimentation and innovation for creative bartenders – the use of brines, spices and herbs plus a global larder of savoury ingredients to draw from.

We know our palates crave savoury flavours such as umami so cocktail menus offering more variety between savoury and sweet cocktails feels like a likely evolution.

Antonio Del Monte, Head of Bars at Park Chinois agrees with this conclusion “There’s a growing appreciation for savoury, umami flavours, especially as people become more adventurous with their palates. Ingredients like miso, seaweed, and tomato/tamarind water bring a new dimension to cocktails, catering to those looking for a more sophisticated, less sugar-forward drinking experience.”

With the moderation trend, consumers are looking for more experiences in their drinks and savoury cocktails can satisfy that. They also open the door for a subtrend in pairing the cocktails with bar snacks or bites.

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