A new report reveals what brands are dominating menus at the country’s most influential cocktail bars.
With the world’s leading cocktail conference Tales of the Cocktail (TOTC) underway this week, BevAlc business intelligence agency Overproof has released its second annual report detailing the top-performing alcohol suppliers, brands, categories and cocktails among the top regional 2023 TOTC Spirited Awards nominees, one of the highest accolades in the spirits industry. The report extracts menu insights from 134 venues including nominees for best hotel, cocktail, and restaurant bars, as well as best new cocktail bar and bar team.
It’s no surprise the top five suppliers by “menu mentions” belong to the largest spirit groups: Beam Suntory, Pernod Ricard, Campari America, Diageo USA and Bacardi Limited. But Diageo USA, while featured in the top six across all categories, stood out on top in the best U.S. hotel bar category, showing a strategic alignment of Diageo’s products within the hotel industry.
A few brands outside of those portfolios also made top placements for the largest share in cocktail mentions on menus, including pioneering craft distiller St.George Spirits, Japanese whiskey Nikka, and Chartreuse.
“Chartreuse’s status as an herbal liquor and essential classic propels its upward trend in popularity,” said Nick Nistico, Overproof’s vice president of enterprise sales.
Bitters have emerged as another trend at the bars analyzed, which according to a mix of veteran bartenders, bar owners, historians, and writers are voted on as the best in the business.
“Influencer accounts predominantly feature more classic cocktails, which tend to incorporate bitters,” Nistico said.
Those findings highlight the rise of Campari America, which is the leading brand by venue presence found in 47% of venues and the leading supplier by venue presence, with the supplier’s brands found in 70% of bars. The red italian bitter may be gaining traction beyond craft cocktail establishments however: Campari earned triple-digit growth (153.6%), benefiting from “strong consumer demand” and price increases, according to the company’s Q1 earnings.
Angostura bitters also dominated as a modifier (4.2%) and a top brand mentioned across all menus (1.9%). The fact that Angostura dominates cocktail mentions is more of a testament to the brand’s standing, added Nistico.
Another herbal liqueur, Amaro, also gained twice as much popularity within the accounts surveyed, playing a significant role in boosting Campari’s prominence as both a supplier and brand, said Nistico. Amaro is the leading category accounting for 13.3% of all product mentions in cocktails. It is followed by gin and rum.
Traditional spirit categories like bourbon, scotch and tequila had a strong presence across all award categories. While bourbon tends to lead in most venue types, scotch makes a strong showing in hotel bars.
In bourbon, Maker’s Mark emerges as the leading brand by venue presence, found in 24.6% of the analyzed venues. The Beam Suntory-owned brand gained popularity and availability among the nominated establishments since tying for fourth place in last year’s analysis. Woodford Reserve follows with a venue presence of 22.5%. Wild Turkey, one of the leading brands in 2022’s report, dropped out of the top five brands by venue presence.
Among rum brands, Plantation and Bacardi show significant venue presence, with both found in 23% of venues. Among gin venue presence, Hendrick’s (27%) leads, closely followed by Tanqueray (25%). Beam Suntory’s El Tesoro is the dominant tequila brand in the 2023 nominations, with a venue presence of 24%, accounting for 9% of all tequila brand mentions and 10% of all tequila brand mentions in cocktails.
Comparison with 2022’s leading agave brands by venue presence shows some shake ups: Tequila Ocho dropped from the leading brand to the sixth position, Herradura moved from third to tenth, and Espolon went from fourth to seventh. Brands that entered the top five by venue presence include Patrón, Don Julio and Siete Leguas. In mezcal, while Pernod Ricard’s Del Maguey maintained its top position in venue presence over last year, the remaining top four brands saw some shifts. El Jolgorio jumped from fourth to second, while Montelobos and Mezcal Vago entered the list tied for third place. Meanwhile, Banhez and El Silencio fell out of the top five spots.