America’s number one cocktail is… still number one.
The margarita retained a fifth of all cocktail sales on-premise in the last quarter of 2023, followed in popularity by the martini and Moscow mule, according to new data released by CGA from NIQ. Cocktails such as the spritz, Negroni and espresso martini moved up the list, while the Manhattan, bloody mary and lemon drop lost share.
Mai tais were in-demand, too: the classic rum cocktail brought in the highest average selling price in Q4 2023, ahead of the Negroni, espresso martini, old fashioned and Manhattan.
Drinkers continue to shift towards tequila-based cocktails, with the agave spirit taking 34.1% share of cocktail base sales by value, up by 1.8% year-over-year and at the expense of vodka, which saw share fall by 1.3% points to 28.2%. Wine-based cocktails also increased share to 6.8% and are now more valuable than rum-based cocktails.
Overall, cocktail sales velocity went up 5% compared to the same period in 2022, and the average price of a cocktail was $13, up by $1.
Nevada came in as the most lucrative state for cocktails, with the average outlet selling over twice the number compared to the national average. Other high-value states include the District of Columbia, California, and Kansas.
Recent Weeks Trends Steady
Trends in the on-premise in recent weeks have been steady, with sales velocity up +3% in the week ending March 30 followed by +7% the prior week. The latest week’s dip is due to a decrease in ticket count (+5% versus +10% the week prior) and check value (-2%). Key states (California, New York, Texas and Florida) are either flat or negative in the week to March 23, with New York experiencing the largest decline (-12%).
In the past month, four in five consumers have visited the on-premise to eat while around half have visited for a drink, and consumers intend to keep those same figures over the next month.