Stay Ahead of the Cocktail Boom with Pre-Mixed Cocktails
There’s no denying that the UK is experiencing a cocktail boom - 2019 to 2022 saw a 300% increase in cocktail consumption. But what’s driving the increase?
Cast your minds back just over a decade and the latest trend in the spirits category was emerging: Gin. With new brands and flavours emerging almost weekly, the traditional and first-time gin drinker couldn’t get enough of the variety and complexity that was readily available. Bars, restaurants and pubs started to label entire sections of their bar as ‘The Gin Bar’ with more bottles of gin than all other spirits combined. Drinks menus were accompanied by dedicated gin menus, describing each gin in detail and even suggesting the perfect mixer and garnish combination. If we compare that to what we’re seeing now with cocktails, there’s a massive resemblance. In the same time period of the cocktail boom, Gin sales have declined and so it’s clear to see that cocktails are filling this gap.
Like gin, cocktails were once a boring and simple tipple. Many were merely more than a mixture of a single spirit (or two) and a dash of sugar. But with an influx of flavoured liqueurs, syrups, bitters and juices readily available to bars, there’s a new lease of life on the cocktail scene. Wild and extravagant flavours, smells and textures never seen before in an alcoholic beverage are now possible. These new premium and exciting creations are encouraging cocktail sales and it’s certainly here to stay. 62% of consumers now believe it is important that pubs serve cocktails.
It's obvious that there are great benefits to serving cocktails. With bar prices ranging from £8 to as high as £18 per cocktail, it’s clear that they’re pulling in greater margins and profit than any other commonly served drink. But that doesn’t come without their drawbacks. Unlike gin, it’s not as simple as buying a few new products, putting them on the back bar and getting a menu printed. You need a full front-of-house kitchen style team: Someone to create your own menu, recipes and train staff accordingly - over and over again every time a new member of staff joins (which anyone in the hospitality industry knows is more often than they’d like). Couple this with the need for more bartenders to attempt to control the increased waiting time on drinks and that tasty profit margin is starting to look less appetising.
Enter pre-mixed cocktails. As the name suggests there’s no mixing involved, just like any other drink. Simply pour (shake) and serve. That means no recipe creating, no training, no mess, no juices going out of date or spirits being overpoured. No stress… Pre-mixed cocktails are the perfect solution to quickly and easily jump on this rapidly growing and crucial trend.
You’re not convinced by pre-mixed cocktails you say? Well, you wouldn’t be alone and it’s only fair that you and so many others have this opinion. The pre-mixed cocktail name has been tarnished by creators of alcopops calling their products ‘cocktails’ in an attempt to drive sales. When you imagine a pre-mixed cocktail, you think of the artificially tasting, poor quality, low ABV products you find on a supermarket shelf. These are definitely not cocktails and you do not want to be serving these to your customers. Even some of the draught and bottled products on the market are not what they claim to be, so it’s hard to put such a huge amount of trust into a product that carries so much responsibility.
But fear not. Brands such as Cocktails At Home offer premium, authentic pre-mixed bottled cocktails that are created using only premium branded spirits and fresh ingredients. This ensures a perfect cocktail every time that tastes as good as - if not better than - a traditional cocktail, in a fraction of the time. With the UK’s largest range on offer, you can choose from over 55 multi-award-winning cocktails and mocktails to curate your own unique menu. To view the range visit www.cocktailsathomeuk.com/page/trade or get in touch at hello@cocktailsathomeuk.com
- George Greenhalgh, Managing Director of Cocktails At Home UK
If you’d like to learn more about pre-mixed cocktails you can find Cocktails At Home UK on stand A22 at the Trade Drinks Expo Oct 10-11th. George will also be leading a talk on pre-mixed cocktails at 2:00pm Oct 11th in Seminar Theatre 7.
