Top cocktails of the summer

Margaritas top choice in on-premise consumption

With most of the leaves now on the ground instead of on the trees, it might seem a little out of place to be talking about summer, but Newton, Mass.-based Restaurant Sciences LLC is keeping the summer season on our brains.

Last month, the independent firm identified the Top 10 adult beverage concoctions of the summer. After analyzing 50 million cocktail spirits purchases at bars, restaurants, nightclubs, sports venues, and recreation/leisure facilities from June through August, Restaurant Sciences found that Margaritas topped the list with 20.5 percent of the market share for the foodservice industry.

“Margaritas were the clear-cut adult beverage concoction winner throughout the 2013 summer season,” said Chuck Ellis, chief executive officer and president of Restaurant Sciences, in a statement. “Margaritas’ versatility and extensive flavor variety held more appeal for consumers over multi-spirit iced teas and martinis.”

Iced teas with multi-spirits were second with 8.8 percent share of the segment, and martinis grabbed the third spot with 6.9 percent share, it added. Rounding out the Top 5 were frozen/blended drinks (non-Margarita) and mojitos, both of which had just shy of 3 percent share.

The market research firm did note that shot and mixer concoctions known as highballs, like gin-and-tonic or rum-and-cola, were not included in the ranking, but that the large and diverse group outsells all of the listed adult-beverage concoctions.

However, the changing of the seasons has allowed for fall-inspired options. According to the recent Seasonal Strategies micro-report on Technomic’s online Digital Resource Information Knowledgebase (DRINK) database, cranberry, caramel, apple and pumpkin are among the flavors of vodkas that are inspiring seasonal cocktails this fall.

“Flavored vodka is a fast-growth spirits segment, and there are plenty of seasonal offerings coming to market that can inspire bartenders or at-home mixologists this fall,” said Donna Hood Crecca, senior director for Chicago-based Technomic, in a statement.

Promoting mixology at home, multichannel specialty retailer and product development company Brookstone recently introduced its Perfect Drink App-Controlled Smart Bartending system. The Perfect Drink smart scale and free app system contains hundreds of drink recipes and guides home bartenders with real-time pouring instructions, the company says. The system includes a smart scale, a 750-ml stainless steel shaker, two drink pouring spouts, a 3.5-mm cable, and a smartphone/tablet stand. It also can accommodate different serving sizes and senses the “perfect pour” by alerting users when to stop; or, it compensates for over-pouring by instantly re-adjusting the other ingredients, it adds.

Whether they’re at home or out on the town, consumers can enjoy their cocktails and all the creativity that goes along with them.

Jessica Jacobsen, editor of Beverage Industry, visits a range of beverage companies for cover stories and facility tours, represents the magazine at trade shows and industry events, and works with the Beverage Industry team to determine the content and direction of the magazine and its online components. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from Marquette University.

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