7 Cocktail and Drink Trends For 2021
Smartblend drink and cocktails trend predictions for 2021
2020 is finally over with. About goddamn time as well if you ask me. After a year of absolute torture on our hospitality industry, looking forward to 2021 is a much needed breath of fresh air.
So let’s raise a glass to putting 2020 behind us and moving on forward with a prosperous 2021
In the spirit of moving forward let’s look into the predicted drink trends of 2021. We have some familiar trends that have been making their mark on the drinks industry for the last few years as well as some new predictions. So let’s jump into the list.
1) Natural wine
Natural wine has arguably been the biggest wine movement since “the Sideways effect” brought Pinot Noir to the masses at the expense and demise of Merlot. “I am NOT drinking any f****** merlot!"
Natural wine has seemingly gone from wine myth to wine must have.
Trends from the last three years are following the same pathway of mindful drinking. From 2018 when everyone was concerned with sustainability and the eco impact of their drink, to 2019 when low ABV and non alcoholic cocktails were the focus we will forget the drink trends of 2020, I'm pretending that year didn’t happen. To this year when mindful drinking is now in full force.
As mindful drinking reigns over drinking trends so do the sub categories of mindful drinking. Which natural wine is in.
I reached out to fellow drink enthusiasts and expert natural wine blogger Eoghan Neburagho of natural swill to get his view on why natural wine is taking off. This is what he had to say about it…
“Drinking natural wine is an ethical, clean alternative to any other wine on the market.
It isn’t everywhere just yet, but you can feel and blatantly see it’s steady rise into vogue. Natural wine has a background of minimal human intervention during the winemaking process, no help from chemicals or additives and no stripping the wine of its integrity by mass filtration or fining.
Natural wine has nothing added to it and nothing taken away from it
The vineyard is where every wine starts its journey to greatness. Natural wine must be made from organic or biodynamic hand-picked grapes that grow on healthy, tended to vines. In the cellar, those hand-picked grapes are crushed or de-stemmed by hand and then transferred into the producer’s aging vessel of choice where they rely on native yeasts from the vineyard and cellar to help start the fermentation.
Natural wine is a raw, living product.
It’s also one of the ‘healthiest’ alcoholic options out there - made by an honest winemaker, from just grapes, an ageing vessel, and of course, a few hundred glass bottles to live in.
I repeat, just grapes.
And maybe a dash of sulphur before bottling to ensure a safe and simple journey without the wine oxidising in-bottle when travelling from the winemaker’s cellar in Spain to your local wine shop.
The reason you’re hearing and seeing more and more about natural wine in 2020 is as a result of this disaster year we’ve just endured, people are starting to really give a shit about what they’re putting in their bodies; It’s not about price-point anymore, less people care about searching for the cheapest, booziest bottle of wine they can find. I also believe that it’s becoming fashionable to slow down and invest in the finer things of life i.e. great quality wine, and spending meaningful time with our loved ones. If there’s one thing this pandemic has taught us all - it’s that we have been moving way too fast in life, and that it’s time to slow down and enjoy the simpler things while we can!”
You can read more about natural wine over on Eoghans blog natural swill. or check out his Instagram where we regularly updates it with natural wine facts and suggestions at @naturalswill
2) Mindful Drinking
Of course I couldn’t talk about drink trends and natural wine without mentioning mindful drinking. Mindful drinking is a trend that has been gaining popularity for the last few years and I predict will just keep on growing throughout 2021.
I wouldn’t be surprised if mindful drinking will dominate the industry by the year's end.
But what is mindful drinking you ask? Mindful drinking is the practise of, well, being more mindful with your drinking. From thinking about the reasons why you drink, to cutting down and drinking more lo/no ABV drinks all the way to the sustainability, health, wellness and eco-friendliness of a drink.
How is mindful drinking taking off?
Major brands with massive industry market control are making it their main focus to become more sustainable and eco-friendly.
More and more zero abv and sober conscious brands are popping up and with each and every new zero proof brand, the market has more diversity and choice.
People just seem to care more nowadays. People are really starting to care about their bodies and health. So the health aspect and wellness of a drink has big public appeal right now.
Looking for mindful drinking resources?
Mindful drinking is something that I care deeply for. And with that, I have created many resources for mindful drinking which will be a Smartblend focus going forward. Check out some of my current mindful drinking resources below;
You can also check out my Mindful drinking platform on Instagram which you can find at @mindful_mixologist
3) Minimalism & accessibility
Simplicity is what the consumer wants and simplicity is what the people will get. Gone are the days of unheard of cocktail ingredients and extravagant garnishing. What people really want is minimalism - flavour focused cocktails.
2020 has had a big impact on this very trend. With all our bars and restaurants shut down, amateur cocktail enthusiasts worldwide have taken to making their own cocktails at home. This has driven consumer knowledge for the cocktail world.
With that, once and hopefully when the world goes back to normal and we get to return to bars. We will be seeking flavours and cocktails that we can perhaps recreate at home.
Meaning the simplicity of the drink and accessibility becomes a big CTA on ordering a cocktail.
If it has ingredients you can easily pick up in the supermarket, and you love the drink, then you have a chance to recreate it or something similar at home. You have no chance of doing that if you can’t even pronounce the ingredients used or if you need to invest in your own £3000 steam distillation apparatus and rotary evaporator to make it.
4) Bottled cocktails
This is yet another trend led by the closure of bars and restaurants. No bars being open means if we want a good cocktail we have to make it ourselves. But sometimes we just can’t achieve that high quality feel.
So what do people do? Well they buy high quality bottled cocktails of course!
This has been such a popular and in-demand category during lockdown that it’s not just going to die off once bars open. There's two ways to look at this category…
Firstly - Once bars reopen fully and safely, consumers return to their favourite waterholes and bottled cocktails drop in popularity.
Or - Bars reopen, people return to drinking in their favourite bars and still purchase bottled cocktails for home-drinking. Bars that reopen also start selling their own bottled cocktails so when you’re out on the lash and last orders are called, instead of heading down to your local 24hr Spa for a 4 pack of Stella you instead pick up a few bottled cocktails from the bar you’re already in.
I predict the latter will be the way forward…
5) Locality
One good thing that has come from 2020 is people supporting their local businesses. We have seen so much love and support for our neighbours this year that it almost brings a tear to my eye.
Which is something I believe and hope will continue through 2020. With cocktails, this means using local brands and locally grown produce. Which also happens to be well inline with mindful drinking.
Cocktails will see locality through every aspect, not just from the ingredients. This also includes the glassware used, the garnishing and even the names.
It also means brands will have more of a focus on community to create long lasting relationships rather than just mass control.
The way it is now, is that in every bar across the country the same house pours are seen time and time again, the same gins, the same vodkas, the same mixers and sodas. However, the way things are going each city will change in order to support locality. When you visit liverpool the most popular gin will be a liverpool based gin, Manchester will be completely different with a Manchester based gin.
6) The rise of Cremant
In past years the sparkling wine category has been a market leader fight between Champagne and Prosecco but today we are seeing more and more Cremant propping up.
Bars are using Cremant more in order to save a bit of cash instead of forking out on expensive champagnes. Which is leading consumers to learn and love more about this sparkling delight which is Cremant.
It just makes sense.
Cremant is delicious
Cremant is cheaper then its conrad Champagne
Cremant has history
Finally, it's just fun to say cremant.
To learn more about Cremant check out my Ultimate Cremant guide here
7) Tepache
Tepache is a Mexican fermented soda. Something which is lightly sparkling and massively delicious. It’s easier to make than kombucha, it’s tasty and it’s sustainable back at it with mindful drinking.
About two years ago I was raving about Tepache. It’s something that is very popular in Mexico but not so popular anywhere else. No one around here in the UK had seemed to have heard about it. I thought that for sure it was going to be the next big trend.
Fermented drinks started to get a name for themselves. I thought right, it’s time for tepache to shine. All my drink predictions where tepache tepache tepache. And what happened? Kombucha started trending. Suddenly everyone was making, drinking and talking about kombucha, the distant cousin of tepache. I HADN’T EVEN HEARD OF KOMBUCHA.
I was so close with my prediction and yet so far.
However… Tepache is still easier to make the kombucha and more sustainable. So I STILL think it’s going to take off and with mindful drinking being so big now, and kombucha pushing the fermented soda category into the limelight. I strongly believe that this could finally be the year when tepache starts trending.