Cocktails are back! Nineties nostalgia fuels demand for fancy drinks as spirits maker says one in five pubgoers now prefers them
- Cocktails are the drink of choice for 20 per cent of pub goers, statistics show
- Sex And The City inspired drinks – including the Cosmopolitan – are popular
- Read more: Do spirits with a quarter of the alcohol taste just as good?
They were the image of 1990s glamour, when no night – or outfit – was complete without a Cosmopolitan or dirty martini.
So it’s no wonder we’d all like to emulate the stars of Sex and the City – by reviving their cocktail culture in the 2020s.
Demand for cocktails is soaring, with one in five pubgoers now ordering the spirit-based drink, according to the world’s largest spirits maker Diageo.
The company put the trend down to nostalgic Britons having a taste for Nineties culture, and said the Cosmopolitan – the cranberry-vodka drink favoured by Sex and the City’s Carrie Bradshaw and her friends – is still popular today.
Demand for cocktails is soaring, with one in five pubgoers now ordering the spirit-based drink (file image)
The UK’s most popular cocktail is the passionfruit – or pornstar – martini, according to drinks giant Diageo. Sarah Jessica Parker as Carrie Bradshaw in Sex And The City
Guinness has proved that good things really do come to those who wait – by becoming the best-selling beer in British pubs for the first time.
The Irish stout pipped Carling lager as the number one pint this winter, owner Diageo said.
Sales were boosted by the World Cup while the upcoming Six Nations rugby championship is likely to give Guinness, founded in 1759, a further lift.
Price increases on pints have also pushed up revenues. However, rival Carling pointed out that while Guinness was ahead of its lager in terms of value of sales, a greater volume of Carling – the best-selling beer since 2017 – was sold over the four-week period to December 3.
But the UK’s most popular cocktail is the passionfruit – or pornstar – martini, made with vanilla-flavoured vodka, passion fruit puree and a shot of prosecco, according to the drinks giant.
It was invented in the West End in the early 2000s by London mixologist Douglas Ankrah, and Nightcap cocktail chain boss Sarah Willingham said it is the most popular drink at her bars ‘by a mile’.
‘People now know a good cocktail from a bad cocktail,’ Miss Willingham said. She added that customers may be keeping a close eye on their spending during the cost of living crunch and ‘might only be going out once or twice a week’.
But they want to ensure what they are paying for guarantees a good night out, the former Dragon’s Den star said.
Espresso martinis – made with coffee liqueur and vodka – and retro Pina Coladas are also proving a hit, Diageo said.
It is thought the popularity of cocktails surged when Britons started making them at home during lockdown, having more time, patience and disposable income on their hands.
Stay-at-home drinkers also helped boost a ‘ginaissance’ a few years ago, but it seems enthusiasm for vodka has now taken over.
Six out of ten cocktails in the UK are now vodka-based, according to Diageo, which said Brits had shunned gin in recent months.
The Cosmopolitan – the cranberry-vodka drink favoured by Sex and the City’s Carrie Bradshaw and her friends – is still popular today
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