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Feature
Global Bar Report 2024: North America
Drinkers in North America are turning their backs on pared-back clarified serves, instead favouring a riot of colour and experiences when they go out.
*This feature was originally published in the November 2024 issue of The Spirits Business magazine.
Despite 2024 feeling like a year that has barrelled past like a train skipping a station, there are still plenty of trends for North America to sip on – especially with the hurdles of the Covid-19 pandemic becoming a speck of dust in the rearview.
Inflation has finally shown signs of abating as the annual rate in the US in September 2024 slowed for a sixth consecutive month to 2.4%, the lowest since February 2021. In Canada, the annual rate also fell to its lowest since February 2021, and Mexico is seeing similar trends with inflation, despite having higher rates overall.
It’s a sliver of promise for North America where, in 2023, the rising costs of goods and living meant increased menu prices at a time when consumers had less disposable income. But in the US, there’s even greater hope, as economists have discovered real wages for a typical American worker today are higher than they were before the pandemic, and are growing at about the pre-pandemic rate. Whether this is enough to quell worries about less predictable economic factors such as persistent geopolitical tensions, high interest rates, and the impending US presidential election, it’s too early to tell.
In Canada, however, drinks content creator Brenton Mowforth notes “bars in Toronto are focusing on bringing the price of cocktails down to create more accessibility in a time of economic stress”. Mowforth says more bars are leaning on batched and on-tap cocktails – both of which increase the speed of service, which correlates to an increase in revenue, offsetting profit losses from lower menu prices. The opposite seems to be happening in New York City and other major US cities, where the average price of a cocktail, before gratuity, is around US$20. Cocktail lovers feeling the pinch can only hope that American bars follow in the footsteps of their neighbours to the north.
Escapism and maximalism
It’s no longer news that consumers are drinking less, but when they do drink, they’re consuming better-quality products – and spending less overall – particularly in the US.
But this behaviour also reflects the types of bars consumers spend money at, with drinkers caring about more than just the drinks. “The era of reverence towards just the drink in the glass is passing, and consumers are turning towards venues focused on design, aesthetic, and inclusion,” says Chris Moore, head of bars at The Ned NoMad. It’s a sentiment shared by Jim Wrigley, beverage manager of Library by the Sea at the Kimpton Seafire Hotel + Spa in Grand Cayman, who sees a growing demand for “immersive and experiential beverage programmes or venues”, where entertainment and escapism are also part of the bar experience. “Secret rooms, performance art, musical numbers, disruptive menu formatting or just out-there inspirations for menus and drinks are becoming the norm, rather than the exception,” says Wrigley. “These can be linked to fashion, culinary or visual arts and offer a 360° holistic approach to a concept, which is at times removed from the traditional bar and service style.”
Bars such as the new Outline in Mexico City, where music and streetwear fashion are at the heart of the brand, and jazzy cocktail venue Midnight Blue in New York City, opened by the team behind Martiny’s, are examples of venues that are giving more to guests than just well-crafted cocktails.
In a similar vein, the types of drinks being served at many of the world’s most influential bars are shifting away from clarified and minimalist, and towards maximalist, playful, nostalgic, and even miniature cocktails – the latter becoming an increasingly popular alternative to low-ABV drinking, giving consumers all the flavour without the overindulgence. While Moore believes this turning of the tides is partially due to the TikTok generation wanting visually appealing cocktails to capture for their audiences, these cocktails also allow bars to express more personality in their serves, differentiating themselves from their competitors in an oversaturated industry.
What’s next is a lot more of the same as the economy continues to rebound. But Wrigley says one of the more significant changes guests can expect in bars is better integration of sustainable and low-and-no options. In essence, ‘mocktail’ sections on menus will start disappearing, and bars won’t be as forward about their low-waste practices, as both become the norm rather than a trend. For the first time since before the pandemic, the vital signs of the bar industry in North America are looking relatively healthy. Time will tell if the trajectory continues upward.
Bars to watch in 2025
Clemente Bar, New York City, US
Daniel Humm’s Eleven Madison Park requires little introduction, but now the restaurant’s beverage team have their own space, Clemente Bar, where drinks take centre stage. The bar is a collaboration between Humm and neo-expressionist artist Francesco Clemente, with the menu created by beverage director Sebastian Tollius and bar manager Richie Millwater. Drinks blend novel spirits with plant-based ingredients, such as in the Three Boxes, which features Angel’s Envy whiskey infused with nutty pandan, and blended with tahini-washed Cardamaro and Dolin Blanc, which has been infused with house-fermented cacao and allspice miso – just one example of many culinary cocktails served at the bar.
Schmuck, New York City, US
If its 2023 residency at New York City’s Backbar at Kimpton Hotel Eventi was any inkling of the success Schmuck will experience in its Lower East Side home, the city might just have another blockbuster opening on its hands come late 2024.
Co-founded by Moe Aljaff and Juliette Laroui, the bar – the duo’s first since splitting ways with Barcelona’s Two Schmucks – is poised to have the irreverent five-star divebar soul of their former venture, with a slightly “more grown-up” feel, as Aljaff has said to anyone who asks. With Laroui in the engine of the Schmuck cocktail-making machine, expect cheese-infused cocktails and serves inspired by the duo’s food memories.
Outline, Mexico City, Mexico
When Maura and Alex Lawrence Milia announced they were departing London’s Connaught Bar and Mr Lyan respectively in 2023 to open an array of bar concepts in Mexico City with Walter Meyenberg (owner of Hanky Panky and Brujas), the bar world took notice. Outline embraces vibrant music, streetwear fashion, and local culture, with speedy service, courtesy of the bar’s 30 draft cocktails.
The Funktion sound system and resident DJ set an upbeat rhythm, and a collaboration with Tony Delfino, a Mexican streetwear brand comprised of a collective of graphic designers, visual artists, and ‘graffiteros’, makes Outline as much a brand as it is a bar.
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