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Coming attractions: cocktail trends for 2025

We look forward to the cocktail trends that could be making it big in the world of bars and hospitality next year.

cocktail trends in art deco style. Elegant party with drink and some bit.
Here are the cocktail trends that we think could be the next big thing

It’s been a difficult year for many in the on-trade, but the bar industry never stands still. Each year, fresh trends emerge, bringing with them the promise of creativity and innovation that can redefine the way we connect over drinks.

Here are the trends we think are poised to shape the industry in the coming year – what could be the next big thing behind the bar, on the floor, and beyond?


Sound idea

Black Lacquer, London
Black Lacquer, London

Music and drinks are hardly a fresh combination, but this year we’ve noticed a few bars taking it to a new level by embracing the Japanese ‘kissa’ concept.

These venues are listening bars or cafés, where guests can come specifically to enjoy some music, with the drinks secondary. New openings this year include London’s Black Lacquer (pictured), which hopes to give an equal spotlight to the drinks and the music.

London’s Nipperkin has also made a musical move this year, with guests able to choose from a growing selection of vinyl. And it’s not just London – Bobby Carey of Proof Creative, which has worked with bars including Virtù in Tokyo and Atlas in Singapore, says listening bars are his “number-one trend” for next year, with his consultancy working on four new openings in Asia alone.

He gives a caveat that these new global versions aren’t quite faithful to the original concept, where the music is selected by the bar, and conversations and photography are banned: “You sit there and you just listen.”


The Ides of Starch

Rice on wooden plank

We try to avoid it, but sometimes we find ourselves digging into cocktail trends on TikTok. While many are questionable, this year we stumbled across creators putting uncooked rice in their cocktails. The idea is that the starch adds texture and improves the mouthfeel of a drink – a similar concept to milk clarification, which is a common mixology technique. Brooklyn bar Leyenda is one venue leading the trend, with rice featuring in its Negroni riff, the Solo Contigo.

“I wanted to accentuate the underlying roasted cacao notes in Planteray’s Cut & Dry while coupled with the richness of Diplomático Reserva Exclusiva by adding toasted sushi rice,” says head bartender Janice Bailon. “Sushi rice tends to soften a cocktail when stirred in, but in this case we’ve toasted the rice as well to increase the toasted feeling.”

The idea can go beyond rice – Marc Vetri’s restaurant, Fiorella, in Philadelphia has created a Dirty Pasta Water Martini.


The end of the rotary club?

Closeup of a hand of woman scientist operating a rotary evaporator to make an experiment in the laboratory

Is the rotovap dead? Almost certainly not, but our reverence for it could be fading. “When I moved to Singapore six years ago, people wouldn’t shut up about their rotovaps,” says Proof Creative’s Bobby Carey. “People just wouldn’t stop talking about it – but it’s very rare to see one anywhere now, and people don’t really reference it any more. The devil is really in the details of the drink itself.” London’s Swift bars have an “unwavering commitment to classic-style cocktails in the face of growing rotovaps”, according to its managing director Coral Anderson.

Given the current global economic challenges, these days guests want to make sure what they’re drinking is going to be delicious – which is more easily proven by a menu that explains flavours and taste profiles rather than scientific techniques. Plus, this level of lab equipment is a huge expense for new bar openings – one that many can’t justify in today’s climate.


The Dirty Martini gets filthy

Silverleaf Cucumber Caviar Martini
Silverleaf’s Cucumber Caviar Martini

The Dirty Martini dates to around 1901, with its popularity waxing and waning throughout the decades. It’s currently in the ascendant, if our drinking pals are anything to go by, but we’re also seeing a growing number of twists on the savoury serve.

In London, Silverleaf recently debuted a Caviar Martini, while the newly opened Muse at RSA House, just off The Strand, has opted for a luxurious truffle version. Moebius Milan sticks to its Italian roots with a Pesto Martini, while Proof Creative’s Carey is working with the “grande-dame of Peranakan cooking”, Violet Oon, on a new opening in Singapore next year, with a Martini featuring a traditional Peranakan ingredient – either the buah keluak nut or the candlenut.

Can any strongly flavoured, divisive ingredient make a Dirty Martini? Is a Marmite Martini on the cards? On the other end of the flavour scale, we’ve also noticed 90s favourite the Lychee Martini is making a comeback. Pick your poison: sweet or savoury.


Room service

Mirror Bar, Bratislava =- cocktail trends
Mirror Bar, Bratislava

It used to be the case that hotels were producing some of the best-quality cocktails in major cities around the world – but given rising standards for mixology, do they still hold an allure? The World’s 50 Best Bars list didn’t feature a single hotel bar in its top 10 this year, with the Connaught Bar taking the 13th spot, down from fifth in 2023.

“There’s a huge spin in bars – especially hotel bars – trying to make themselves more open to the general public and losing that sense of stiffness,” explains Carey. He points to his work with the Four Seasons hotel brand, which allows him to create spaces that are “highly interactive” for all guests.

Already mentioned in this piece are London’s Silverleaf and Black Lacquer – two hotel bars that are distancing themselves from the hotel, and making a brand for themselves; another is Mirror Bar in Bratislava (pictured), which hosts its own hospitality expo each year, independent from its Radisson Blu Carlton Hotel home.

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