Looking forward to the cocktail and spirits trends of 2010, we shouldn't expect a watershed year of brand new concepts. Instead, I predict trends that have been lurking just beneath the surface will emerge. Look for classic cocktails, simplicity and just a little South American exotic inspiration.

The arrival of vermouth

I'm going to go ahead and call this one: Vermouth is due. Classically minded bartenders have long been advocating for a properly significant dosage of vermouth in the martini, hence the fifty-fifty cocktail at the Pegu Club in Manhattan (half gin, half vermouth). But the vermouth category itself is one that has enjoyed precious little excitement for decades. This is not because the hip bartender crowd is not ready to embrace it. When it first came out in 1999 they gladly took up Vya, the first artisanal American vermouth to appear in generations. And last year, venerable spirits importer Haus Alpenz began bringing in Dolin, a high-quality French vermouth that had been out of the market for years. Bartenders were noticeably excited about that too. Just now, Sutton Cellars, a small San Francisco-based winery has begun to release a dry vermouth that's eagerly being put to work in its hometown. My prediction: More vermouth will be on its way. It's too useful in cocktails and too delicious to drink on the rocks to fly so stealthily under the radar.

The acceptance of vodka

Not by the masses, who already make vodka the world's No. 1. Rather, the acceptance of vodka by snooty barmen. I don’t have any concrete examples to predict this, but I just see it happening on the street. Mixologists who have sneered at vodka for years and scowled at customers who ask for it are beginning to soften up. They're not demeaning customers who like it anymore, and perhaps they're even starting to take interest. Perhaps they're tired of the unwinnable war against vodka. Or perhaps there are enough other spirits on the market these days to satisfy them, so they're willing to give that flavorless, odorless favorite a chance.

The ascendance of mezcal

No doubt that tequila's still cool, but now there's a challenger to the agave throne. Some insiders have been drinking artisanal mezcal for years, but the secret is finally spreading. Good mezcal is almost always smoother, more complex, more exotic and more delicious than even the best tequilas. I see this trend really picking up in 2010. People are asking for it at bars more than ever (as confirmed by my own experience and the reports of other bartenders). There are also new mezcal-promoting venues such as Mayahuel, an excellent bar in Manhattan, and Las Perlas, set to open in Los Angeles in 2010. The Los Angeles Times magazine wrote about Del Maguey mescal in November. And, finally, rare and beautiful new brands are beginning to proliferate -- bottled directly from the ancient stills of the artisanal distillers in the mountains of Oaxaca. Boutique mezcals such as Del Maguey are complex, a touch expensive and at times difficult for some to understand, but for the craftsmanship and beauty you get for $60 to $80, it's one of the best deals going.

A return to simpler cocktails

As a nation, we’ve been through many cocktail evolutions in the last decade or so, sprouting from simple amoeba into complex life form in slightly more than 10 years. I think for some palates -- mine included -- things have gotten a bit too precious, too difficult and too complicated. More often than not, drinkers don't want a six-ingredient drink that takes five minutes to make; they want a three-ingredient drink that takes two minutes to make. I think that while we’ll continue to see creativity in drinks, it will become creativity with an economy of style of concept.

The rise of pisco

Along with mezcal, get ready for your new hot spirit of the next decade. The Peruvian/Chilean staple is made from grapes, though different ones from cognac, and is not aged in wood. It's a clear, clean, bright, floral delicious spirit that's a blockbuster when paired with citrus, bitters and even vermouth. The pisco sour cocktail is already a rising star in many bars, so expect this to continue to penetrate the mainstream. And look out for more wonderful pisco concoctions to follow.

---

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites

Comments (0)

Write comment

Show/Hide comment form