BENGALURU: With Covid hitting the industry hard, lockdowns happening often enough, people are beginning to feel that they have to do everything differently, especially with the forced changes to the way things were. This has also percolated to their drinking habits and preferences.
Long gone are the times when consumers had no choice to choose the potency of their favourite cocktail in terms of the amount of various ingredients in it, especially the alcohol. With the global trend moving towards lower quantities of alcohol, more and more people are choosing to opt for cocktails with reduced alcohol. One of the primary reasons for this is, of course, the conscious lifestyle people are increasingly opting for.
Globally, not only are more and more outlets introducing low-alcohol cocktails, but even brands are venturing into this space. For example, we have introduced the concept of customising one’s cocktails, wherein the guest can choose the potency of their cocktail, ranging from mild to regular and strong. This has turned out to be quite popular, and in fact, we have seen a lot of guests who would have otherwise opted for a non-alcoholic drink now going for a mild cocktail. A lot of outlets are also reinventing classic cocktails as well as coming up with new innovations to woo the post pandemic customer. Some of these trends are:
Twists of cocktails are back with a futuristic approach. At our outlet, we have a separate cocktail category where classic recipes are given a twist to suit the modern taste of our guests.Use of fresh ingredients to bring about a variation in classics. For instance, seasonal fruits in margaritas, edible flowers, spices, and the like are being experimented with.
Change in presentation and appearance of the drink with different glassware, coloured ingredients and garnishes. With the pandemic allowing people to experiment with their drinks at home — with recipes available online and people adding their own creativity to the mix — bartenders are constantly experimenting with new flavours and addition of alcohol to traditional non-alcoholic beverages. Examples are Rasam vodka and Yelneer gin.