- Low alcohol cocktails:
Growing health awareness is driving demand for low-alcohol cocktails that are as delicious and sophisticated as traditional cocktails. Whether due to lifestyle or various limitations, the trend of lower alcohol cocktails has established itself among consumers.
Sebas García, Creative Director of Nobel Bar explains, “the ideal cocktails for summer are those with a slightly lower alcohol content. People try to choose cocktails that are much more refreshing, that have a vermouth base, and that are accompanied by a soda, a tonic or a natural juice. This allows you to drink more for longer periods of time. A clear example would be Campari Tonic.”
Always versatile, Campari in its Tonic version is an easier drink to drink than others. A cocktail with personality, but suitable for many palates, and its touch of tonic is neutral, it does not hide or alter the flavor of Campari with its touches of fruits, herbs and spices, together with the refreshing power of ice. A simple recipe that combines 1 part Campari, 1 part Tonic, 1 wheel of lemon and a lot of ice in a large rock.
- Seasonal and reusable ingredients:
It is essential to distinguish and make use of seasonal products that can make a difference in the creation of cocktails. Argentina, for example, has very marked seasons of the year, which allows you to take advantage of the best fruits and vegetables at different times. As Sebas García explains, “there are certain fruits, such as strawberries, that in summer have a lot of color, acidity, a slight sweetness and are very different from winter strawberries. Therefore, informing yourself and knowing about these characteristics is essential to understand which fruit is at its best. In this way, it is possible to take advantage, for example, of the natural sweetness of some products and avoid the addition of sugar in certain preparations.”
The same happens with passion fruit, which, although it is a short-cycle fruit tree, is planted in September and you can have fruit during the summer, where drinks with this ingredient take center stage.
Seba García El Cantinero’s proposal for summer 2024:
SUMMER GARDEN
Ingredients:
- 30 ml Blanco Tequila (José Cuervo)
- 30ml Campari
- 30 ml Lemon Juice
- 22 ml Passion fruit
- 22 ml Lychee Syrup & Basil leaves. Garnish: Lime Wedge.
Preparation:
- Place the ingredients in an Old Fashioned or Whiskey Glass.
- Integrate with a swizzle.
- Add lots of crushed ice.
- Decorate and enjoy!
- Innovative preparation techniques:
Bartenders are constantly exploring new preparation techniques to create more sophisticated cocktails. For example, molecular cocktails that use techniques such as freeze-drying, foaming, liquefaction or clarifications to create cocktails with distinctive textures and flavors.
Flavia Arroyo, bartender at Casa Cavia, distinguishes two methods that are positioned as a trend in this summer 2024: “On the one hand, clarification that allows the balance of flavors. This type of technique allows you to make light cocktails, which can be drunk in larger quantities, and in most cases they are usually fresh, dry and fruity cocktails.
And on the other, the carbonated, which is being used more and more, and which is already seen in Argentina and even more in other parts of the world through the taps located in bars, where the cocktails are served directly from there,” Explain.
Flavia Arroyo’s proposal for summer 2024:
Flavia Arroyo.jpg
RED WILD
Ingredients:
- Campari 15ml
- Aperol 15ml
- Frangelico 5ml
- Coconut milk 30ml
- Lime juice 15ml
- Pear cider 45ml
- fresh lime zest
Step by Step:
- Place whole ice in a long drink glass, cool the glass and eliminate the water generated with the help of a strainer.
- Add the Campari + Aperol + Frangelico, with a spoon refresh the drinks
- Add more ice, add coconut milk + lime juice + pear cider
- Mix without stirring too much so as not to eliminate the bubbles in the cider. Just to unify the ingredients
- Finish the cocktail with crushed ice
- Using a small grater, add the fresh lime zest to the crushed ice.
- New moments of consumption: aperitif and afternoon
There are consumption habits that are here to stay: more and more alcohol is consumed during the day, and precisely those times call for different drinks, with a lower alcohol content or even with a higher degree of sweetness, depending on tastes: the schedule changes the type of drink consumed.
Likewise, in the afternoons with friends, jugs made to share can become protagonists. “I think it’s good to think about these cocktails that not only can be made for one person, but can also be made in jugs or punch bowls from the festive side and where they can be shared. What’s good about this, above all things, is thinking about cocktails with moments,” he explains. Ludovico De Biaggi, Bartender and owner of Oh No Lulu! Tiki Bar
Ludovico de Biaggi’s proposal for summer 2024
Ludo De Biaggi.jpg
CAMPARI TROPIDEL
“Tropidelico is a style of music that has to do with the Tiki movement, which emerged on the Polynesian islands and spread across the Pacific to New Zealand, Hawaii and the United States. The Tiki cocktails and the fresh fruits that take center stage connect with the summer and the beach instantly,” says Ludovico.
Ingredients:
- Campari 50ml
- Amaretto 15ml
- Pineapple juice 35ml
- Orange juice 35ml
- Lime juice 15ml
- Simple syrup 10ml
- Hot sauce 1 drop
Step by Step:
Place all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice, shake and serve in a long glass. Garnish with a pineapple plume, half an orange slice and a mint plume.
If you want to share this cocktail as a group, it is also possible to prepare it in a jug. For this, it is enough to increase the measurements proportionally.
- Back to basics, back to the origins
Despite all the new trends, there are classics that never fail. The return to the classics is becoming more and more common: “after going through so many creative turns, in the end we return to the basics, to what is most recognizable. Classic cocktails have stood the test of time very well, and the improvement in the ingredients used, as well as technical knowledge, has meant that, while preserving its essence, it has improved compared to previous decades,” explains García.
Seba, Ludo, Flavia.jpg
An example of a classic cocktail is the Negroni, which, according to Drinks International, is the best-selling classic cocktail in the world. And he wears this crown for the second year in a row, having been in second place for 8 years.
The trends that will arrive in 2024 prioritize ingredients, lower alcohol content, moments of consumption and the path to unique cocktail experiences, fusing classic elegance with modern audacity.
Source: Ambito
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
