£5.3 billion a year is spent on spirits in bars in the UK. With 78% of bars selling cocktails, make sure you’re not missing out on this valuable revenue stream.
A fifth of drinkers are now opting for cocktails over beer and wine, according to a recent poll. Researchers who surveyed 2,000 UK adults found many are shunning pints of beer and wine in favour of more exotic spirit-based beverages such as mojitos, margaritas and martinis.
Menus, bartenders’ recommendations and theatre of serve are among the other big factors influencing cocktail drinkers’ choices, so make sure you’re serving with flair! Here’s how to make the UK’s top 5 most popular cocktails.
#5 Woo Woo
Perfect by the glass or by the pitcher, Woo Woos are a go-to, easy to enjoy cocktail that’s the fifth most popular cocktail in the UK.
Ingredients
- 50ml vodka
- 25ml peach schnapps
- 100ml cranberry juice
- Few drops fresh lime juice
- Ice
- Wedge of lime
Method
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice then add the vodka, peach schnapps, cranberry juice and a few drops of lime juice. Shake really well then strain into a tumbler with extra ice. Garnish with a wedge of lime.
#4 Long Island Iced Tea
Robert “Rosebud” Butt claims to have invented the Long Island Iced Tea as an entry in a contest to create a new mixed drink with triple sec in 1972 while he worked at the Oak Beach Inn on Long Island, New York. Since then, us Brits have taken a shine to alcoholic iced tea, making it 4th on our list.
Ingredients
- 15ml vodka
- 15ml gin
- 15ml light rum
- 15ml orange liqueur
- 15ml fresh lemon juice
- 15ml freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1 tsp sugar syrup
- Cola, to top up
- Lemon wedge, to garnish
Method
Place all of the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with a handful of ice and shake hard. Strain the cocktail into a highball glass, top up with cola and garnish with a lemon wedge.
#3 Sex on the Beach
It’s kinky, it’s fun and has a distinct peach taste. This iconic cocktail can be made in a variety of exciting ways, including “Sex on Fire” and “Cuddles on the Beach”. We’ve got the classic recipe, which is the UK’s 3rd favourite cocktail.
Ingredients
- 50ml vodka
- 50ml peach schnapps
- 100ml cranberry juice
- 100ml orange juice
- Dash of freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Lemon slices, fresh or maraschino cherries and Mint sprigs to serve
- Cubed ice
Method
Fill a highball class with ice cubes before adding vodka, schnapps and lemon juice to a cocktail shaker. Shake well. Top up with equal measures of cranberry and orange juice. Add a slice of lemon and cherry and serve decorated with fresh mint sprigs.
#2Pornstar Martini
The perfect cocktail for when you’re out on a Saturday night with the girls! This glitzy cocktail has stormed up to second in the list of the UK’s most popular cocktails. Just one sip is all it takes to see why!
Ingredients
- 50ml vodka
- 25ml passion fruit puree
- Juice of half a pasison fruit
- Half a pineapple
- 15ml vanilla syrup
- 50ml Prosecco
- Half a slice of passion fruit (garnish)
- Cubed ice
Method
Muddle the pineapple slice in a Boston jar to create the juice. Squeeze in the half a passion fruit before adding the passion fruit puree and vanilla syrup. Add the vodka and fill with cubed ice. hake the liquid, double strain and pour into a Martini glass with a floating half passion fruit slice on top. Serve with a shot of Prosecco
#1 Mojito
Remaining number 1 for another year, the Mojito remains the UK’s favourite cocktail. It’s quirky, sweet, and exciting without being embarrassing to look at. This gives the Mojito a much broader appeal than other, louder cocktails (looking at you, Pornstar Martini!) Whatever the reason, no bar is complete without a little bit of mint and a lot of white rum!
Ingedients
- juice of 1 lime
- 1 tsp granulated sugar
- small handful mint
- leaves, plus extra sprig to serve
- 60ml white rum
- soda water, to taste
Method
Muddle the lime juice, sugar and mint leaves in a small jug, crushing the mint as you go – you can use the end of a rolling pin for this. Pour into a tall glass and add a handful of ice. Pour over the rum, stirring with a long-handled spoon. Top up with soda water, garnish with mint and serve.
Don’t forget to double up!
CGA’s 2018 Mixed Drinks Report emphasises the value of promotions in cocktail sales. 44% of cocktail drinkers say they use promotions like two-for-one deals, Happy Hours or other discounts every or almost every time they order one, with many saying they are more likely to visit a venue if it has a cocktail promotion.
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