Old style drinks are in vogue. But don’t be mistaken in thinking that adaptations are just sequels to prior greats - they are reinventions. They are the drinks we love but with a few improvements and canny modifications.
Essentially, vintage cocktails are one way a restaurant or bar can tip its hat to the past and show it can master the classics while also showing its revolutionary side. Like having Frank Sinatra crackling on the turntable interspersed with Scroobius Pip vs Dan Le Sac on the decks.
“The vintage resurrection has taken hold and is influencing everything from fashion to furniture,” says James O’Connor, senior brand manager for Hendrick’s Gin at William Grant & Sons UK, admitting that it’s got rather a lot to do with how people trust traditional serves and styles. Really, it is all about trust. Your customers have post-recession issues. This means they’re trialling the lifestyle of a high roller, but they’re not yet ready to put it all on red.
“Consumers are favouring brands and experiences that personify a more traditional, raw and honest approach,” says O’Connor. Think of this as an upgrade from what went before.
Many cocktails were inspired by the golden era of the cocktail - the roaring ‘20s where bootleg whisky and bathtub gin were blended into to creative cocktails to mask their poor taste. “These days rather than masking the taste of poor quality spirits these cocktails enhance the taste of the finest liquor,” says Rob Poulter, on-trade consultant at the Diageo Customer Collaboration Centre.
There’s also a sense of saying goodbye to the crassness of the 80s and 90s. “People just got so bored of modern cocktails. They were too sweet, too long [and had] too many umbrellas,” says Max Chater brand development manager at the Draft House, who is currently managing the recently opened bar and rectified spirits den Bump Caves in the basement of the group’s Tower Hill site.
Coupettes & can glasses
“The resurgence in vintage classic cocktails has been mirrored by a resurgence in vintage classic glassware as mixologists sought out glasses that would mirror the ‘20s style of the drinks they were recreating,” says Poulter, pointing out that “the classic Champagne saucer, known by mixologists as a ‘coupette’ may have fallen out of favour with Champagne drinkers [due to its open bowl design allowing fizz to dissipate quickly] but it has found a new lease of life in the hands of mixologists who recognised it as the perfect vessel to add authenticity to their new classic drinks.”
Matt Sykes, Tequila Patron regional director of marketing and commercial strategy [EMEA] agrees that “the trend for collecting vintage equipment such as absinthe fountains, spoons and coupettes started around three years ago, with resurgence in vintage cocktail recipes following on.”
O’Connor reminds that there has been a rise in hospitality outlets which take inspiration from the Prohibition era – a time which continues to fascinate consumers because of its underground, secretive and glamorous connotations.
“Capitalising on this trend, vintage glassware such as Old Fashioned cut glass whisky glasses and coupettes have started to re-emerge, again to offer consumers the full vintage experience,” he points out. People simply want an elegant drink these days.
Ashley Coe, communications officer at the Coe Vintner’s owned specialist spirits division Mangrove, reiterates that “coupettes exude elegance”. The glassware has indeed become part of the costume.
According to Giuseppe Gallo, global ambassador for Martini, this is because “Gatsby, speakeasy, retro style is back and serving as an inspiration for the young generation. The coupette, along with black and white dress, used to be the signature at that time and this is the reason so many forgotten classics are back and being served in this style of glass.”
Over at Hixter Bankside, group bars manager Myles Davis serves a signature Hix Fix in a coupette and martinis in a serve involving a vintage glass, a small carafe and an ice bucket.
“I suppose there is also that feeling of glamour that vintage glassware adds,” he admits.
While over at Bump Caves, the ‘can’ glass is used “for any of our canned beer,” says Chater, revealing a slick way of serving canned craft beer in a place that’s also serving cocktails.
“The trends that we see in the top end now proliferate out to the wider trade as many adopt a ‘bigger; better; best’ policy for new and exciting serves. Many of these can be adopted and tailored to fit into a swelling menu,” says CGA Strategy senior account manager Andrew Cooper.
Vermouth and bitters
“The next drinks category to really boom has to be vermouth and amaro (meaning bitter in Italian) this has started to become apparent with the rise of the Aperol Spritz,” says Chater, reminding that “Cocchi Americanos and vermouths are just magnificent” and soon “vermouth on ice will be lifted above the Grandma status it has now.”
Restaurant bars like The Blind Pig Bar at the Social Eating House (Jason Atherton, Soho), serve their “Vitamin C Vesper”, a twist on James Bond’s signature Martini incorporating Ketel 1 citron vodka, Tanqueray Rangpur gin and vermouth. While in Edinburgh the Bramble bar takes a twist on a classic aviation cocktail called the “The Purple Bird” again using Tanqueray gin, this time with crème de violet, lemon and lime juices and sugar.
The Rivoli Bar at The Ritz yields a curious collection of beverages dating from the 1940s to the 1980s and its Gran Burdeos Old Fashioned is comprised of Gran Patrón Burdeos Tequila, sugar and 1960s Angostura bitters, using a classic bar call but upgrading the spirit.
The use of bitter ingredients such as Campari and herbal bitters, experimentation with homemade cordials and tinctures and the increasing popularity of darker spirits are all prevalent at the moment.
“The Boulevardier is especially seeing resurgence,” says Coe noting that the team at “The Rivoli are showcasing this movement by creating a caviar bitters to accompany its Beluga Vodka Martini. In a quest to create a bespoke serve and point of difference this trend is set to continue,” she adds.
Reinventing the negroni
The Negroni has also experienced a massive come back, but is experiencing a lot of twists and modern interpretations of late too. For instance, served with Tequila [instead of gin] it has becomes the Negrita, with vodka [instead of gin] it is a Negroski and then there is the frozen negroni served with orange sorbet.
Davis at Hixter Bankside says that people are also looking at “different souring agents or methods of sweetening agents” to pep things up too. Then there is all that barrel ageing has to offer. Davis reminds that “this has great potential if done properly, as does smoking drinks.”
Chater agrees that “technical advances will be utilised more and more,” revealing that he already uses “Sous Vide, vacuum packing and a Rotavapor for distillation.”
Poulter believes that we don’t just have to look backwards into the past, but also into the kitchen too, reminding that “trends in the cocktail world tend to follow trends in the culinary world.”
Chater agrees: “Bartenders will start to take more inspiration from the kitchen” and there will be more “locally sourced and fresh ingredients used to prepare in-house made liquors” contributing to “homegrown cocktail ingredients and garnishes.”
Coe identifies that there has already been an increase in food pairing and that this looks set to continue. In addition, “the Whisky Smash will take off, as well as citrus Bourbon drinks, gin light style drinks and mulled punches.”
There are some great drinks out there. They might not all be new, but they are all, at the very least, rather tasty.
