Today we look at the liqueurs that sell best at the UK's best bars, according to our recent CLASS Report.
Was it the Negroni that propelled Campari to the success it now enjoys in the bar channel or the other way around? It certainly is a rare symbiosis and one that has had no small part in thrusting the red-hued bitter liqueur to the top of our list of liqueurs.
But it’s not only the Negroni – the third bestselling cocktail in the UK’s best bars – that demands Campari. There are spritzes, and then there’s the back catalogue of classics – the Boulevardier, the Americano and the Jungle Bird. And, of course, it finds its way into plenty of signature menus too.
In our poll of the UK’s best bars, 18% named Campari as their most-used liqueur, while 40% said it was among their top-three. Truth be told, had we kept on asking, not many would have said they don’t sell any. Whether they use it a lot, or a little, it takes a brave bar not to stock Campari.
This is a list made up of products that deliver singular flavour profiles and liqueur ranges which offer many more. Briottet falls into the latter camp, the small, family-owned liqueurs range being a firm one-stop-shop for bars’ liqueur needs. 15% said it was their most-sold liqueur brand, with 27% suggesting it was among their top three.
Giffard ran Briottet pretty close. Also boasting a rainbow range of flavours, 11% of our sample said it was their first choice, while 24% counted it among their three most used.
Cointreau, the most famous orange liqueur globally and a named ingredient in many a classic, must be enjoying the never-been-as-popular Margarita trend (the bestselling classic according to our poll). Less so the Tommy’s Margarita, but we won’t get into that. The French triple sec brand was a top liqueur in 5% of bars – no doubt those that go large on Margs – but was among the top-three roster in 20%.
Mr Black, meanwhile, is the non-traditional brand that has made waves in recent years and, while it’s finding its way into cocktails outside of the Espresso Martini, it’s also got a lot to owe to the Dick Bradsell classic – the fourth most-served in our sample of bars. 13% said it was among their three most-used liqueurs. If it’s the new face of coffee liqueur, all cold brew and smart packaging, Kahlúa is the slightly kitsch classic brand that enjoys historical recognition and association with the Espresso Martini. 11% said it was among their top three.
Fair’s small but ethical range of liqueurs seems to have had a bounce of late – 9% said it was on their podium of liqueurs. The French brand was also the first name on people’s lips when we asked what liqueur brand excited them. Merlet – another long-trusted range of liqueurs - meanwhile was found to be less likely a house choice in our sample, it was more likely to be among the supporting cast.
The herbal liqueur Chartreuse is an ever-present in cocktail bars but doesn’t see the action quite as much as it did in the past. St Germain is the answer to your elderflower needs, but that appears to be a question fewer and fewer bars seem to ask.