Oli Dodd reveals the vodkas that do best in the UK's Best Bars.
In the flavour-forward modern bar setting, where cocktail menus often read like a list of key ingredients, vodka has become a workhorse for all manner of infusions and macerations. Given its utilitarian role, it’s perhaps counterintuitive that our bestseller list has always leant towards the category’s super-premium end.
Bacardi’s Grey Goose is again the bestselling vodka in the UK’s best bars with our data suggesting it makes up 15% of the total category share. Given its price at the higher end of the market, it’s dominance in this report doesn’t come from its role as a workhorse in the rail but rather as one the industry’s most valuable bar calls. It’s the bestselling vodka in 10% of bars and the second bestseller in 24%.
While Grey Goose is the most popular upsell, it’s Pernod Ricard’s Absolut that tends to do the heavy lifting, with 16% of bars saying it was their house pour. But if Absolut isn’t number one, it’s far less likely to be a backup – just 5% said it was their second bestselling brand.
Belvedere in third is quite the opposite. Having slipped out of the top three last year, the LVMH brand returned to the podium thanks to its position as a premium upsell. It was the main supporting vodka in 15% of our bars while having the star role in 8%.
Where Grey Goose and Belvedere have stretched the top line of the category’s value pitch, Ketel One and Finlandia in fourth and fifth respectively aim to provide more GP-friendly options. That role is reflected in our data. Both are far more likely to be house pours – with Ketel One the number one in 11% and Finlandia in 10% of our sample – than second-fiddle (5% and 2% respectively).
Boatyard sits sixth in the bestsellers but tops Bartenders’ Favourites for the third year on the bounce. A popular Martini choice, the Northern Irish grain-to-glass vodka rivals Grey Goose and Belvedere on price but doesn’t possess the financial heft to challenge the pair on house pour (2% of our sample).
Suntory’s Haku, made with rice, is a similar tale. Also a favourite among bartenders, it’s a bit too pricey to be the house (4%) but lacking consumer familiarity and a premium identity to be a regular upsell, it was runner-up in 5%.
Stolichnaya, East London Liquor Co and Eristoff complete the top 10, giving the table a base that reflects the legacy, regional and value-driven segments of the sector.