Cocktail purchasing in bars is shaped by familiar serves, premium spirits, experimentation, occasion, and sustainability. The 2024 Bacardi consumer survey found gin and tonics represented 28% of global bar calls, while 70% of global respondents said they would pay more for quality spirits. More recent 2024 surveys also point to interest in low-ABV drinks, bartender recommendations, and memorable experiences.
Table of contents
- Cocktail demand rankings in bar orders
- Premiumization and willingness to pay
- Flavor and ingredient preferences
- Lower-alcohol, no-low, and spirits-based purchasing
- Experiences, recommendations, and venues
- Sustainability and product attributes
Cocktail demand rankings in bar orders
The 2024 Bacardi Cocktail Trends Report Infographic measured global bar calls in 2024. Gin and tonics led the listed serves at 28%, followed closely by mojitos at 27%. Margaritas and Bloody Marys each represented 20% of global bar calls.
The next group combined classic highballs, tropical drinks, and established mixed drinks. Whisky and Coke and Piña Coladas each accounted for 19% of calls. Daiquiris represented 18%, while rum and Coke and gin lemonades each represented 17%.
| Cocktail | Share of global bar calls | Measurement period |
|---|---|---|
| Gin and tonic | 28% | 2024 |
| Mojito | 27% | 2024 |
| Margarita | 20% | 2024 |
| Bloody Mary | 20% | 2024 |
| Whisky and Coke | 19% | 2024 |
| Piña Colada | 19% | 2024 |
| Daiquiri | 18% | 2024 |
| Rum and Coke | 17% | 2024 |
| Gin lemonade | 17% | 2024 |
| Vodka lemonade | 15% | 2024 |
Vodka lemonades and spritzes each represented 15% of global bar calls. Martinis, Irish coffees, vodka sodas, and Cosmopolitans each represented 14%. Espresso martinis accounted for 13%, followed by Caipirinhas at 12%. Tequila Sunrises represented 11%, while whiskey highballs and tequila sodas each represented 10%.
These figures describe shares reported in the Bacardi consumer survey; they are not a universal sales ledger for every bar or market. For menu planning, however, the ordering gives a useful view of the breadth of demand: customers continue to purchase recognizable classics alongside spirit-and-mixer serves, tropical drinks, aperitif-style drinks, and newer coffee-led options. 2024 Bacardi Cocktail Trends Report Infographic
Premiumization and willingness to pay
Premium spirits were a major factor in cocktail purchasing. In a 2023 survey reported in the Bacardi Cocktail Trends Report 2024, 70% of global respondents said they would pay more for quality spirits when choosing a drink. Quality spirits ranked as the number-one reason to pay more among respondents in the United States, Spain, France, Germany, Tokyo, and the United Kingdom.
Among U.S. respondents aged 21–44, 41% said they sought more premium spirits for the following year. The same report ranked tequila as the number-one premiumization category globally, while 78% of global brand ambassadors identified tequila as the hottest premiumization category.
The following year’s bartender survey showed that the premiumization trend remained prominent. The 2025 Bacardi Cocktail Trends Report Infographic reported that 83% of surveyed bartenders said premiumization was on the rise. In that 2024 survey, tequila, mezcal, and vodka ranked first, second, and third among categories leading premiumization.
Taken together, these measurements distinguish consumer willingness to pay from bartender perception. The consumer result is a stated purchasing preference from 2023, while the 83% figure is a bartender assessment gathered in 2024. Both point toward a bar environment in which spirit quality can be part of the value proposition, especially in tequila- and mezcal-led serves.
Flavor and ingredient preferences
Bartender experimentation provides an indicator of the flavor directions that may shape future cocktail orders. In the 2023 survey presented in the 2024 Bacardi Cocktail Trends Report Infographic, 45% of bartenders were interested in or experimenting with coffee or espresso flavors. Floral flavors followed at 43%.
Bitter flavors and spices each attracted interest from 41% of bartenders. The data also showed experimentation with techniques and ingredients that affect both flavor and operations: 46% were experimenting with zero-waste ingredients, 36% with ferments such as kombucha or kefir, and 33% with aromatic or flavored bitters. A further 29% were experimenting with spicy ingredients or spices.
The 2025 report added two measured changes in consumer flavor interest. According to Bacardi’s report announcement, consumer interest in savory cocktail flavors grew 20% from 2023 to 2024, while interest in herbaceous cocktail flavors grew 15% over the same period. Those are year-over-year changes in interest, not a percentage of all cocktail orders.
For a bar manager, the distinction matters. A high share of bartenders experimenting with a flavor does not establish that the flavor is already a top seller. It does indicate where menu development and staff recommendations may be moving. Coffee and espresso experimentation aligns with the 13% share reported for espresso martinis in global bar calls, while zero-waste ingredients and ferments point to product-development choices that can support differentiated serves.
Lower-alcohol, no-low, and spirits-based purchasing
Lower-alcohol purchasing varied by market and consumer group in the 2024 survey reported in the Bacardi Cocktail Trends Report 2025. Among each market’s youngest legal-drinking-age cohort, 29% in India reported drinking more lower-alcohol cocktails, compared with 25% in France and 20% in the United States. Separately, 20% of Japanese consumers overall reported drinking more lower-alcohol cocktails.
Global brand ambassadors were also asked about the outlook: 51% expected low-ABV to grow over the following 12 months. This is a forecast or expectation from the 2024 survey, not a measured increase in sales.
No-low purchasing appears occasion-dependent rather than exclusive. The 2024 Bacardi infographic reported that, in Europe, the United States, Germany, and France, about 50% of no-low consumers chose no-low options on certain occasions while choosing full-strength drinks on others. The finding supports a flexible menu approach in which alcohol-free or lower-alcohol choices sit alongside standard cocktails.
Ready-to-drink products also gained on-premise share in the United States. IWSR reported that spirits-based RTD volume’s on-premise share rose from 6% in 2020 to 14% in 2024. IWSR projects that share to reach 17% by 2029. The 2029 figure is a forecast, and both figures refer specifically to the on-premise share of spirits-based RTD volume, not all cocktail sales. IWSR, “Too big to ignore: how should spirits companies target the RTD opportunity?”
Experiences, recommendations, and venues
Cocktail purchasing is connected to what consumers want to do while drinking. In the 2024 survey summarized by the 2025 Bacardi Cocktail Trends Report Infographic, 39% of global consumers named celebrating meaningful moments among their most anticipated cocktail experiences. Discovering new cocktails was named by 34%, and exploring new bars and restaurants by 29%.
Recommendations can influence the point of purchase. Thirty-three percent of global consumers said bartender recommendations influenced their drink choices. That result gives service conversations a measurable role in cocktail selection, alongside menu design and brand familiarity.
The bartender survey also identified strong interest in several categories. Seventy-two percent of surveyed bartenders expressed interest in tequila, 66% in mezcal, and 53% in 0% ABV spirits. These figures measure bartender interest rather than consumer order share, but they help explain why premium agave, zero-proof, and recommendation-led serves may receive attention in bar programs.
Spending can be tied to events as well. Eighty percent of Gen Z respondents said they were willing to spend big on in-person events including food and beverage. At the same time, 50% of respondents in the United States, United Kingdom, Spain, and Germany planned to go out less often to nightclubs. Both results come from the 2024 survey and 2025 outlook summarized by Bacardi: consumers may place greater value on selected experiences even as some plan fewer nightclub visits. Bacardi report announcement
Sustainability and product attributes
Consumers also evaluated cocktail-related sustainability themes in the 2024 survey. Reducing single-use plastic was selected by 38% as a leading sustainability theme, followed by recyclable packaging at 36%. Buying local was selected by 33%, helping preserve clean water by 32%, and sustainably sourced ingredients by 28%. These are selections of leading themes, not measures of completed purchasing behavior.
Product attributes extended beyond environmental concerns. Sixty-one percent of consumers preferred an additive-free spirit. In market-specific willingness-to-pay results, 29% of consumers in Mexico said they would pay more for a cocktail made with locally sourced ingredients, compared with 24% of consumers in Spain. Both figures came from the 2024 survey reported in the Bacardi Cocktail Trends Report 2025.
The professional outlook was also substantial. Seventy-nine percent of global brand ambassadors listed sustainability as a key concern for 2025, while 69% listed supporting local businesses among their top priorities. Those figures are 2024 survey results describing a 2025 outlook, so they should not be read as measured changes in bar purchasing.
For cocktail purchasing decisions, the data separates several related ideas: reducing plastic, recyclable packaging, local sourcing, clean water, sustainably sourced ingredients, and additive-free spirits. A bar can therefore treat sustainability as a set of attributes customers may value differently, rather than as one undifferentiated preference. The available percentages show the relative prominence of those themes in the survey, while the local-ingredient figures show that willingness to pay also differs by market.