Jacob Ehrenkrona, chief executive for Martin Miller’s Gin, has provided a snapshot of the key trends in drinks he expects to see in 2015. He believes aesthetics, serve show, and delivery of the drink will be as important as taste to the “connoisseur consumers”.
One of the biggest trends will be bottled cocktails, hand-crafted and bottled on-site before service, with a focus on quality. While they are not new to cocktail bars, they are now becoming more prominent in popular high-street bars, especially as they are quick to serve.
“Bottled cocktails are not just for convenience purposes and quality assurance but they have a fun appeal about them, with a nostalgic throwback to drinking from milk bottles,” Jacob says. “It also gives bartenders the opportunity to explain the drink and engage with gin drinkers on the ingredients and make-up of the spirit.”
He also points to a new wave of “cocktails on tap”, where more bars will serve premium, classic cocktails on draught.
The popularity of gin was at its highest last year, with premium gin sales up 26%, and Jacob says there is no sign of it slowing down just yet. “In the past two months a significant number of establishments in New York have switched up to more premium gins such as Martin Miller’s. It’s a trend we expect to follow suit in the UK this year as consumers become more aware of the quality of gins now available.”
Jacob expects there to be more experimentation when it comes to mixing with the spirit in 2015, including the use of different garnishes, such as the chilli and coriander leaf gin and tonic promoted by Martin Miller’s Gin.
Jacob believes the UK will also see more botanicals infused at the point of serve to showcase the ingredients within the gin.
With the influx of artisanal tonic waters, he also expects good-quality tonics such as Fever-Tree to continue thriving, with the way now paved for smaller brands to step into the limelight.
Jacob, who is chief executive of Martin Miller’s Gin owner Reformed Spirits Company, was part of the latest wave of new members accepted into the Gin Guild in October last year.
