Last month, our team of creative strategists and brand consultants attended an array of on-trade venues and activations in honour of London Cocktail Week. As drinks brand specialists, we love an opportunity to watch brands unleash their creative spark!

London Cocktail Week is one of the most exciting events of the year for the industry, it unites drinks brands, on-trade professionals, consumers and drinks specialists from all over to discover more of what the industry has to offer in an accessible way.

Here are the things we LOVED to see throughout our LCW experience: 

1.           Drive for Sustainability

As anticipated, there was a general trend towards sustainable and responsible consumption across several brand activations we attended. There was a ‘greener’ emphasis on creating cocktails using high quality, responsibly sourced ingredients.

We attended the Discarded Spirit’s event ‘The World’s Most Rubbish Bar’, where we were guided through a multistory warehouse, each room with a different theme, with sustainable entertainment in mind. There was a ‘rubbish’ disco, ‘rubbish’ modern art and of course multiple delicious ‘rubbish’ cocktails from some globally recognised bars.

Plymouth Gin and The Seed Library Bar hosted award winning bartender Hampus Thunholm from Röda Huset in Sweden to speak about how they built a world class menu using only simple locally sourced ingredients. These drinks were complex in flavour, yet used simple ingredients, grounded in nature. Which leads us to our next point!

2.     Accessibility is Key

We noticed simplification of recipes was an apparent staple across on trade venues and activations. Mixology is shifting back to simplified or refined creations, generally made up of three ingredients, bartenders then give them a contemporary twist whilst emphasising quality spirits. There are several reasons bartenders are opting for this approach with cocktails.  

Since the pandemic, there has been an upsurge in bars, so bartenders have gone back to basics to focus on quality ingredients rather than quantity to deal with demand by simplifying recipes. It is no longer a question of mixing flavours but of enhancing the selected ingredients.  Additionally, consumers no longer see a need for over the top, seven ingredient cocktails, instead there is a greater appreciation for the simple things, being in good company with good friends, with simple yet thoughtfully curated drinks. Less ingredients also contributes to sustainability as there is reduced waste.

Keeping things simple is key, less money, less waste, less time, meaning more accessible drinks for everyone.

3.     Spreading the Love

The pandemic caused an unfortunate amount of upheaval within the industry globally, with many bars forced to shut their doors and industry professionals given no other choice than to look elsewhere for work. However, this year we celebrated London Cocktail Week without a 2 metre rule or mask in sight, which was nothing short of a breath of fresh air.

This years London Cocktail Week focused on pushing business into different areas of the city by not just having one large cocktail village like previous years but hosting four ‘Little Cocktail Villages’ in different areas across the city, guiding people to on-trade venues beyond central London.

Not only that, but many events welcomed guest bartenders from bars all over the world. Recognised names such as Katana Kitten, Aldama, Panda & Sons and Little Red Door made appearances at several events across the city. We also attended the cocktail queen Gabrielle Maser’s Hawaiian takeover at Laki Kane. A super high energy event sponsored by Bacardi!

Spreading the love and giving strength to the industry not just across London, but globally as well.

An absolutely fantastic week learning more about new arising trends and b2c marketing strategies that brands, and on trade venues are focusing on! Feel free to get in touch if you would like to hear more about marketing opportunities for your brand!