All hail the Monkey. Climbing from ground zero to the top of our Trending tree is the German gin brand whose
botanical count must be nearing Kew Gardens’. Monkey 47’s achievement is the small-brand’s revenge. While the juggernauts weigh into bars with their posse of portfolio friends, small brands must rely on taste profile and small-budget marketing flair.
The trending brands you see here don’t tend to sell in the numbers of our Best Selling across the page. Instead they are those that consumers are asking for – with or without recommendations from bartenders. They are the brands to drink right now – and be seen in the act.
Monkey 47 was the trending spirit in more bars than any other – and this wasn’t confined to Germany. Quinary in Hong Kong and Rita & Cocktails in Milan are just two that said Monkey 47 was the buzz brand in 2014.
Second in a top three of gin brands at the top of the trending list is Tanqueray. The brand is not only the top selling spirit at our polled bars, but number two here too – proving that those of ample size can still cut the cool.
At High Five in Tokyo Tanqueray is the top trending brand of any spirit – but we should say Hidetsugu Ueno is a well-known partner of the brand and does generally choose what customers drink.
Hendrick’s has been in our top trending list every year since we started in 2010 – which just shows that some trends last longer than others.
The William Grant & Sons brand may never have topped our Top Trending spirits list but to be ever present requires impressive staying power.
In 2014 it was the hottest brand at Edinburgh’s Bramble, to name but one bar.
In the middle of the list’s gin-rum sandwich is a surprising spicy sauce. William Grant’s Ancho Reyes is a Mexican liqueur made from, among other things, chillies, and is selling well in the US in bars such as PDT of New York.
With rum proving almost as trendy as gin, it’s not surprising to see so many rum brands placed in the list. Diplomatico is a big favourite at two bars polled, while Zacapa is the tipple to drink at rum bar Smuggler’s Cove.
HOW WE DID IT:
We spoke to the World’s 50 Best Bars for this poll but in order to have a broader set of results we widened the net to include responses from a total of 100 of the top bars in the world - as voted for by our World's 50 Best Bars Academy.
We asked bar owners and head bartenders from these 100 top bars to name the Best Selling and Top Trending brands behind their bars. For more information about our methodology see here.
Day by day we will take you through the overall Best Selling and Top Trending spirits, and into the categories - from tequila, gin, vodka, rum, liqueurs, Scotch, World Whiskies, Brandy, aperitifs and digestifs,champagne, beer, water and tonic water to the best brands for cocktails.
