Raise a toast – the rise of breakfast cocktails
It’s 5o’clock somewhere… But for fans of the latest cocktail trend, it’s 7- or 8-am treats they’re thinking of.
Breakfast-inspired cocktails are a new drink trend capitalising on demand for comfort and nostalgia as well as blurring the lines between food and drink.
These are more than just hair-of-the-dog drinks or early morning serves for special occasions like the Bloody Mary or Bellini, though. Breakfast cocktails add extra playfulness to evenings in cocktail bars, like a marmalade-loaded Breakfast Martini.
So mixologists are giving morning juices a makeover. These are much more than just spiked juices though, with complexity and process making flavour-driven, layered cocktails. The Rise n Shine Punch layers passionfruit syrup with pineapple and orange juice and gin, for example.
Breakfast brews also offer ample inspiration – there’s no drinks market trend the ever-popular Espresso Martini can’t align with, it seems. Brew-based cocktails are using coffee blends or tea-infused spirits alongside cereal flavours; like the Tea Time cocktail at Singapore bar Tell Camilla, featuring white tea infused vodka, oats honey syrup, raspberry juice and lemon.
The French combo of croissants and coffee offers similar inspiration. The Pontiac bar in Hong Kong uses leftover croissants from a neighbouring bakery to make its croissant vodka, served with coffee liqueur, espresso and Amari, while Portugese bartender João Sancheira garnished his breakfast flavoured cocktail with an croissant crust.
Raising a toast can be quite literal with breakfast cocktails too – Instagrammer @ginbeforebreakfast serves a side of toast alongside using strawberry and rhubarb jam in their Breakfast Martini. Breads, buns and doughy goods are all being used in this new drink trend too. As are pancakes and waffles, like in the Waxy Fashioned, a bourbon-infused waffle and maple syrup cocktail.
Tea takeover – summer tea takes the top spot
Younger drinkers have been getting the tea, sparking an evolution in the enjoyment, flavours and formats of tea.
Tea’s popularity has been accelerated over summer thanks to Bridgerton fever and soft seasonal floral aesthetics inspiring tea parties.
Tropical and Asian flavours dominated in the accompanying drinks, alongside matcha and strawberry, sparkling teas, and iced or chilled versions.
With a range of sweet, pronounced flavours, tea can be combined with a range of complementary ingredients and flavours.
Japanese matcha reigned as a favourite, typically complemented with strawberry flavours – like Taika’s canned strawberry matcha latte. Matchas with added tonic or lemonade were also popular as refreshing, sparkling drinks. And sparkling teas moved beyond just the tea and lemonade combo, with bubble-rich sodas and sparkling waters also being whisked into teas alongside tropical fruit flavours – like the Sprite Calamansi iced tea, using the soda with a Philippino citrus.
Enhancing mouthfeel has been one of the ways teas have been made experiential, including as Boba teas – like Costa Coffee’s Blueberry Bubble Burst Tea.
Fruit coolers like this have also taken on 2024’s colour and flavour of the year, peach. Twinings peach-flavoured fruit cooler can be brewed hot but enjoyed cold, while Portal Tea Company’s Passion Peach Potion is a canned iced tea.
Other popular flavours have included classic summer strawberry, escapist tropical notes from mango, pineapple or dragonfruit, and hydrating watermelon. And the 2024 drink trend for floral flavours naturally aligned too, with hot hibiscus infusions, soothing camomile coolers, and cooling jasmine iced teas.
New launches & the return of pumpkin spice everything
Autumn is fast approaching, meaning we’re about to see pumpkin spice everything. The iconic flavour of Fall is on the seasonal menus of almost all drinks brands and QSRs.
Krispy Kreme have Pumpkin Spice coffees and lattes, available hot, iced or frozen, to complement their seasonal Pumpkin Spice Cake Doughnut, while 7-11 has a Pumpkin Spice Slurpee alongside its coffees, cold brews and lattes in the same flavour. Bored Cow is using popular pumpkin spice too, as a limited batch flavour for its milk alternative – a lactose-free, protein-packed and vitamin-rich plant-based drink.
Starbucks’ Autumn menu is so full it’s being launched in two parts, with pumpkin creations taking centre stage to begin with, including Pumpkin Cream Cold Brews and Iced Chais. The chain is stepping up Apple Crisp as a seasonal favourite too, available in Oatmilk Macchiatos and Shaken Espressos.
In Hong Kong, where the weather is still warm, Starbucks has launched a late summer line-up. There are Belgian Chocolate lattes and frappuccinos alongside a Summer Cloud Cold Brew, containing pineapple and mango, and a Hibiscus Tea.
7-11 is vying to keep shoppers buoyant through winter with a new range of energy drinks, available in four flavours – Cosmic Cherry, Rockin’ Rainbow, Galactic Citrus, and Paradise Pulse. And Coca Cola and Oreo have collaborated to combine the cola and cookie flavours in a new, limited edition soft drink.
Finally, a new packaging innovation can keep drinks cool without need for refrigeration. Developed by Delta H, the Cool>Can has a self-cooling ‘button’ on its base which, when touched, cools a drink within two minutes.
Stay ahead of drinks market trends
At Simpson’s we develop and manufacture bespoke flavours for drinks. Chat to our team today for help with your latest plans or next project.
Check out our other blogs for the latest drinks industry juice or follow us on socials.
Image source: Trendhub The Food People 2024
