They may be drinking wine in New York, but in SA there's a big about-turn on the cocktail scene. Andy Fenner sums up the latest and greatest cocktail trends.
1 UMAMI, UMAMI, UMAMI
Savoury cocktails have been gaining traction for some time, but mushrooms (think porcini-infused Bloody Marys) and bell peppers (with anything from vodka to gin) are now the frontrunners. It seems a umami-licious truffle cocktail is only a matter of time.
2 CHERRY IS THE NEW POMEGRANATE
Distillers are rolling out cherry- and berry-infused spirits at an alarming rate: take Bacardi’s Torched Cherry rum and Red Stag’s Black Cherry bourbon, not to mention a host of infused vodkas, whiskies and liqueurs.
3 SWEETENERS GO BEYOND SUGAR
Maple syrup, honey, agave nectar, Demerara sugar and other alternatives are sweetening cocktails in place of simple sugar syrups.
4 ANGOSTURA TAKES A BACK SEAT
A slew of new and inventive bitters, most creatively playing sweet against savoury, is not only arming mixologists the world over, but it's allowing amateur bartenders to make cocktails that once were the provenance of the pros.
5 A SPOT OF ESPUMA HERE, A BIT OF GELATINE THERE
Molecular gastronomy may be making a slow exit but molecular elements are just entering the cocktail field, with the result that mixologists are fast becoming the new celeb chefs.
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