Over the (Northern Hemisphere) Summer, World’s 50 Best unveiled its 2026 lists of the 50 Best Bars of Europe and Asia. The announcements prompted the inevitable cocktail of scepticism, excitement, indifference, celebration and resentment – depending on your perspective (and, of course, whether your venue made the list).
Regardless of your reaction – and notwithstanding the lack of any serious scrutiny of how the rankings are actually decided – these lists do provide a snapshot of 100 incredible bars across two vastly different continents (and, in Asia’s case, a vastly vast continent).
The best of them are genuinely world-class, with drinks programmes that push the boundaries of mixology and bring together the very best techniques and ingredients to create the most delicious drinks available.
As a result, the drinks menus of these venues read as encyclopaedias of creativity, for rival bartenders and for brands alike. Anyone hunting for the next big beverage alcohol trend is likely to find inspiration among these menus, while those looking to refine a drinks programme of their own will undoubtedly be assisted by adopting some of what’s happening in the top echelon of bars.
So, we decided to have a closer look. We collected every available menu and subjected them to a painstaking, manual analysis to uncover the trends that are shaping global cocktail culture in late-2026.
What we found was a cocktail category that, at the very top end at least, is vibrant, dynamic and fluid. Alongside the classics are returning favourites – why, hello, white lady and gimlet! – as well as emerging cocktails, riffs and a plethora of new trends.
Of course, these are bars that are expanding the category’s horizons, with their cocktails operating at the cutting edge of innovation.
Of course, not every trend will filter down to the mainstream, and those that do will likely be diluted and adapted to suit the tastes of the masses. Both lists, Asia’s in particular, heavily feature savoury cocktails, with ingredients such as miso, olive oil, beetroot and even beef jerky not uncommon.
Will these flavours make it to the high-street venue in their 50 Best incarnations? Probably not. But, don’t be surprised to see savoury-inspired cocktails become an increasingly prominent subcategory across all sectors of the market.
So how on earth do drinks brands navigate such a kinetic, ever-changing category? Cocktails are flying, and everyone wants a piece of the action. For brands, the relentless pace of change brings a serious blink-and-you’ll-miss-it risk of jumping on the latest trends.
This creates particular challenges for notoriously bureaucratic – and often glacial – brand and innovation teams. By the time they’ve navigated the process and brought a trend to market, they’re often behind the ever-shifting curve.
Take tequila cocktails as a (narrow) example. Wilde Toast’s latest research suggests that, after decades of growth, the classic margarita is now on the other side of the curve. The serve remains popular, but its momentum is waning. By contrast, the spicy margarita is firmly at the top of the tree, while a second wave of cocktails vies for position.
But that second wave – led by the likes of the paloma – is already becoming highly competitive. It’s also become an increasingly expensive space in which to compete. Indeed, many brand owners are investing heavily to ‘own’ these serves, building associations between their brands and the cocktails that are on the rise.
The most fertile, accessible and rewarding ground may actually lie behind the juggernauts – and even the more recently emerging serves. Rather than chasing the obvious winners, brands could look to the periphery. Third- and fourth-wave cocktails may hold the keys to future growth, offering less-crowded serves without the need for such high levels of investment.
Returning to tequila, our analysis identifies re-emerging classics such as the toreador and el diablo, alongside emerging serves such as ranch water, as being particularly well-positioned. Investing to build brand association with these serves now may well prove fruitful in the longer term.
However, this kind of success doesn’t happen overnight. Fleeting cocktail trends that come and go are far harder to capture than building established, enduring serves. Just look at the spritz category for evidence. Aperol’s success was decades in the making, built through a sustained focus on key cities and occasions, backed by genuinely best-in-class marketing and activation.
Nowadays, the hugo serve has been building on that momentum. Bacardí’s St-Germain elserflower liqueur has taken a similarly long-term approach to investment and activation, helping drive a 1,300% rise in online search interest in the term ‘hugo spritz’ over the past five years. Such numbers are impressive, but achieving them requires three things: the skill to identify a burgeoning trend, the courage to invest early and, most importantly, the patience to wait for the returns.
With cocktail culture so dynamic, fast-moving and volatile, the sensible play may actually be the slowest one. In a world where stakeholders increasingly look no further than the next 12 months, however, the difficulty may lie less in convincing consumers and more in convincing board members.
