From tropical cocktails to G&Ts with a twist, summer is the season for drinks that inject a little fun into proceedings. Jaq Bayles reports.
The summer season is always a busy time in the ‘normal’ alcoholic drinks calendar, packed as it is with the likes of music and food festivals, national days of celebration, open-air concerts and Pride parades. As the days lengthen and things warm up in the Northern Hemisphere this year, there may not be any global sporting occasions to galvanise nations in their support for home teams or drinks brands around sponsorship, but that’s not to say the trade is sitting on its hands for the season.
Indeed, summer always sees a slew of innovation as brands release the latest styles, flavours, packaging formats and image makeovers to make the most of consumers’ sun-lifted spirits and willingness to try fresh, seasonal variations.
Never has this been more true than now, when, after two summers of enforced restrictions, there’s a renewed thirst for socialising and making the most of both the public events on offer and the reclaimed ability to organise gatherings on beaches, in parks and in lockdown-renovated private gardens.
Summer’s biggest hitters globally are arguably rum, gin, aperitivos and sparkling wine, all associated with
sharing and fun times, so it’s no surprise to see seasonal variations emerging among all those categories.
Seychelles-based Takamaka Rum recently released its St Andre Series, with co-founder & export director Bernard d’Offay explaining why summer is so important to the rum category. “I think we all have that association between beautiful blue skies, white sandy beaches and long tropical cocktails made from rum,” he says. “It just fits so perfectly. The sun is out – you’re looking for those refreshing, juicy styles of drink.
“At Takamaka, we are also big believers in that perfect sipping sundowner drink. Our St Andre Series is all about those shorter, spirit-forward drinks that, while they perfectly complement a tropical breeze, work equally well with a roaring fire and snow-capped mountains.”
D’Offay says his company is seeing “an amazing reception for Takamaka across Europe” and, in France, has just confirmed distribution with La Maison du Whisky, “so we’re really excited to see the reception over there”.
Summer in the city
For Spiribam, the focus is on the UK. International sales & marketing director – and chief executive of Spiribam UK – Matthieu de Lassus says: “With the end of Covid restrictions and return to ‘normal life’, we are looking at a very busy summer in the UK this year. Chairman’s Reserve will have its own bar at Cocktails in the City in August. Located in the centre of London, this festival is one of the most sought-after cocktail festivals in the UK and is expected to be very busy this year.
“Notting Hill Carnival is also going to be an unmissable event for all lovers of Caribbean music and culture. Our St Lucian brand, Bounty Rum, which is particularly connected to Soca music, will aim to bring the St Lucian ‘spirit of carnival’ to the streets of Notting Hill. We have partnered with EUK Soca Monarch, which is promoting the young scene of Soca music in the UK, and will have bars selling Bounty all around the way.”
Spiribam is also taking advantage of the season to launch its Mauritius spiced rum, Beach House, in the UK. “While our Beach House Gold Rum has long been enjoyed mostly neat by its first adopters, we believe this versatile range is at its best in cocktails or in long drinks,” says de Lassus. Mixed with tonic, Beach House is a wonderfully refreshing and exotic alternative to a gin & tonic.”
“With its beautiful design and 100% natural blend, we pride ourselves to say that Beach House is more than just a spiced rum, it’s a state of mind. With each bottle, we invite free spirits to escape from everyday life, to take a break and discover a world that has yet to be explored; the world of spiced rums.”
The brand is also releasing Beach House Pink in time for summer, with a floral profile highlighted by hibiscus.
G&T still ‘ever-popular’ serve
Of course, summer extensions can also be seen from the seemingly unstoppable juggernaut that is gin, capitalising in particular on the ever-popular gin & tonic serve. Zamora-owned Martin Miller’s Gin
has re-released its first seasonal variant, Summerful, this year. Available from May to September, the expression includes the botanicals Arctic thyme and rosemary as a homage to the brand’s dual Icelandic and English roots. Greenall’s, meanwhile, is promoting its new Pineapple Gin with the sponsorship of the UK’s ‘Pub in the Park’ series of events, while Gibson’s has rolled out its colourful Blood Orange Gin variant worldwide.
Gibson’s international brand manager Chanhy Bastos believes that “summer is all about conviviality, warmth and sunshine, the perfect time to drink cocktails – especially a gin & tonic”.
“This innovation is a perfect balance between the freshness and bitterness of sun-filled blood oranges combined with the finest ingredients of gin, making it ideal for summer,” Bastos adds. “This product has already conquered many markets, mainly in Europe, but is about to cross the oceans to be sold in Mexico, an important country for the brand. There are many opportunities; this is just the beginning.”
According to Bastos, the brand “lends itself to numerous events, such as food festivals in the Netherlands”. In France, Gibson’s will also be present at many festivals – including the Paris Cocktail Festival, the Sun Ska Festival and the V and B Fest – to reach its “young and fun” target consumers.
Insta-ready spritzes & cocktails
Cocktails and mixed drinks have really blossomed in the global consciousness over the past couple of years, largely driven by consumers’ interest in home mixology as a distraction from the traumas of the pandemic. This trend will peak in the summer months as drinkers whip out their phones to get that all-important Instagram picture of the most stunning-looking serves with a setting sun backdrop.
Leader of the Insta pack is Aperol Spritz, which is credited with pretty much single-handedly igniting the global aperitivo craze and has paved the way for many other brands to provide variety in the category.
As the birthplace of the occasion, Italy produces many styles of aperitivo, which also lend themselves well to the trend for lower-ABV serves, particularly among younger consumers. Luca Missaglia, managing partner at Amaro Santoni, thinks lower-ABV will be the big movement for this summer. “I believe the premium bittersweet aperitivo category with low-sugar tonics is the new big trend combination because it unites the low-ABV drinkers and the most conscious hedonists,” he says. “Our new rhubarb aperitivo, Amaro Santoni, with London Essence Grapefruit & Rosemary tonic is stunning for a pre-meal drink and even with a meal.
“The biggest trend I’m expecting to see this summer will be the low-ABV alfresco style of drinking, coming from two years of on-and-off lockdown around the world. I see the desire – and necessity – to enjoy drinking on the terrace, pergola or beach to get the best from the weather.”
Elena Branda, who works in Perlino’s marketing office, agrees that low-alcohol consumption is a growing phenomenon. The sparkling wine producer is also concentrating on the aperitivo occasion for its main summer drive, along with the spritz serve. “Spritz is one of the most popular and consumed aperitifs and to make a good spritz, you need a good spumante,” says Branda. “Our Perlino Prosecco continues to do very well in France, thanks to the distribution of its parent company, La Martiniquaise. It also has an excellent presence in the UK, one of the big consumers of Spumante and Prosecco, and a good presence in the Mediterranean islands, which are very touristy. In Asia, the growth of sweet Bollicina continues, while Moscato Rosé and Asti are very popular, especially in the summer season.”
Continuing the innovation trend, Brando says Perlino is working on a new launch “that finds its ideal context in the summer, but is great in any other context – a Moscato-based cocktail with mango or cherry, an explosion of freshness and fragrance for a lighthearted moment”.
This article was initially published in June’s issue of Global Drinks Intel magazine. For details on how to subscribe, click here.
