What the drinks world is talking about right now. The spirits rising fast, the cocktails taking over every bar, the regions you need to know about, and the one bottle everyone serious about drinks is buying this season.
Indian whisky just had its moment — and Indri Trini is leading it. Triple cask matured (ex-bourbon, ex-wine, ex-Oloroso sherry), distilled in Haryana from six-row barley and Himalayan water, it was voted the world's best whisky at the 2023 Whisky Hunter Awards — beating Scotland, Japan and the USA. The price is astonishing for the quality. If you haven't tried Indian single malt yet, this is the bottle that makes the argument impossible to ignore.
The fastest growing drinks category in the world. Not just non-alcoholic beer anymore — zero-proof spirits, wines and cocktails of genuine quality are changing how the industry thinks about drinking. Health-conscious consumers aged 25-40 are driving the change.
Scotland and Japan used to own the premium whisky conversation. India and Taiwan are now at the same table. Indri, Paul John, Amrut, Kavalan — award after award, year after year. The world's best whisky is no longer automatically Scottish.
Natural wine — made with minimal intervention, native yeasts and no additives — has gone from niche to mainstream in under a decade. Orange wine (white grapes with skin contact) is the most controversial and talked-about wine style of the moment.
Tequila's celebrity-endorsed premium tier is saturated. Serious drinkers have moved to mezcal made from wild agave plants — some hundreds of years old — and sotol from the Chihuahuan Desert. Artisanal, rare and deeply complex.
Japanese highball culture has reached every serious bar in the world. The formula is simple: good whisky, quality sparkling water, perfect ice, tall glass. The trend has elevated the importance of water quality, ice quality and glassware in ways that change how bars operate.
Climate change has made southern England a viable fine wine region. Nyetimber and Ridgeview are producing sparkling wines that blind-taste alongside Champagne — sometimes winning. The category is growing fast and the best bottles are stunning.
The drink that's converting a generation to whisky. Refreshing, sessionable and requires almost nothing to make badly.
The classic Negroni with mezcal replacing gin. The smoke adds extraordinary depth. Every serious bar now has this variation.
Still the world's most ordered aperitivo cocktail by volume. Simple, low-alcohol and endlessly sessionable. It shows no sign of slowing down.
The northern Italian answer to Aperol Spritz. Elderflower, prosecco and mint — lighter, more floral and gaining ground rapidly across Europe.
Agave syrup instead of triple sec. The result is a cleaner, more agave-forward margarita that lets the tequila's character shine. Every tequila bar now does this version.
As aged rum gains recognition as a serious sipping spirit, the rum Old Fashioned has followed naturally. Diplomático or Ron Zacapa make it extraordinary.
Created in London in 1984, the Bramble disappeared for decades and is now firmly back. Gin, lemon, blackberry liqueur — simple, seasonal and beautiful.
The drink that proved non-alcoholic cocktails could be genuinely interesting. Seedlip Spice 94 with tonic or soda and botanicals has normalised sober drinking in every serious venue.