DI Annual Bar Report: Vermouth
The biggest names turn out not to be the biggest sellers here, says Hamish Smith
If you had to name the top five vermouths in bars it would be thus (see left), though not necessarily in that order. In more than a quarter of bars polled, Antica Formula was named as the top selling vermouth. Perhaps it’s a surprise not to see the big brands of Martini or Cinzano at the top of the pile, but bartenders are big on history (Antica Formula is the original red vermouth) and also flavour (it doesn’t hold back).
Cocchi, an Italian red style from Torino in second was preferred by a fifth of our sample of 100 of the world’s best bars. The French Noilly Prat, famed for its classical dry white style, and perfect in a Dry Martini was third with around a 15% of bars saying it was their number one.
Martini and Cinzano may well be the most important names in their category, but our poll of top bars puts them at fourth and fifth in order of priority.
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Methodology
The Drinks International Annual Bar Report looks to gauge the buying habits of the best bars in the world by conducting a survey of their owners, head bartenders and bar managers.
The bars that took part – what we refer to as the best bars in the world – are a sample of 108 bars that finished in the top 250 places of the World’s 50 Best Bars survey, now owned by William Reed Business Media. Given the depth and scope of The World’s 50 Best Bars poll (voted for by 476 global bar experts) we feel this is the most credible place to source our sample of bars.
In each instance we asked the bartender to rank their three best selling products in each category, giving us an indication of the brands that are selling best.
As we know, a best selling brand, even in the best bars in the world, earns its place on more than taste, so we also wanted to know the brands that are not necessarily doing huge volumes but have cool-appeal right now. This is where the Trending brands come in. These are the brands customers are increasingly asking for, perhaps because of word of mouth, or even on bartenders’ recommendations.
For more on the methodology see How we did it