Skip to main content

The pros weigh in on the biggest drink trends to watch for in 2023

Curious what the drink world will do in 2023? We've got a few educated guesses.

It’s been a big year. The pandemic slowed, the World Cup took over Qatar, and we took some pretty cool pictures of the heavens. There were some significant drink trends as well. Things like brandy, RTD cocktails, agave spirits, and lower-alcohol options shined brightly.

So what will 2023 pour into our cups? We peered into the crystal ball to offer some well-educated guesses. We also reached out to a few industry pros to see what they forecast as the major drink trends of 2023.

A glass of Neroli cocktail with yellow flower on soil and grass.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Cocktails

We’ll be honest: There are some things that don’t necessarily need to come back next year. We’ve had our fill of charcoal-activated cocktails, espresso martinis, and poorly-made natural wine. Others are more than welcome to return next year, like to-go cocktails, liquors and spirits finished in creative ways, and American sparkling wine.

Recommended Videos

Experiential drinks

Jason Asher is an experienced L.A. bartender who recently gave us some great advice on mixing with nocino. We asked him about what to look forward to in 2023, drinks-wise. First up, he says, are awe-inspiring experiential cocktails. Food and wine may have made the concept famous, but mixologists are taking note.

“People love to drink with their eyes first,” Asher says. “Food has always had the platform to show elevated plating techniques, and that’s now finally moved into the cocktail world. Drinkers are expecting avant-garde presentations and interactive elements that swoop them into the moment with every sip.”

Nonalcoholic drinks

He also foresees a continued rise in nonalcoholic (NA) offerings. Producers are putting real time and effort into their nonalcoholic options, and it’s paying off. Bartenders are embracing the offerings with open arms, concocting some mean mocktails en route. Then there’s the nostalgia element, something that seems to permeate every facet of our culture, from food and drinks to fashion and music. Asher has incorporated some of that nostalgic flavor into his menus, like a vintage Blue Hawaii cocktail and more playful nostalgic items like spiked ice creams and sorbets.

Going forward, Asher also believes the sector will increasingly focus on sustainability, on-premise batching, and more and more science being applied to the field. Oh, and watch out for rum — we see it riding a wave that’s bubbled up in 2022 and really taking off next year.

Wine

Lightwell Survey Wines.
Facebook/Lightwell Survey

Cabernet Franc

For Bill Cox, the wine director at Charlotte’s Counter, it’s all about a Bordeaux variety. “Cabernet Franc continues to get hotter and hotter, both domestically and abroad,” he says. “Because Cabernet Sauvignon is overplanted, winemakers have been replacing with Cab Franc so that there’s more inventory. Consumers are realizing it’s a delicious wine with a good price point.” Cox also believes Etna wines from Sicily will continue to rise in popularity. We tend to agree and love these volcanic offerings that are full of character.

Counoise

Victor King is the executive chef at Bar La Fete in Alabama. He has a dark horse wine option for 2023. “I foresee a rise in Counoise! Traditionally used in the Southern Rhône, this wine is super adaptable to dryer soil types and doesn’t take long to be an effective yielding grape,” King says. “While it is often thought of as a boring blending grape to increase volume and lower the tenacity of a wine, on its own, it’s light, juicy, and a bit peppery. It is perfectly adaptable to the growing taste for lower priced chilled reds.”

Look out for a bright spotlight to shine on biodynamic producers and for dry-farming to become a seriously viable approach to winegrowing, especially amid historic drought conditions in major wine zones. We’re also putting our money on the continued success of clean and bracing white wines with plenty of acid, such as albariño (its homeland just reported some outstanding export numbers) and sauvignon blanc. Some sommeliers are even predicting big years for wines like fanciacorta, wines from Portugal, Uruguay and Argentina, and even wine cocktails. Rose, maybe not so much, but it’s had a nice, long run.

beer with hops.
Missy Fant / Unsplash

Beer

Not a category that’s known for standing still, craft beer continues to evolve. Recently, we’ve seen cool new options like Cold IPA and will continue to see experimentation with brand new hops (and hop formats like cryo hops).

Chris Herron is the CEO of Creature Comforts Brewing in Athens, Georgia. He thinks the move towards lighter beer is showing no signs of stopping. “There is a lot of positive movement towards lower ABV styles, in particular lagers,” he says. “Creature Comforts has the number-one craft lager and number-one craft pilsner in Georgia with Classic City Lager and Bibo, respectively. These are beers we have been making for a long time, even when it wasn’t cool to do so. They are such beautiful beers, and it is great to see consumers coming back around to respecting these styles and purchasing them.”

We’re likely to see the slowing of certain styles, like the hazy IPA. Craft enthusiasts really seem to be loving clean and crisp when it comes to beer, and the cloudy options don’t fit the bill. With the element of discovery always in play when it comes to drinks, look out for lesser-known styles to resurface. Think rauchbier, a German-style of smoked beer, or helles lagers, or wheat beers.

Mark Stock
Mark Stock is a writer from Portland, Oregon. He fell into wine during the Recession and has been fixated on the stuff since…
A beginner’s guide to sherry wine, an incredibly misunderstood drink
Sherry deserves another chance. Here's a breakdown of the classic fortified wine
Sherry fortified wine in a glass

Sherry, for those in the know, is absolutely wonderful. More often than not, though, it still draws a wince from the casual restaurant or bar-goer (another fortified wine, port, knows how it feels). The stereotypes -- cheap, used only for cooking, only consumed by old people -- are pervasive, much to sherry's discredit. It's time to change all that.
The last several years have seen beer become more like wine and wine become more oxidative (e.g., natural wine styles, Jura Chardonnay, skin-fermented or orange wines, etc.). Sherry has held a certain esteem throughout, wearing its nutty, briny, dried fruit flavors on its shimmering gold sleeves and for good reason -- the sherry designation contains some of the driest as well as the sweetest wines on the planet. No matter what sort of wine you are looking for, chances are you can find something similar to it within the category.
In terms of its presence on the restaurant scene, sherry appears to be enjoying a kind of hipster revival -- as evidenced by a few "Is sherry enjoying a revival?" stories making the rounds. This, however, might be the exception that probably proves the rule: Sherry consumption has tanked over the last 50-odd years. It became decidedly uncool during the 1980s and increasingly associated with the ascot-wearing type of older gentleman. I'm here to tell you that, in fact, sherry is absolutely wonderful and comes in a variety of expressions.

What is sherry?

Read more
How to make a frozen cappuccino: The perfect refreshing coffee drink
How to find (and make) this frothy, frozen coffee
frozen cappuccino

A frozen cappuccino is not a drink you'll come across often. If you do find it on a menu, order it. Last week, I first saw this drink on a restaurant menu in Florida, which featured a spiked frozen cappuccino made with rich chocolate and a splash of spiced rum. I immediately knew I needed to learn more about this interesting take on an iced cappuccino. A frozen cappuccino is the perfect refreshing coffee drink to sip on a hot day or as a fun alternative to a frozen espresso martini. Here are three different ways to make a frozen cappuccino at home.
Easy frozen cappuccino recipe

Unlike the popular Starbucks Frappuccino, a frozen cappuccino in its most basic form is a frozen twist on a regular iced cappuccino. Using a blender to crush the ice creates a smooth, frozen, and slushy texture for this drink, almost like a "coffee smoothie". What makes a cappuccino unique is its stronger espresso flavor, made with a balanced ingredient ratio of 1/3 steamed milk, 1/3 espresso, and 1/3 milk foam.

Read more
Our 5 favorite vodka drinks, ranked
Add these vodka drinks to your home bar menu
Vodka martini

One of the best spirits for mixing into classic cocktails is vodka, with some of our favorite vodka drinks including the beloved vodka martini or the ever-popular screwdriver. When you flick through any book of cocktail recipes, you'll find a ton of options for mixing with this versatile and widely available spirit.

For those new to vodka, it's a clear spirit made of ethanol and water. The ethanol comes from the fermentation of potatoes, wheat, rye, corn, or other ingredients. After fermentation, the liquid is distilled (usually multiple times to remove impurities) before being filtered through charcoal or other ingredients (volcanic rock, in the case of Reyka). And we're here to tell you what the best vodka drinks are. Keep reading.
Our 5 favorite vodka cocktails

Read more