What does 2012 have in store for drink trends?

4th January 2012, 11:42am

Trend updates at the start of a new year typically centre around food. But keeping abreast of what’s happening behind the bar should still be a priority. Here Breckland Orchard tell us what to look out for when it comes to drinks in 2012.

A LOVE OF RETRO SODAS
The British love of retro soft drinks will continue - expect to see lots of lemonades, dandelion & burdocks, cream sodas and of course lashings of ginger beer. The Brits are falling in love all over again with classic tastes of their childhoods and remembering just how great they taste. As part of that trend we expect to see the ice cream float make a reappearance on menus across the UK.

CORDIALS AND SQUASH
Tying into the love of all things retro, cordials and squashes will see a resurgence in popularity. Always popular, and perfectly suited to recession 2012 will see cordials/squashes as an essential drink versatile with hot or cold water, carbonated water, or as an ingredient in cooking. British imaginations will have no bounds when it comes to their uses.

RAPID GROWTH OF INDEPENDENT COFFEE SHOPS
Independent coffee shops will become more prevalent through 2012 as consumers eschew the coffee giants such as Starbucks and Costa to seek out coffee shops with personality. Independents such as Kaffeine, Artisan Roast, Monmouth Coffee are forging the way in the urban centres, but 2012 will see this trend spreading nationwide. The recession is actually helping this trend, as modern food entrepreneurs leave their corporate jobs to follow their passions and start up coffee shops that can reflect their love of great food, great coffee and great atmosphere.

WELL FROM THE INSIDE OUT
Expect to see a further rise in the popularity of functional drinks as people literally seek to drink themselves better. Beet It Juice for athletic performance or Alibi as a pre-tox drink are some current examples.

MODERN MILD
Expect to see a swathe of new lower alcohol beers hit the pubs and shops in 2012, as manufacturers launch beer to take advantage of the reduced duty on beers under 2.8 % ABV. For the consumer this translates into a 50p saving. Expect to see more taste from these 'modern milds' not the often bland taste associated with their predecessors. Greene King's 'Tolly English Ale' and Wadworth's 'Small Beer' are early examples of this new trend.

SOFT DRINKS IN PUBS
2012 will also see landlords realise that there plenty of reasons why their customers may not be drinking [detoxing, health reasons, driving, pregnant etc] - so expect to see the number of soft drinks increase to react to this. No more simple options of 'J2O or Coke'. 2012 will see a variety of flavours, guest soft drinks and non-alcoholic cocktails on pub menus.

TEA ON THE GO
Everyone is used to a 'coffee on the run', a quick latte or cappuccino, but tea has so far lagged behind. Constraints of milk and tea-bags mean that a portable coffee is far more the norm in the UK. Expect some fairly aggressive innovation in the market as the UK's favourite hot drink fights back.

CELEBRITY BARISTAS
We'll get our first celebrity baristas in 2012, as barista champions transition over into the mainstream. Watch out for blends of coffee specially concocted by these celebrity baristas, pop up cafes in urban centres with the baristas in residence for a limited time.

RUM AS THE SPIRIT OF 2012
We predict that Rum will make the cross over to become the achingly trendy spirit of choice in 2012. Not the white rums such as Bacardi, but dark rums, golden rums and spiced rums - bars will be awash with them all. Events such as the Rum Masters 2012 and the UK RumFest 2012 will add sparkle and enjoyment to the rediscovery of just how great rum is. The crafted vodkas and gins will be passé as bar-goers seek out trend setting rum brands - e.g. Mount Gay or Goslings. For the modern age rum will be served neat over ice, or as a long drink with ginger beer.

CRAFTING YOUR OWN ALCOHOL
With the recession upon us crafting and re-cycling have never been so popular. Growing your own food and foraging for food have enjoyed a renaissance, Kirsty Allsop is on TV getting us all crafting and that trend is set to cross over to drinks in 2012. Expect to see foraging for sloes, damsons, rosehips - and then all being turned into flavoured vodkas/gins this autumn. Also lookout for homemade fruit wines containing blackberries, apples, pears and the likes.

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