What Cocktails are Trending in 2026?
- Christy Johnson
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
By Christy Johnson & Rachel White
When it comes to beverage catering, the difference between a forgettable open bar and a genuinely memorable event experience often comes down to the person behind the menu. For Chowgirls, that’s Rachel White, our beverage program manager, cocktail visionary, and the creative force that makes our Cordial packages unique, stylish, and, most importantly, delicious.
White has spent 13 years in hospitality with her finger on the pulse of what people actually want to drink, and her approach to bespoke cocktail catering is profoundly innovative. Whether she's crafting a smoky mezcal sipper for a garden soirée, a savory martini riff for a corporate dinner, or an elevated spirit-free sparkler for a bridal shower, every component she includes has been researched, planned, and tested until she deems it perfect.
We recently asked her to step away from her duties for a moment to share insight about the beverages that have been stealing the show this year at Chowgirls events, which trends she's betting on next, and the beverage she’d no doubt put on a menu if given the chance.
COCKTAILS MAKING A COMEBACK
According to White, the “cocktail renaissance” we sometimes hear about is simply history repeating itself, like with any trends we see in food or fashion. “Soon, we’ll all be drinking green tea shots and Sex and the City cosmos as if we invented them, and acting like Negronis are so 2018,” says the 13-year hospitality veteran.
Lately, she says a certain wobbly dessert from many of our childhoods has been landing on the beverage menus of bars, restaurants, and caterers all over the U.S. “We’re hopping on the elevated JELL-O shot train, and I’m all for it,” White admits. She has been tinkering in the Chowgirls kitchen with some recipes featuring the nostalgic treat, but says she wants to make sure the shots can be enjoyed by all of our guests, no matter what their dietary restrictions or preferences may be.
“I’m actually working with my team on ideas for how to make them vegan-friendly, low ABV (alcohol by volume), and, of course, topped with whipped cream and sprinkles. I’m only half joking,” she says with a smile.
Eight of the 10 years White has been in the hospitality industry have been bar-specific, which means she has seen lots of trends come and go. She got her start in Atlanta, Georgia, working at some popular and “choice” cocktail bars, and brought her tools to Minnesota in 2021. Before joining Chowgirls, she spent time at two beloved Minneapolis institutions, Northeast Social and Meteor, and has had a front-row seat for learning what Twin Citians want to drink.
In the past few years, White says mezcal has been getting some well-deserved love, like it does in our fruity, smoky Mezcalita Amelia with mezcal, blanco tequila, passion fruit liqueur, Tattersall Bitter Orange, and lime.
She says brandy and sherry are also in favor once again, and she’s glad to see it. What White would love, however, is for one spirit that’s often considered a supporting character to get the full “star” treatment.
“I want the new ‘bartender’s ketchup’” — a popular, must-have cocktail modifier — “to be dry vermouth,” White declares. “For me, it already is. I believe, given the opportunity, that I could make an entire dry vermouth–based cocktail menu.”
The Chowgirls cocktail that celebrates her favorite ingredient the most is our Olive Oil Martini, a clean, rich sipper with fat-washed vodka, Dolin Dry Vermouth, bitters, and a bleu cheese–stuffed olive.
WORKING MAGIC & WELCOMING MISFITS
White’s beloved spirit actually aligns with another cocktail trend she feels will continue to gain steam as the year progresses. “Tomato seems to be popular right now, and so are savory, Gibson-style martinis with, like, pickled watermelon balls instead of a pearl onion,” she says. “Wait, that sounds so good…now I want one. The salty-sweet, wet martini. Like a drinkable salad.”
These types of “highly culinary”–style beverages are what she’s been drawn to recently, as well as techniques that have mixologists “using centrifuges, and pretty much doing alchemy.”
However, there is one surprising ingredient White says some bartenders have been experimenting with that she thinks could unexpectedly catch on: “You know what? I’ve been seeing palo santo thrown around lately.”
These new trends and flavors are certainly intriguing. But there are a few well-established bottles that have fallen out of favor that White thinks are due for a resurgence.
“Let’s de-stigmatize Jägermeister, and give Rumple Minze a chance,” she says, before quickly adding, “within reason.”
She says she’s also been trying to sneak Blue Curaçao into more drinks. “Earlier this year we made 400 ‘Gatorade-inspired,’ salty lemonades for a big Winter Olympics–themed event we helped plan, and everyone had a sip and said, ‘Wow, I’m surprised I like this!’”
SPOTLIGHT ON SPIRIT-FREE
To keep her own creativity fresh and not diluted by what the masses are crafting, Chowgirls’ cocktail connoisseur generally looks to her network rather than the global trends.
“If I’m being very honest, I try to limit my cocktail content consumption because it gives me a little bit of a complex,” she says regarding her social media feed. “I’ll see a really cool cocktail influencer make the most interesting, beautiful drink and I'll just get pissed off that I didn't think of it first.
“But luckily for me,” she adds, “being in the industry for so long, the majority of my friends are bartenders or bartending-adjacent, and I get to visit their restaurants [to taste what they’ve been concocting].”
One trend White has gotten on board with is the growing emphasis being put on non-alcoholic beverages. That’s because alcohol consumption has been dropping, and not just with the Gen Z crowd, as has been widely reported. According to an August 2025 Gallup poll, the number of American adults who say they drink alcohol dropped to 54 percent, which is the lowest percentage, by one point, ever recorded in the almost 90 years Gallup has been conducting a survey on this topic.
“Elevating the NA cocktail is my ultimate goal,” she says. “I recently acquired The Aviary’s ZERO cocktail book that teaches you pretty much everything on how to make whiskey-flavored cordials and the like. That’s what I’m going to work on this season.”
She’s already crafted some beautiful spirit-free drinks for Chowgirls that are on our Cordial menu year-round, and adds fresh options every season.
THINKING OUTSIDE THE GLASS
Whether her drinks include alcohol or not, White has found a way to get the most out of her creativity.
“I’ll get an idea for a flavor I enjoy, then work backwards,” she shares. “I perform best within a framework. I love having a goal to work toward versus the open world of too many possibilities. For example, cornbread is one of my favorite foods, and I’ve been trying for a few years to make a cornbread drink. How can I incorporate honey, jalapeño, cornmeal, butter, and salt in a drink that doesn't taste like a muddy confusion? I’ve almost got it.”
Who knows? Maybe the next big American cocktail trend will be inspired by cornbread, and dreamt up by the one and only Rachel White in the Chowgirls kitchen.
“My go-to drink is a gin gimlet. It's a little bit of a secret litmus test when I visit a bar I’ve never been to.” —Rachel White, beverage program manager at Chowgirls
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