Citrus and berry flavours most popular in specialty adult beverages

The leading flavour in specialty adult beverages on Canadian menus is lime. Listed 337 times on Canadian menus on Technomic’s MenuMonitor database, lime is often added to drinks as a complementary flavour. Citrus flavours like lime and lemon, which is also among the top five flavours, add freshness to a drink, as is the case with Bâton Rouge Steakhouse & Bar’s Cucumber Cool cocktail made with gin, sugar cane syrup, tonic, cucumber and lime juice. In other cases, lime serves as a main ingredient in specialty mojitos and margaritas.

Another leading fruit flavour found in specialty adult drinks is cranberry, with 168 appearances on Canadian menus. The characteristically sour and bitter taste of unsweetened cranberries can add a unique flavour boost to drinks, while other specialty cocktails spotlight sweetened cranberry juice. Often associated with the holidays, cranberry is also frequently found in seasonal specialty cocktails, such as The Keg Steakhouse + Bar’s Cranberry Smash and Cranberry Mojito, both of which were introduced as winter specials in December.

In addition, we see that orange flavours are popular in specialty adult beverages in Canada. Orange is often used as a natural sweetener with bartenders using juice or zest to add a punch of citrus flavour to drinks. Orange rinds or slices are also used as colourful and fragrant garnishes.