Hot summer, long drinks

Present alcohol consumption trends are favourable for summer cocktails – which are light, fresh and have lower alcohol content. Péter Morafcsik, president of Hungarian Bartender Union and the head of Bols Bartending Academy told our magazine that cocktail trends change constantly. After the conquest of rum, it is now the age of vodka that is downing on us. No more spectacular decoration – cocktails are more minimalist these days: clear cut drinks with a clear cut style is the present trend.

Hungarian guests appreciate new things but above a certain level they are slow to adapt to changes. Casaca or tequila are popular cocktail base materials all over the world, but in Hungary they can only be used for caipirinia or tequila sunrise, as people find it hard to make friends with more piquant flavours of other cocktails. More sophisticated guests are happy to try drinks with basil, thyme or paprika.

Csaba Gulyás, bartender and drinks expert is convinced that summer is the period for refreshing long drinks, but he sees more opportunity for tequila and gin than his colleague. He uses syrups and lemonades to mix his rum-, vodka- or pálinka-based cocktails. He likes offering his guests gin fizz or mojito and Aperol spritz: a fashionable Campari-type Italian drink with sparkling wine and soda. He thinks that different ‘frozen’ drinks, which are really popular abroad, cannot break through in Hungary as long as professional blenders are expensive. Champagne cocktails are popular around the year, but in summer these can be combined with fresh fruits. Hungarian beer lovers are reluctant to familiarise themselves with beer mixes; however, radlers’ popularity seems to increase. Bars also started offering an increasing number of energy-dink based cocktails.