Cocktails Anyone?

For all our cafes, and restaurants in Bude, forget Pimms, cold beers and rosé, for the Strawberry Daiquiri is being tipped as the must–have drink of Summer 2012, forecasting increased sales which are up 28% on last year alone. It is expected Brits will drink more than 9 million Strawberry Daiquiris in 2012. 

The trend is the result of perfect weather conditions (rain??) and an increase in at-home cocktail consumption. Strawberry producers are predicting a bumper harvest of strawberries for 2012. 

According to cocktail experts Funkin, Strawberry puree sales are up by 27.62% (June 11 to June 2012) which is the equivalent of 9,049,700 individual cocktails. Britain's second favourite flavour is Raspberry, with 6 million cocktails being made. Passion Fruit has also seen an increase of 29% (equivalent to 5,979,700 individual cocktails). In contrast sales of Kiwi puree are down by 16% and traditional Blackcurrant puree is down by nearly 51%.

Andrew King, CEO, Funkin Cocktails say: "We're expecting an early season for strawberries and a bumper crop. With the warm March leading to some concerns over fruit size and quality, the more temperate April and May lead us to believe the crops will be excellent. We could do with a bit more sun now, to really improve the ripening and finish the fruit off well, but it does look very favourable at this point. Demand has been massive, up nearly a third on last year, but it looks as though production will just about match demand."

Strawberry growers have lifted their production outlook to 56,000 metric tons, well up from 52,000 tons harvested in 2011.

Rosie Davenport, Editor of leading trade title Off License News agrees saying; "Cocktail culture has definitely spread from drinking in bars to groups of friends getting together and recreating their favourite mixes at home. The days of pouring a simple gin and tonic have been replaced by ever more sophisticated options, particularly more classical cocktails, like the daiquiri. With a summer of events now underway and lots of occasions for entertaining, cocktail ingredients are likely to be big sellers as people become their own at home bartenders."