Everybody wants a piece of the action. Americans continue to reduce their consumption of hard liquor, but when they do drink, they want the top-quality brands. We're selling less hard liquor than wine, but when people buy it, they're buying a far better quality. Maybe not so surprising, women are the driving force behind many of the flavored gins, tequilas and vodkas, says another industry group, the Adams Liquor Handbook. Area bartenders agree.
Women especially go for the sweet mixed drinks.
The added flavor of spices in the rum are like a mulled cider. Chad Grimm, who works at The Vine in Coralville, says he sells a lot of flavored martinis to women. A consensus among restaurant owners and bartenders is that young adults are particularly willing to try new drinks. The restaurant features the Mojito, a Cuban version of the margarita, as well as a Jamaican Ten-Speed and a Sexy Alligator, a trilayered shot drink served in a chilled martini glass.