Espresso martinis, Old Fashioneds and more — a look at cocktail trends in Charlotte

In Charlotte, we’re here for the drinks, friends. This food-and-beverage focused city, which loves — and loves to hate — its growing number of breweries, is increasingly becoming a cocktail town, as well. (Fun fact: Even a good number of breweries have cocktails now, too, along with cafes and markets.)

A glance at the cocktail menus in Charlotte’s bars and restaurants show a few trends: Bourbon drinks. Espresso martinis. Low ABV drinks and mocktails. But we wanted to talk to the folks in the know — some of Charlotte’s top mixologists — to go deeper and explore what’s pushing the proliferation of these drinks.

“People should recognize that these are waves, not something that’s permanent,” Charlotte mixologist Justin Hazelton told CharlotteFive.

Hazelton, who works in beverage consulting, sees cycles and notes that when people first get interested in exploring cocktails, they want to get “deeper than vodka sodas and get into the classics,” such as Old Fashioneds. Next, they become interested in more innovative beverages and variations on those classics, he said.

“We’re going back to the foundations again,” Hazelton said. “Trends can go up and down, but the classics are classics for a reason.”

With that said, here’s a look at 2023 cocktail trends in Charlotte:

Bourbon drinks/Old Fashioneds

The “continued rise of cocktail culture” has brought along a national spike in bourbon sales, industry analyst BevAlc Insights noted in its 2023 bourbon forecast, declaring it “America’s spirit.” And the trend holds up in Charlotte.

Built On Hospitality beverage director Bob Peters told CharlotteFive, “Bourbon is just a massive wave right now. To me, bourbon has always been king. But during the ‘90s and early 2000s, flavored vodka took over everything, and people forgot how cool bourbon is. Now, everyone has remembered how interesting and beautiful bourbon actually is.”

True to form, you’ll find bourbon drinks all over Charlotte cocktail menus, with creations like the Bourbon Bramble at the Crunkleton, featuring high proof bourbon, orange blossom, Marasca cherry paste and fresh squeezed lemon ($15), and the Not Your Average Vice at Billy Sunday Charlotte ($13), which mixes bourbon, cinnamon, pineapple, lime and fresh strawberries.

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Especially common are smoked Old Fashioneds and other variations that riff off the drink, with versions at bars and restaurants including Crave Dessert Bar’s Sincerely Crave ($20), which includes 100+ proof bourbon and hickory smoke, and Dot Dot Dot’s Hot Box ($20), made with Knob Creek Single Barrel Bourbon, Islay Scotch, sweet vermouth, chili bitters and pecan wood smoke.

Highlighting the popularity of Old Fashioneds, CharlotteFive writer DeAnna Taylor even recently featured Hazelton’s Honey Old Fashioned in Ebony, bringing national attention to the Queen City — and the cocktail.

Espresso martinis

Another late ‘90s, 2000s-era throwback is the espresso martini, said Peters, who recently revamped the cocktail menus at The Goodyear House and Old Town Kitchen & Cocktails in his new role as Built On’s beverage director. Previously, he worked on the new cocktail menu at The People’s Market, as well as the beverage program at Yunta and Broken Promises.

“People are just going nuts over that,” Peters said. It’s interesting to see how people are taking that and putting their own spin on that it can be and using things other than vodka in it. We actually did one here with tequila. It’s actually insanely delicious together — all the depth of flavors you get together.”

Nate Robbins of Duckworth’s expressed a similar sentiment. “I know one thing — espresso martinis seem to be crazy right now.”

Kayleigh Williams-Brown, the bar manager at Leah & Louise explained it like this: “You know, everyone is addicted to caffeine ... Coffee meets vodka — for some people, that’s a really big win.”

Salted Melon even recently offered an espresso martini bar, where guests could choose their own spirits, flavor profiles such as sea salt caramel and white mocha, and toppings.

The drink is so popular that there are spinoffs floating around, too. A new take on an espresso martini is available at Link & Pin, Duckworth’s sister restaurant. Its Tiramasu Martini is made with Social House Vodka, Cruzan Single Barrel, Amaro Averna, Amaro Nonino, Frangelico, Kahlua, Vanilla Bean, Chocolate Bitters and Nitro Cold Brew Coffee ($14).

Foam

Foam is also back on the drink scene and “really trending,” Williams-Brown said. “Some people call them airs on their cocktails.”

In fact, Punch — a publication dedicated to drinks and drinking culture — declared that “foam is staging an unironic comeback at high-concept bars everywhere.”

“Foam provides the designer of the cocktail a way to highlight an ingredient without making it super strong,” Kate Gerwin, a finalist on the Netflix show “Drink Masters,” told Punch.

At Leah & Louise, Williams-Brown concocted a recent negroni riff called The Beautiful Girls ($14) that includes foam. “That one’s a twist on the Kingston Negroni, topped with a citrus foam,” she said. “It really changes the build of any classic cocktail.”

You’ll also find the technique at The Royal Tot, where the Cursed Idol includes Hornitos Reposado Tequila, house-made allspice dram, passion fruit, lime and cinnamon, along with chili lime sea foam ($16).

Low ABV/ Mocktails

Across the city, non-alcoholic mocktails and low ABV beverages are becoming fairly prevalent on cocktail menus. The trend is so deep-rooted that Charlotte now has one alcohol-free bar and another on the way.

Sugar Lounge offers pastries and coffee in the morning and hookah and events at night. The Roaring Social, now operating as a pop-up, is looking for a space to open with the same model — minus the smoke.

“Alcohol is such an ingrained part of our society — I’m trying to change that without being preachy … and change the narrative,” The Roaring Social owner Casey Dolan told CharlotteFive.

Another new business looking to change the norm is Restaurant Constance, whose chef/owner Sam Diminich has been sober for nearly a decade. The restaurant has created an entire menu of non-alcoholic beverages to pair with its seasonal food.

“Many non-alcoholic beverage programs include beverages that mimic alcohol, like ‘spirit-free bourbon’ or ‘NA Lager.’ We aren’t doing that, because we want to create our own language with our NA program — stimulate our guests with beverages that are complex, just as the wines we pour — and also potentially make an impact on somebody in a restaurant environment who is privately questioning their relationship with alcohol. We want to be their safety net,” he said.

Try the Thai Fighter with blistered Shishito peppers, yuzu, Thai chili and Thai sparkling water ($12.50), or The Rocker with peach consume and coconut milk ($6).

Hazelton noted that creating such drinks isn’t an easy endeavor. “I think it takes more more skill than people think to make a mocktail,” he said.

Mocktails also redefine what it means to make a good beverage that’s created with intent, creativity and good flavor, he added. “We can mix both of those movements together. Maybe they don’t want cocktails as big — maybe a smaller cocktail, smaller glasswear … and not get as drunk.”

Local ingredients and sustainability

Locally sourcing food has become a regular feature of Charlotte’s restaurants in the past few years, along with other moves toward sustainability. Now, that movement is including beverages, as well.

At Leah & Louise, Williams-Brown works with the kitchen team to keep sustainability in focus. She shares fruits and vegetables so nothing goes to waste — and she particularly teams up with the pastry chef.

For example, when strawberries are in season, they’re on the restaurant’s Arthur Lu dessert and the bar offers a strawberry cordial, and when a rosewater baklava was coming out of the kitchen, a rosewater cocktail was on the drink menu.

Peters said North Carolina distilleries — and the local use of their products — are growing in the city’s cocktail scene, too.

Oaklore Distillery in Matthews has gotten in on the trend. Its North Carolina Straight Rye includes grains sourced from North Carolina farms, as does Southern Distilling Co. The Statesville distillery even shares its spent grain with Iredell County farmers to feed livestock.

“We have way more distilleries than people have any idea about — well over 70 in North Carolina,” Peters said. “Typically, distilleries use lots of local agriculture, so notably when you buy local, are you supporting the distillery but also the agriculture. It’s great for sustainability and the supply chain, as well.“