How 3 Top Bartenders Really Feel About Branded Cocktails

Moscow Mule. Dark & Stormy. Aperol Spritz. Branded cocktails are a thing—and they have been for a while now. If Instagram is any indication, some consumers are definitely keen on them, but what about bartenders? Do they love them, hate ‘em, or just simply tolerate them? Do they think they can be improved upon? We reached out to three bartenders to find out. Here’s what they had to say.

Grace Holmen

“When I started bartending I found myself overwhelmed by the world of spirits. Enjoying a few brand curated drinks was helpful in learning to cocktail with them. For example, I learned to love Aperol through drinking spritzes. It helped me familiarize myself with the aperitivo in cocktail form,” explains Grace Holmen, Lead Bartender at Common Good Cocktail House in Glen Ellyn, IL. “That it could bring bitterness and sweetness but not really an overpowering amount of either. However, being the rule breaker I am I took that Aperol Spritz experience and turned it into my own. Landing somewhat far away from a spritz, but still a tasty spring drink nonetheless.”

Tokushima Bound by Grace Holmen

For this tantalizing concoction—the Tokushima Bound—Holmen took a basic Vesper build and stirred in Aperol as opposed to the classic Lillet Blanc or Cocchi Americano. Other spirits included the shochu Awa No Kaori rather than vodka, and Roku Japanese gin topped with a splash of a Cuvee to give a nod to Aperol Spritz. She finishes it with a muddle of fresh basil and mint. “I think giving a brand curated drink one try can be helpful, but not necessarily a place you want to stay,” adds Holmen. “For me pushing boundaries, and asking, ‘why this, and not that?’ Is one of the best aspects of being a bartender. I often think of the Picasso quote when I bartend: ‘Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.’”

Anthony Baker

For Anthony “The Professor” Baker, who teaches virtual and in-person cocktail classes from his home base in NYC, he finds branded cocktails to be a positive industry addition. “When it comes to cocktails that were created by brands (Aperol Spritz, Dark & Stormy, etc.) I think they’re quite brilliant,” Baker enthuses. “I mean what better way to promote your brand than showing people how to use your product ... in a delicious way at that!” He adds that back in the day when brands like Absolut used to make their own specialty cocktails, for example, the Cosmopolitan, they used to have bartenders enter into a competition then choose the best-tasting cocktail.

“This still happens today, only the bartenders are much more skilled at creating their own syrups, bitters, and even their own flavoring tinctures,” he notes. “To me it’s great, and there are definitely great cocktails to taste at the end of that rainbow, but that also gets a bit too complicated, and it serves no purpose now for the average home bartender who just wants to grab a few items from the grocery store and whip up something good after a long day on Zoom calls.”

Negroni Tom Collins

In fact that’s part of Baker’s mission in the work he’s doing right now. For example, he teaches a class solely dedicated to easing people into the harsh reality of a Negroni. “Negronis are like being an amateur fighter going into the ring with a professional fighter,” he explains. “The first thing that happens is a left hook, a right hook, and an upper cut.  Next thing you know, you’re out for the count, and all hope for you boxing ever again is out the window.” This is exactly the case with the Negroni’s classic recipe of equal parts gin, sweet vermouth, and Campari, he notes. “You get a left hook of sweetness, a right hook of bitterness, followed by an upper cut of alcohol forwardness. Palates have changed over the years, so it’s just way too much for the novice drinker all at once,” he says. “What needs to take place is the introduction of these notes kind of like a sparring partner—take a light punch here and there, but nothing over the top. This is why I came up with a drink called the Negroni Tom Collins. You get all the characteristics of a Negroni, but it’s accompanied by other ingredients that would make the process of consuming this archaic libation much more pleasurable.”

Ryan Hooks

Meanwhile, Ryan Hooks—Lead Bartender at Bottega Louie in Los Angeles— has a few opinions on the matter of branded drinks. “In regard to a Dark and Stormy, I think it was innovative for the time and good for Goslings to trademark that recipe and name—now you can’t put it on the menu without using Goslings in the recipe or in print at least. I think cocktails like a spritz with Aperol has become a classic in its own right as well, so for the time when they were created, it was smart,” he says. “Times have changed now. The thing I don’t really like is brands doing their take classic cocktails—like say a margarita—giving it a clever name, plugging in their tequila, and acting like it’s some new and innovative drink. Now there is nothing wrong with doing this, but don’t pretend we don’t know what you did.”

Lobos 1707 Moon Howler by Vincent Madero

Hooks notes that many brands originally started having competitions with minimal rewards as a sneaky way to get bartenders to submit recipes they can use instead of paying for them—which he’s also not a fan of. “But on the flip side, during quarantine I saw many brands offering to buy recipes from bartenders to promote their product and give back to the community, which I think is awesome,” he says. “For example, I was paid $300 for one cocktail from Lobos 1707 tequila through Chilled Magazine for creating a cocktail, a quick how to make it video, and taking a picture for social media. This was a really cool way to get cocktails for the brand while still supporting the bartenders who make them.”

Hooks also understands it’s tough for brands when creating cocktails because what works in New York City, Los Angeles, or other major cocktail markets doesn’t work or isn’t even possible in many small rural markets. “I find it best for brands to work market-to-market to find those places that are already using the spirit, what’s working for them, and then investing in those venues. They are the best resource and asset for the spirit brands.”

Hooks adds that he thinks it’s perfectly fine for brands to reuse basic classics with their spirit, while at the same time, look to invest into more innovative cocktails in the right markets, created by the bars—and more importantly—mixologists who love their product. “But I definitely think if the brands want to use them,” he concludes, “they should pay the mixologists who made it for using it.”