After years of over-the-top cocktails made with tons of ingredients and extravagant garnishes, drinks trends are swaying in the other direction and minimalist cocktails are having a moment. Bar guests are gravitating toward simpler, easy to understand builds, and bartenders in turn are enjoying crafting drinks that call for fewer ingredients while still delivering flavor and quality. Minimalist cocktails are rooted in the classics, and the resurgence of old-school drinks has helped modern consumers embrace the concept of less is more in mixology.
“Minimalist cocktails have a simplicity that breeds efficiency and consistency,” says Justin Young, lead bartender at Chicago’s Farm Bar Lakeview. “By nature, minimalist cocktails are built from a few select, tried-and-true ingredients, and when your recipe calls for less ingredients the probability of executing that cocktail successfully increases by a large margin.”
From the guest perspective, Young says minimalist cocktails increase consumer confidence. “Sometimes it’s hard for guests to conceptualize how a drink’s ingredients might land on their palate,” he explains. “Minimalist cocktails leave little room for the guest’s mind to wander. They’re straightforward and guests don’t have to fret about possibly regretting their order. Cocktail menus can be daunting, but minimalist cocktails give guests an air of confidence in their drink decision.”
At Farm Bar Lakeview, Young offers minimalist drinks like the Brown Dog Old Fashioned ($15.50), made with Chicago Spirit Bourbon, Rhine Hall Apple brandy, Fee Brothers Orange bitters, and Brown Dog Farm honey and Walnut bitters, and the Midnight Sazerac ($15.50), mixing Journeyman Not A King rye, Peychaud’s bitters, and clove demerara syrup, topped with hickory-cherry smoke. Young says higher proof spirits lend themselves to minimalist drinks because they’re full-bodied and don’t need a lot of add-ons to make them shine. He points to mezcal and whiskies especially Scotch and rye—as prime examples.
“A lot of classic cocktails are already minimalist because they were created before cocktail culture became the behemoth it is today,” Young says. “The playground of ingredients was much narrower back then. Martinis, Manhattans, and Old Fashioneds most definitely fall into the minimalist category.”
Ben Lieppman, the beverage director for RPM Restaurants—which has locations in Chicago, Las Vegas, and Washington, D.C.—agrees, noting that Martinis are doing well at his Italian venues. RPM recently added an upscale Dirty Martini made with Grey Goose vodka, Dolin Dry vermouth, and Castelvetrano olive brine, served with caviar and gaufrette chips ($25 in Washington, D.C.). Martinis also shine at Compère Lapin in New Orleans, where bar lead Toray Henry offers the Ti Martini ($17), made with mango-infused J.M. Blanc Rhum Agricole, Dolin Blanc vermouth, and green mango oleo saccharum.
“I look for spirits that are complete by themselves and don’t cry out for other ingredients for balance—brighter spirits with oak aging, like aged agricoles and Old Tom gins,” says Compère Lapin bar manager Jeff Schwartz. “Our drinks that trend toward minimalism are well received because they’re surprising. They have terse ingredient lists or an unassuming presentation, and they have depth of flavor.”
Minimalist cocktails have a special niche in restaurants, where many guests start with a cocktail before ordering food. Scott Stroemer, the beverage director at Galit and Café Yaya in Chicago, says a guest’s first drink should be an easy decision. “In a restaurant, that first drink is there to welcome you while you decide on food and wine, so it has to be nimble,” he explains. “Guests should be able to scan a restaurant cocktail list and know more or less what each drink will be.”
Galit lists a Bee’s Knees ($17) made with Letherbee gin, Verino Mastiha, lemon, honey, and orange blossom water, while Café Yaya offers a Negroni ($15) made with Hayman’s London Dry gin, Contratto bitter aperitif, and tahini-washed Cocchi Torino vermouth. Stroemer says these drinks allow guests to move easily through their experience at the venue. “For me, minimal means starting with established recipes and using them as a framework for thoughtful experimentation,” Stroemer adds. “I love that as an industry we’ve moved toward this.”