There has not been an abundance of sunshine but summer cocktails are flying off the shelves as months of working from home have turned Britain into a nation of amateur mixologists.
Supermarkets are recording a huge increase in sales of spirits used in aperitifs, as people who working from home use the time gained not having to commute to create “sundowners” before dinner.
Waitrose said that sales of Aperol, an Italian aperitif, were up by 148 per cent in July compared with the same month last year and sales of vermouth increased by up to 64 per cent.
Aperol is a bitter-tasting spirit made principally of rhubarb, gentian and cinchona that is mixed with prosecco and soda water to make an Aperol spritz. Vermouth is used in many cocktails, with Martini Rosso a key ingredient in the negroni, for example.
Aperol spritz has become a summertime favourite in recent years, thanks in part to its light, refreshing flavour but also because its bright orange colour makes it ideal for pictures on social media websites such as Instagram.
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Data from Google Trends shows that searches for Aperol spritz have quadrupled in five years, with four times as many searches in summer as in winter.
Waitrose said that other vermouths selling well included Noilly Prat Dry, which is up 64 per cent in a year, and Cocchi Rosa, which is up 35 per cent.
The British favourite Pimm’s is also surging in popularity, with demand more than doubling this summer.
The supermarket chain reported that its customers were also whipping up espresso martinis, with recipe searches on its website up by 148 per cent year on year and sales of Kahlúa coffee liqueur up by 51 per cent.
John Vine, a spirit buyer at Waitrose, said: “With many of us now spending our summer break closer to home, we’re seeing strong demand for ‘summer-type serves’ which are quick and easy to prepare. Our customers are looking for ways to end their working day, while they’re still working from home, and mixing up some delicious sundowners before dinner has driven sales of aperitifs in recent weeks.”
