Illinois Menu Insights tracks which brands and cocktails independent operators are featuring on their menus, and how that placement has shifted year over year. This edition covers the 14K independent accounts in our Illinois universe, comparing Q2 2026 with Q2 2025. Among them, 3.6K accounts had a menu captured and 3.3K had a cocktail menu, spanning 47.1K cocktails at an average price of $12.99.
KEY FINDINGS:
Frozen Drinks are gaining menu share across every major spirits category. Frozen Drinks grew menu share in Vodka (2.3%, up 69%), Tequila (6.4%, up 159%), Rum (3.0%, up 94%), Cordials (3.3%, up 169%) and Whiskey (1.0%, up 292%).
Cruzan and Planteray are climbing the Illinois Rum menu ranks. Cruzan (up 41%) and Planteray (up 39%) each now hold 5.4% menu share, moving up two and one places respectively to tie at No. 4 among Rum brands.
Maker’s Mark takes the No. 1 Whiskey spot on independent Illinois menus. Maker’s Mark climbed two places to No. 1 with 11% menu share among menus featuring a Whiskey cocktail.
Q: How often is the cocktail menu data updated? Monthly. New data is usually in the Ground Signal application by the first few days of each month. The freshest menu you will see is from last month (e.g. in June, menus reflect May).
Q: How do I know when the account menu data was collected for an account? The Ground Signal menu data shows your reporting period, not a “last updated” date per account. Latest menu = last month. Changes this month won’t show until the next update — that’s normal. Use Menu Inquiry if data looks wrong for more than one month, OR Ground Signal has no menu for the account.
Q: Are you only pulling menus from the account’s website, or are you also scraping from third-party sources like Yelp or DoorDash? Website only — not Yelp, DoorDash, or delivery apps. Data comes from online menus from the account’s website.
Q: How does Ground Signal identify what account website to use when scraping for menus? The website on the account record, from Google Maps and Ground Signal’s venue research. If none is listed, Ground Signal can’t collect menu data for that account.
Q: If an account has multiple menus on their website (Happy Hour, Dinner, Dessert, Brunch, etc.), how does that affect the data? Are those menus each counted separately or combined into one? Ground Signal collects all sections from the site (happy hour, dinner, dessert, brunch, etc.) in a single visit. Everything rolls up to one account for reporting. When the same item appears on more than one section — e.g. the same cocktail on happy hour and dinner — Ground Signal deduplicates it so it isn’t counted twice. Menu Share counts the account once; line-item metrics use unique listings after deduplication. Truly different menu lines (different drinks or listings) remain separate at that account.
Section 2 — Menu Identification for Placements
Q: How does Ground Signal determine the type of cocktail for each menu item? For example, will Ground Signal Identify an Espresso Martini if it has a bespoke name, like “Midnight Special”? Or does it have to be called “Espresso Martini”? Ground Signal uses the drink name, description, and menu section — not just the printed cocktail name. A bespoke name like “Midnight Special” can count as Espresso Martini when the menu gives enough detail about the drink. If the line is fully custom with little or no description, it may not map to a standard type.
Ground Signal does not use a fixed ingredient checklist that we publish or apply the same way on every menu. There is no master list of ingredients we look for and share with clients. Instead, we analyze how the drink is written on the menu and classify it into our standard cocktail catalog using automated matching and, when needed, AI that interprets the menu text against common cocktail types — the same way a knowledgeable bartender would read a menu line, not by checking off a fixed recipe.
That means you do not need the exact words “Margarita” or “Martini” on the menu for Ground Signal to identify the cocktail— but the menu does need enough written detail for us to recognize the drink type.
Examples — the cocktail type name does not appear in the menu item name, but Ground Signal classified the item based on how it appears on the menu:
Q: The account has an online menu, but the website is not listed in the Ground Signal menu data. How do I make sure the website gets added so Ground Signal identifies a menu placement? The website comes from Ground Signal’s venue database (Google Maps and venue research). If it’s missing or incorrect, use Menu Inquiry to flag the account — the Ground Signal team handles venue data corrections internally.
Q: I got a new cocktail menu placement at an account, but the account didn’t change its online menu (or doesn’t have one). Am I able to submit a picture of the cocktail menu to get credit? No. Placements must be on the account’s online menu and captured on Ground Signal’s monthly schedule. Ground Signal doesn’t accept photos or PDFs. No online menu at the account? The placement may not appear in Ground Signal data.
Q: I got a cocktail placement last month, but it’s not showing up in that month’s data. Is there a way to send you the account’s menu to make sure it’s up-to-date in Ground Signal? Use Menu Inquiry and provide the date of when the placement occurred. Ground Signal investigates — we can’t update from a photo or file. Data is through last month; the drink must be on the online menu Ground Signal collects from. Ground Signal scrapes the account’s website monthly to collect menu data. If the menu data remains the same for 6 months, we flag the menu for validation to confirm.
Q: What if the cocktail has a ‘choose your own’ selection listed that allows the consumer to mix and match ingredients? Will the brand listed be counted as a placement for the cocktail? Yes. If the brand is listed as part of the ‘choose your own’ selection, then Ground Signal picks that data up as a cocktail menu placement for said brand in that cocktail.
Q: If there are two brands listed in one cocktail will it count as two cocktail menu placements (e.g. Espresso Martini having a Vodka and Espresso Liqueur)? Yes. If the brand is listed in the cocktail, then Ground Signal picks that brand up as a placement for the cocktail. There can be multiple brand placements within a single cocktail.
Beverage Program Optimization
Delight your customers and increase sales.
Tailored Recommendations
Ground Signal uses Artificial Intelligence trained on unbiased customer feedback to create the most comprehensive account profiles in the industry.
These profiles are the backbone of our recommendations as we are able to identify the drinks, brands, flavor profiles and experiences that your customers love.
Rich Competitive Insights
By leveraging our account profiles, we can find the most relevant competitors in your local market.
Compare customer feedback for your business to what your customers are saying about your closest competitors to identify strengths and opportunities to add new offerings that align with customer preference.
Understand Broader Market Context
While it is important to keep close tabs on your direct competition, it is also important to consider the broader industry context.
Leverage our Menu and Trend data to stay on up to date on today’s top brand and cocktail preferences, as well as identify emerging trends that you can adopt to stay ahead of the competition.
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Use AI to power your On-Premise programming. In a competitive industry, selecting the right accounts to grow your brand is a key strategy to help fuel commercial success. Leverage Ground Signal’s proprietary AI to optimize the creation of your Target Account List (TAL), reaching the right target consumers and ensuring the success of your on premise programming.
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Comprehensive Account Profile
Give your teams access to the most comprehensive venue profiles in the industry highlighting each account’s top attributes including:
Consumer Demographic
Alcohol Affinity
Top Cocktails
Top Occasions
Top Environment
Venue Signal
Benchmark your customers against their nearby top competitors.
Identify consumer preferences, cocktails that are driving sales volume, and local menu trends.
Highlight areas of opportunities where the competitors outperform your target account and quantify potential sales lift.
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By using our on-premise trends and venue signal report, your sales consultants can craft a data-driven story that explains to your buyers why your recommendations will help improve their sales.
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Securing a placement on the menu is one of the most powerful levers that a brand has to drive business in the On-Premise. Use the most robust and accurate menu analysis to help track your brand’s penetration in On-Premise menus. Leverage Ground Signal technology to measure the ROI of your menu placements.
Menu Trends
Ground Signal’s robust menu analysis classifies menu placements by top cocktails, flavors, and supplier brands in the respective categories.
Assess the Menu Ownership
Calculate your share of mind by identifying your Brands’ placements in over 150K on-premise accounts in the US.
Gain valuable insights into how often your brand is featured alongside the top cocktails associated with your category.
Measure how you stack up against your competitors in you price tier and category
Sales Impact Analysis
Ensure return on your investment by comparing your sales velocity in accounts where your brand is featured versus accounts where it is not.
Make a recommendation
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Measure your account performance against your closest competitors. Identify the top opportunities to increase sales through consumer conversations, top cocktail consumption, alcohol sales performance, and menu placements.
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Rather than rely on traditional industry account classifications, use Ground Signal’s AI account segmentation algorithm to find your true competitors that match your unique venue profile and top account attributes.
Where are you winning?
Identify the core aspects of your business offering that resonate with your customer base.
Assess the health of your business relative to your competition and learn what cocktails over index on your menu and what occasions drive your customers to your business.
Where are you lagging?
It’s not uncommon for the competition to outperform some areas of your business.
Ground Signal highlights where your account underperforms against your competitors and identifies popular cocktails or occasions that you can adopt to increase sales.
Menu Recommendations
Ground Signal can identify brands that are performing well at your competitors and estimate the potential sales increase if you featured these brands on your menu.
Contact us to get your free Venue Signal report.
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AI-powered context. Using data from social media, depletions, retailer menus among others, Ground Signal applies proprietary machine learning algorithms to identify patterns in consumptive behavior in the On-Premise.
Trends Detected
Flavors
Cocktails
Occasions
Holidays
Alcohol Category
Drink Format
Entertainment
Sports
Events
Demographic
Food
Time in the Day
Sales/Velocity
Robust Trend Data
Using Natural Language Processing (NLP) Models, Ground Signal helps power brands by listening to what consumers are actually sharing in the On-Premise.
Predict the future of consumption and consumer affinity by analyzing how the Voice Of Customer is changing over time.
Extract Top Account Attributes
Identify the most popular attributes found at cohorts of similar accounts to understand what aspects of the experience resonate most with consumers.
Suppliers and Distributors can identify key attributes that are driving sales
Retailers can identify opportunities to realign their offering to better match their clients’ preferences.
Connect Trends to Key Trade Channels
Identify the types of venues featuring attributes that are most relevant to your brand.
Leverage your depletion data to validate that these attributes are linked to increased sales.
Detect Emerging Trends
Your analysis is not limited to a current point of time.
Use Ground Signal’s historical databases to track changes in consumptive patterns, and identify the next big thing to crush the competition.
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