The core of the independent cocktail menu barely moved in Q3. Margarita, Old Fashioned, Martini and Espresso Martini still lead, and in six of seven spirit categories the #1 brand is the same as a year ago. The change is happening around that core: smaller brands gaining placements, familiar serves taking new forms, and flavors shifting at the edges.
We analyzed Q3 2026 menus from about 80K independent accounts with cocktail menus to see where the movement is.
Brands: leaders hold, challengers build
Category leaders held their positions. Tito’s appears on 29% of menus with a vodka cocktail, Hennessy on 22% of cognac menus and Bacardí on 22% of rum menus. Among the leaders, only Grey Goose, Buffalo Trace, Hennessy and Empress 1908 are clearly growing.
Several large names are losing share year over year: Jameson (−5.5%), 1800 (−6.6%), Smirnoff (−5.4%), Hornitos (−5.7%) and Gosling’s (−7.9%).
The sharpest gains come from smaller brands. Gran Centenario is up 76% year over year, Lalo 43%, Planteray 43% and Aviation 53%. The median fast-growing brand holds about 2% of menus. These brands are building share incrementally, not displacing the leaders.
Cocktail menu trends: classics fragment, a few serves grow
Margarita is on 51% of cocktail menus nationally, followed by Old Fashioned (33%), Martini (30%) and Espresso Martini (27%). The classics are holding, but the growth is in variations. Margarita sits on 67% of menus with a tequila cocktail and is flat year over year (−0.3%). Spicy Margarita is up 14% and Fruit-Flavored Margarita 45%, while Classic Margarita (−1.5%) and Frozen Margarita (−6.2%) slipped.
Espresso Martini is growing across categories. It’s on 32% of menus with a vodka cocktail (+14% year over year) and 27% of cordials menus (+15%).
Spritz is up 17% to 22% in tequila, vodka, gin and cordials, and Hugo Spritz is up 60% in cordials.
Flavors: citrus anchors, growth is at the edges
Citrus still sets the baseline. Lime is on 62% of tequila menus with a bespoke cocktail, lemon on 54% of gin menus and pineapple on 51% of rum menus. Most of these are flat to slightly down year over year, and lime fell 8.5% in whiskey.
Growth is at the edges:
Exotic fruit: lychee (+19% in vodka, +25% in gin), yuzu (+18% in gin) and guava (+15% in rum)
Sweet and dessert notes: chocolate (+14%) and peach (+12%) in tequila, and cream (+19%) in gin
Berries: blackberry (+15%) in whiskey
What it means for getting on the menu
Leaders aren’t being displaced quickly, so lead with the serve bartenders already trust. Then pair it with a secondary option from the growing group, such as a Spicy Margarita alongside the Margarita, or a Hugo Spritz for a cordials placement.
The classics will endure, and the growth will keep coming from the variations built around them. For the previous quarter’s picture, see our Q2 cocktail menu trends.
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.
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Identify consumer preferences, cocktails that are driving sales volume, and local menu trends.
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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.
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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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Where are you winning?
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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.
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