Scouse lads have officially swapped the summer Hugo spritz for the old fashioned as autumn's cocktail of choice, with Liverpool bartenders reporting a surge in orders for the whiskey-based drink.
The classic cocktail, made with whiskey, bitters, a splash of water and an orange peel, has risen through the ranks as the season's favoured tipple. The Hugo spritz - a refreshing prosecco soda with an elderflower twist - had been uncontested as the summer drink of choice, according to Liverpool city centre bartenders.
Bartenders Report Old Fashioned Surge
Charlie Dickinson, front of house manager at The Alchemist in Liverpool, said the venue is swamped with old fashioned orders. She told the ECHO: "We definitely go through quite a lot. A lot of cocktails come and go but old fashioned stays around for quite a bit longer."
Dickinson noted a gender split in preferences: "We offer a smokey old fashioned which is infused with woodchips and more popular with women. Men will typically go for the standard." She added that presentation plays a role, citing a customer who once asked for two espresso martinis in a Guinness glass "so it didn't look as feminine. An old fashioned is a bit more of manly cocktail visually."
Brown Spirits Dominate Across Liverpool
The sentiment was echoed at Loretta's Tavern in Liverpool ONE's Chavasse Park, where AGM Elena said: "Most men would order a bottled beer, an old fashioned or godfather. It's usually a brown sprit." She added: "Men like an old fashioned because it comes in a rocks glass. Women will primarily stick with the fruity cocktails like a porn star martini."
Slug & Lettuce staff member Lyndsey Lewis agreed men sway toward brown spirits, though often as a straight drink rather than a cocktail. She said: "Women will run through the cocktails while men will order something like a rum and coke or whiskey and coke."
South Liverpool Pubs See Seasonal Shift
Further south, Paul Harrison, general manager of The Elephant pub restaurant in Woolton, confirmed the trend: "If men order a cocktail it's usually an old fashioned." He noted a seasonal pattern: "We start selling a lot more whiskey at this time of year so men will sway toward ordering an old fashioned. I think it's a safe bet for a lot of lads."
With autumn now in full swing, the old fashioned has taken the lead as the warming drink of choice for Scouse men, replacing the sweet crisp spritz of summer.
