The Australian on-premise looks fundamentally different in 2026 than it did three years ago. Premium and super-premium volumes are growing ahead of the total category. Younger drinkers are more sober-curious than any cohort before them. Spiced rum is the fastest-growing dark spirit. And the Martini, of all things, is back at the top of the cocktail menu. This is the 2026 outlook for what your guests are actually ordering.

Trend 1 — The Martini Renaissance is the dominant cocktail story

The Cocktail Porter 2026 trend report places the Martini at the centre of Australian on-premise drinking, with five distinct sub-styles climbing on menus simultaneously (Cocktail Porter):

• Gin Martinis — younger drinkers discovering botanical complexity
• Espresso Martinis — orders up roughly 300% since 2022 (ABC Bartending College)
• Dirty / Extra Dirty Martinis — savoury, briny, the bold-flavour pour
• Pornstar Martinis — photogenic, prosecco-on-the-side fun
• Breakfast Martinis — marmalade lift, the "left of centre" pick

Mezcal Martinis and Tequila Martinis are flagged as the fastest-rising variant. The bartender takeaway is that "Martini" is the menu category, not the cocktail — and your menu should treat it that way.

"Walk into any bar right now, and you'll notice how the bartending scene is shifting. Bartenders are focusing on balance, intention and drinks that actually feel good to consume." — Cocktail Porter, 2026 Bartending Trends

Trend 2 — Low-ABV is no longer a niche, it's an expectation

The IWSR 2026 outlook calls out Gen Z's "evolving relationship with alcohol" as one of the six forces reshaping the category (IWSR). Hospitality Connect's 2026 list puts "low-ABV spritzes" and savoury Martinis at the top of the 2026 trend stack (Hospitality Connect).

For Australian venues this means three things: (1) every menu needs at least three sub-12% ABV options, not one; (2) "moderation cocktails" are full-margin drinks now, not loss leaders; and (3) low-ABV builds reward liqueur-led recipes — perfect territory for the Giffard liqueurs and syrups ranges.

Try this in your venue

The Alpine Gimlet by the Giffard team — 30 mL Giffard Passionfruit Liqueur, 30 mL Bigallet Bellambre, 30 mL verjus. Low ABV, sour, three ingredients, full-margin.

Trend 3 — The Tequila boom slows; mezcal takes over the menu drama

The premium tequila category in Australia continues to grow but the runaway acceleration of 2022-23 is normalising. IWSR data shows ultra-premium tequila in non-US markets (including Australia) is still a fraction of US volume, with significant headroom (IWSR).

Where the real growth is moving in 2026 is mezcal. Smoky, agave-led, more storytelling per pour — bar managers in Sydney and Melbourne are putting mezcal alongside their tequila call on menus. The tequila category responds with cleaner blanco-led builds (Tommy's Margaritas, Palomas), while mezcal owns the more dramatic stirred drinks (Oaxaca Old Fashioned, smoky Negronis).

The 3Two1 portfolio response: Pueblo Viejo Blanco as the house call, Casa San Matías Gran Reserva as the back-bar premium, and La Dama as the additive-free upmarket reposado. Read the full tequila category guide.

Trend 4 — The Rum Revival is real, and it is dark-spirit-led

The Australian rum market is projected at a 9.06% compound annual growth rate from 2026 to 2033, reaching $22.8B by 2033 — driven by premium and craft expressions, not by mass-volume mixers (Australia Rum Market scope, LinkedIn Editors). Global rum is forecast to grow from US$28.4 billion in 2026 to US$42.7 billion by 2036 (Future Market Insights).

Inside Australia, spiced rum specifically is the fifth-largest spirit category — behind Scotch, bourbon, gin and vodka. The on-premise story is even more pronounced. In our 2025 sales data, on-premise Black Tears volumes were up 270% on the prior year, with 181 active on-trade accounts.

Trend 5 — Premium liqueurs replace generic modifiers

The single biggest menu-level change we've tracked across our trade accounts in the last 18 months is the disappearance of generic modifiers. Triple sec is being replaced with Cointreau, Curaçao or Giffard Triple Sec. Coffee liqueur is being replaced with Giffard Vanille and Cacao combinations (see our espresso martini upgrades). House-grenadine is being replaced with branded pomegranate liqueur or Giffard Pomegranate Syrup. The category split between liqueur and syrup is dissolving — bartenders are using both.

Trend 6 — Bigger names, smaller bars

The 2025 Australian Bartender Bar Awards recognised intimate, neighbourhood-style venues across both major categories. Old Mate's Place (NSW) took Best Bar; Caretaker's Cottage (VIC) won Cocktail Bar of the Year; Above Board (VIC) won Cocktail List of the Year (Australian Bartender). Tanguy Charbonnet was named Bartender of the Year.

Death & Co opened its first Australian outpost in Melbourne in November 2025 at 87 Flinders Lane (Gourmet Traveller). The trend Sydney and Melbourne are running: 30 to 60-seat venues with one menu, one story, one focused spirit category. The 200-seat "everything to everyone" venue is increasingly the outlier.

"The cocktail scene in 2026 rewards intention over excess. Guests want drinks that taste exceptional, feel thoughtful and create moments worth sharing." — Cocktail Porter

Trend 7 — Zero-waste and sustainability move from marketing to menu

Hospitality Connect's 2026 list explicitly calls out "sustainable cocktails focused on zero waste" as a defining trend. The bars actually doing it — using citrus husks for oleo-saccharum, leftover egg whites for foam, herb stems for syrups — are getting press, awards and bartender loyalty. The 3Two1 syrup logic argument (see our syrup programme guide) extends naturally here: branded syrups for shelf-stable consistency, house syrups for the things you would otherwise throw away.

Further reading

Drill into specific categories with our tequila category guide, Worthy Park brand story, and the top-10 trending liqueurs in Sydney and Melbourne.