Agave, the spiky desert plant synonymous with Mexico, is weaving itself into British life in ways few would have predicted a decade ago. Most people recognise it as the backbone of tequila, but in the UK you’ll now find agave syrup on supermarket shelves at Waitrose and M&S, often positioned as a premium alternative to honey.
But the real momentum is in drinks. UK cocktail culture has embraced agave with enthusiasm, and the country’s bars are stocked with more tequila, mezcal and niche agave spirits than ever before.
New mezcalerías have opened in London in the last six months – Little Fires in Shoreditch and Sorbito in Dalston. Bars are serving Mezcalitas (Mezcal Margarita), smoky Old Fashioneds with mezcal, and even agave-based spritzes.
Supermarkets and retailers have followed suit. Tesco and Master of Malt have all expanded their tequila and mezcal ranges since 2023, adding premium brands such as Ocho, The Lost Explorer Mezcal.
Scotch remains one of the UK’s most respected spirits categories, but the real excitement lies within the indie bottling scene. Independent bottlers – from North Star Spirits and Thompson Bros to Càrn Mòr and Little Brown Dog – are giving whisky lovers something they crave: rarity and a sense of exploration.
By sourcing casks from distilleries or brokers and releasing them under their own labels, they offer experimental takes on cask finishing. Their bottlings tend to be small, limited and often single-cask, exactly the kind of releases that appeal to younger whisky enthusiasts who value individuality and storytelling over heritage alone. And this will be a way for the Scotch industry to drive newer consumers into the category, consumers that are perhaps getting tired of being priced out of the uber luxury offerings coming out of some distilleries.
Indie bottlers represent creativity, transparency and risk-taking – three values that could shape all premium spirits in 2026.
The UK’s deepening engagement with Asian cuisine – Japanese, Korean, Chinese and Southeast Asian – has opened the door to a new wave of spirits. As consumers encounter these flavours in restaurants, street food markets and we see a boom in openings of Asian speciality supermarkets in the UK, they are increasingly curious about the traditional drinks that accompany them.
Sake is gaining traction well beyond Japanese restaurants. Bars now serve it chilled by the glass, retailers stock premium bottles, and sake-based cocktails are emerging as a lighter alternative to wine or vermouth.
Soju is riding the Korean cultural wave – see K-drama, K-pop and Korean BBQ – into the UK mainstream. The Soju brand Jinro has already been enjoying strong success in the UK, last year reporting a compound annual growth rate of 73% since 2021 according to The Spirits Business*.
Baijiu is benefiting from the rise of contemporary Chinese dining. Modern baijiu cocktails – highballs, fruit-led serves and spritzes – are helping drive interest.
Moderation is now a permanent pillar of UK drinking culture. And the numbers are striking. In July this year, Waitrose reported a 32% year on year growth in no and low sales across the board (with low and no wine sales up 21% and beer up 50%).
However, the most striking figure was in the spirits section – with 0% spirits up a whopping 85% year on year.
So what’s changed? Why have 0% spirits started to gain traction? (after all 0% Gordon’s and Tanqueray launched in 2021). Perhaps it is the evolving style. Early 0% spirits were botanical gin-like liquids; the new wave includes 0% dark spirits, agave alternatives, aperitif-style blends and complex ready-to-serve non-alcoholic cocktails. Bars, meanwhile, have embraced full 0% menus.
For a generation that blends drinking and not drinking depending on mood, health, and occasion, 0% isn’t a substitute – it’s a relevant and important option.
While in no way a new concept, terroir is increasingly becoming a key trend in spirits categories that were – to non-connoisseurs at least – previously seen as a bit “catch-all”. Consumers are increasingly looking beyond the brand name and are curious about precisely where a product was made and the origin of its ingredients. Rum and vodka are at the forefront of this shift.
In terms of rum, producers in Jamaica, Barbados, Martinique, Panama and Venezuela are leaning into regional identity – from soil and climate to sugarcane varietal and fermentation style.
Vodka is undergoing a quieter but equally significant renaissance. Premium and craft vodkas are highlighting the provenance of their base ingredients – rye versus wheat versus potato – as well as water source and distillery region.
In 2026, rum and vodka might just start to define themselves by true regional identity, rather than by flavourings or branding – for example looking for a Polish rye vodka or a Finnish barley vodka.
As British consumers explore global cuisines, seek authenticity in what they consume and embrace cocktail culture, the spirits world is evolving to match.
From terroir-led rum and vodka to agave’s cocktail explosion, indie whisky bottlers, the rise of Asian spirits and a maturing 0% category, one theme runs through them all: curiosity. Consumers want to know more, taste more and connect more deeply with what’s in their glass.
