Leading Brands and On-premise Trends
At bars and restaurants, Tito’s is by far the top vodka call brand, either straight or in mixed drinks, cocktails or shots, according to the 2025 Cheers BARometer study. The survey of the Cheers audience, conducted in December 2025, found that Bacardi is the rum most often called for and Patron the leading tequila call brand.
When it comes to whiskey, Jameson was the overall top imported call brand for the bars and restaurants surveyed, while Crown Royal was the runaway leader in Canadian whisky. For American whiskey/bourbon, the results were a bit more spread out, with Jack Daniel’s in the lead, followed by Maker’s Mark and Bulleit tied for second place.
Gin calls were also more varied, with Hendrick’s in the top spot, with Bombay Sapphire second and Beefeater third. Grand Marnier was the number-one cordial/liqueur call brand, followed by Baileys Irish Cream and then Disaronno Originale amaretto liqueur. Hennessey was the top call for brandy/Cognac.
Given the shifting tariff situation, inflation and general economic uncertainty, many on-premise operators raised prices on some beverage alcohol categories within the last 12 months. Nearly two-thirds (62.6%) said they raised prices on imported whisky, and almost half (46.9%) hiked priced on imported beer. Just over 43% increased prices on tequila/mezcal, 38% raised the price of imported beers and 31% charged more for both rosé wine and light beers.
Beer and wine behavior
The most popular imported beer among survey respondents was Corona extra, followed by Guinness Stout and then Stella Artois. The average percentage of beer volume sales attributed to draught is 51.1%; for bottles it’s 42.4% and for canned beer, it’s 20.6%.
While more than half (56%) of respondents do not offer any beverages as flights, among those that do, the plurality (26%) said that they offer beer flights, vs. 19% that offer spirits flights, 11% that offer wine flights and 4% that offer cocktail flights.
A third of respondents said they do not offer any alternative wine formats. Among those that do, 33% offer boxed wine and another 33% offer splits. A quarter offer half bottles and 13% have canned wines on the menu.
Half of the respondents said that price/value is the key driver behind their customers’ wine selection, while 30% say it’s brand recognition and 8% cite availability by the glass. The plurality of survey participants (38%) offer five to 10 wines by the glass, 25% offer 11 to 15 and another 25% offer less than five.
What are guest willing to pay a premium for when it comes to going out for a drink? Three-quarters of respondents cited a beverage with exceptional taste; 68% said it was a drink’s distinctive flavors and ingredients; 46% said people would pay more for special crafting techniques, such as smoked or muddled cocktails; and 38% said artistic presentation.
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