A Timeline of the Bar Industry’s Darling Liqueurs

When thinking about cocktails, base spirits tend to be the first element that comes to mind. It makes sense — given their high proof, liquors are the primary booze source for most cocktails, both classic and modern. These liquors are undeniably important, but in most instances, they are not the primary flavor driver of the drinks they’re used to create. More often than not, that responsibility falls to bottles in the liqueur category.

Produced in styles ranging from sweet and fruity to herbal and earthy, liqueurs are an essential component of practically every cocktail on the planet. Over the years, specific liqueurs stood out from the rest, attracting the attention of bartenders all over the country.

Some of these liqueurs were mixed into everything, becoming so ubiquitous that they earned the nickname “bartender’s ketchup.” Others were the key ingredient in cocktails that practically defined a decade before becoming cliché. In rare cases, they defy the timeline entirely, persisting on back bars for generations.

To track these liqueurs’ heydays, we’ve created this timeline highlighting when each was inescapably popular. From the vibrant-hued, sugar-laced liqueurs of the late 20th century to the bitter, herbal recipes leading the charge today, keep reading to check out a timeline of bartenders’ darling liqueurs.

Galliano: 1969 – Late ’70s

The 1970s disco era ushered in the popularity of a host of cocktails infused with the same vibrancy and sense of play, perhaps none more popular than the Harvey Wallbanger. The drink is nothing without Galliano, a sweet, Italian, herbal liqueur created in Tuscany in 1896. Made from a secret blend of 30 ingredients including its signature vanilla, the liqueur first arrived in the U.S. in the early 1900s, though sales exploded in the ’70s, and it’s all thanks to the Harvey Wallbanger.

There are several conflicting stories regarding the origins of the drink, but its spotlight in the ’70s can be tied directly to Galliano’s U.S. importer, McKesson Imports Co. To encourage consumer interest in the liqueur, the company’s director of marketing hired a cartoonist in the ’60s to create a character named Harvey Wallbanger who strictly drank the cocktail. “My name is Harvey, and I can be made,” the tagline read. By the mid-1970s, Galliano was reported to be the best-selling liqueur in the U.S., selling over 500,000 cases per year.

Midori: 1978 – Late ’80s

This bright green Japanese melon liqueur made its U.S. debut at Studio 54 in 1978. Those in attendance? The cast and crew of “Saturday Night Fever,” the iconic 1977 disco film starring John Travolta. Like the movie, Midori is practically cemented in the cultural canon of the late ’70s and early ’80s, when bartenders typically used it to create Midori Sours.

The sour moniker may evoke the thoughtful, egg-white concoctions of today, but these drinks were nothing of the sort. Instead, Midori Sours were primarily made by combining the sweet liqueur with sour mix, the decade’s staple cocktail mixer. It’s no wonder that overly saccharine Midori fell out of favor as the era of tooth-rotting cocktails came to a close, but a 2012 reformulation changed everything. That year, a new recipe with 20 percent fewer artificial additives hit the market, priming the liqueur for its comeback in 2024.

Peach Schnapps: Late ’80s

The theme of the cocktails coming out of the ’70s and ’80s was sweet — the more cloying, the better. Naturally, when DeKuyper launched Original Peachtree in 1984, the sugary peach schnapps with its juicy, ripe stone-fruit flavor fit right in. That same year, over 13 million bottles of the liqueur were sold in just 10 months, with bartenders and at-home drinkers often mixing it with orange juice to make a Fuzzy Navel. In 1987, three years after the Fuzzy Navel was created, another peach schnapps-dominant cocktail entered the fold: the Sex on the Beach. While its origin story is murky, one of the most popular suggests it was invented at a bar in Florida during a contest to see who could sell the most peach schnapps.

Apple Schnapps: Mid-’90s

If the two decades preceding the ’90s were known for sugary cocktails, the ’90s were focused on sugary cocktails in a Martini glass. The decade gave rise to drinks like the Cosmopolitan, Lemon Drop, and, of course, the Appletini, which famously relies on apple schnapps. DeKuyper Sour Apple Pucker schnapps, to be historically accurate. The Dutch brand launched the Jolly Rancher-esque liqueur in the U.S. in 1997, and by 1999, Sour Apple Pucker had surpassed 1 million cases sold. Its widespread use virtually cemented the Appletini as one of the ’90s most defining cocktails.

Fernet-Branca: 2000 – Present

Bitter and bold, Fernet-Branca is the industry darling, with bartenders able to communicate their status to others in the trade by simply ordering a shot of the stuff. Created in Milan in 1845 and initially intended to serve as a medicinal tonic, the digestif contains a mixture of 27 herbs and botanicals, which give rise to its signature intensity. It’s been sold in the U.S. since as early as the 1860s, starting in San Francisco, which was able to continue selling the amaro through Prohibition thanks to its medicinal properties. The Bay Area was instrumental in developing Fernet’s modern popularity among those behind the stick, adopting the amaro as an industry handshake by the turn of the millennium. Today, it’s no longer a secret among bartenders, and its favor among those in the trade has yet to wane.

Aperol: 2008 – Present

When thinking about Aperol, the first thing that comes to mind is likely the vibrant orange spritz. While the Aperol Spritz is currently one of the world’s most popular cocktails, there was a time when the bittersweet liqueur was a beloved tool in the bartenders’ arsenal beyond the one quaff.

The orange liqueur arrived in the U.S. in 2006, a time when most cocktail modifiers were aromatized wines or extremely sweet. The introduction of a balanced, complex liqueur like Aperol proved to be a useful addition in several drinks that have since gone on to become modern classics. There’s Sam Ross’s Paper Plane, which took flight in 2008 and sees the liqueur mixed with equal parts bourbon, Amaro Nonino, and lemon juice. Then there’s the Division Bell, a Last Word variation made with Aperol, mezcal, Maraschino liqueur, and lime juice first shaken up by Phil Ward in 2009. And don’t forget the Naked and Famous, Joaquín Simó’s 2011 creation fusing mezcal, Aperol, yellow Chartreuse, and lime. While the variety of drinks made with Aperol had peaked by 2012, the spritz is still a summer favorite.

St-Germain: 2007 – Present

Just like Aperol, St-Germain entered the market at a time when the pickings were slim for nuanced liqueurs. Created in 2007, the sweet elderflower liqueur was practically an instant success, adopted by influential bartenders at pioneering cocktail establishments like Death & Co and Please Don’t Tell in New York City. At Death & Co, bartenders including Brian Miller and Phil Ward were mixing St-Germain into tequila Martinis, Old Fashioned variations, Champagne drinks, and more. The liqueur’s popularity skyrocketed from there, with bartenders experimenting with the elderflower flavor in any way they saw fit. Use of the liqueur became so universal that St-Germain was affectionately referred to as “bartender’s ketchup” by 2010, a nickname that has endured to this day.

Ancho Reyes: 2014-2019

Created by beloved agave distiller Iván Saldaña, Ancho Reyes hit the U.S. market in 2014 and was quickly adopted as a bartender favorite. The liqueur — made from handpicked, sun-dried Puebla chiles — is loosely based on a recipe that dates back to 1927, a time when every family in the Mexican town had their own recipe to serve guests.

Initially, Saldaña envisioned the liqueur being enjoyed like an amaro, but bartenders couldn’t get enough of it in cocktails. The red Ancho Reyes quickly solidified itself as a cult bottle among those in the trade, with bartenders using it to add heat to Margarita renditions and create spiced riffs on other classics. In 2017, Ancho Reyes doubled down with the introduction of Verde, which is made with underripe, fire-roasted chiles and was received by trade and consumers alike in the same way as its predecessor. The brand is widely credited with kickstarting the chili liqueur category and pushing the spicy cocktail trend into bars.

Mr Black: 2018 – 2022

No cocktail has been quite as pervasive in recent memory as the Espresso Martini. Originally created in 1980s London, the caffeinated cocktail made quite the comeback in the late 2010s, solidifying a position as one of the world’s most popular by 2021 and holding firm to this day. The cocktail is incomplete without coffee liqueur, and as it reentered the fold, many bartenders opted for Mr Black over legacy options like Kahlúa.

Launched in 2013, the cold brew coffee liqueur is made with 100 percent arabica beans, resulting in a highly concentrated, roasted coffee flavor. According to IWSR data, Mr Black led the global coffee liqueur category by volume from 2017 to 2021, and the brand was sold to Diageo just one year later. Today, Mr Black remains a staple behind the bar, with bartenders shaking it into all types of coffee cocktails.

Campari: 2019 – 2022

As an integral component of numerous classic cocktails, Campari is a timeless liqueur, unlikely to lose the favor of bartenders, well, ever. That said, if we were to pinpoint a time when the bitter red liqueur was truly everywhere, it would be from 2019 to 2022. By this point, the Negroni had been inching its way toward ubiquity, though its popularity — and subsequently Campari’s — exploded when Dante was named World’s Best Bar in 2019. The West Village spot is widely credited with popularizing aperitivo culture in the U.S., with several cocktails on-menu starring the Italian liqueur. And who could forget Stanley Tucci’s iconic viral video prepping the equal-parts drink? The Negroni’s supremacy brought attention to other Campari-soaked classics like the Boulevardier, Americano, and Garibaldi, as well as newer creations like the Left Hand.

Licor 43: 2023-2024

The dominance of the Espresso Martini sparked consumer interest in coffee cocktails of all types, with the Carajillo becoming one of the most popular. The Mexican cocktail is a simple creation, with espresso joining forces with Licor 43, a citrus- and vanilla-forward Spanish liqueur with roots dating back to the ancient Romans. The cocktail began appearing on menus right around 2023, with some restaurants reporting that they were outselling Espresso Martinis about five to one. That year, Licor 43’s parent brand, Zamora Company, hit a record-high $314 million in sales. In 2024, the company witnessed a 9.8 percent increase in net profits, with Licor 43 accounting for almost half of all sales.

Chartreuse: Timeless

There are liqueurs beloved by bartenders, and then there’s Chartreuse. Produced by Carthusian monks, the liqueur was first introduced to the public in 1737, though its recipe dates all the way back to 1605. While bartenders certainly don’t shy away from sipping the various special-edition bottles neat, it’s the standard green and yellow expressions that tend to be ubiquitous. Punchy, boozy, and bold, green Chartreuse is essential for classics like the Bijou, Last Word, and Champs-Élysée, while the milder, sweeter yellow version is used in drinks such as the Alaska and the Naked and Famous. By 2021, demand for the liqueur had grown to such a level that the monks were forced to pull back production in order to refocus on their monastic duties. In January 2023, it was announced that Chartreuse would be produced and sold on an allocation-only basis, and tracking down a bottle at retail remains a difficult task today.

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