You probably wouldn’t do a shot of tequila with your morning toast any more than you would sip a mimosa at midnight. We have come to think of different alcoholic drinks as being better suited for different times of the day. So which cocktails are our a.m. and p.m. favorites, and which remain popular around the clock?
Nielson, a global analytics company, arrived at this answer by compiling data collected from restaurants and bars over a four month span of time in 2018.
So what are Americans drinking these days?
Nationwide, the most popular cocktails 24/7 were the margarita, martini, old fashioned, mimosa, and the Moscow mule.
Things get more interesting when broken down by depart. Nielson defined morning at 6 .m. to noon, afternoon as noon to 6 p.m., evening as 6 p.m. to midnight, and night as midnight to 6 a.m.
The favorites were as follows:
Morning
- Mimosa
- Bloody Mary
- Margarita
- Bellini
- Old Fashioned
Afternoon
- Margarita
- Martini
- Mimosa
- Old Fashioned
- Bloody Mary
Evening
- Margarita
- Martini
- Old Fashioned
- Moscow Mule
- Classic Mojito
Night
- Martini
- Long Island Iced Tea
- Margarita
- Old Fashioned
- Moscow Mule
The Old Fashioned and the margarita are the only two drinks that make the cut no matter what time of day. But other favorites rise and fall with the sun. Martini drinkers aren’t interested in starting their day early, but stay loyal the rest of the day. Moscow mules apparently exude an after-dark-only feel, while Long Island Iced Teas only join in the fun after midnight. With up to 780 calories in every Long Island Iced Tea, it’s no wonder we make this decision after we’ve probably already had a few.
Other findings showed that non-alcoholic and cocktails, including Virgin Marys and skinny margaritas see the highest sales in the morning, especially with the Millennial set (21-34).
Other drinks made the list in individual major markets, just not nationally. These include Sangria in Tampa, Cosmopolitans in Boston, and specifically “flavored” margaritas in Los Angeles and Miami.
With all of this talk about cocktails, who’s ready for Happy Hour?
ALSO SEE: 16 Outrageous drinking laws in America.
