Cocktails Europe: Spritz Is Taking the Lead, but Every Market Keeps Its Own Drinking Culture
France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands: cocktails are gaining ground across Europe, but not in the same way
The cocktails Europe market is gaining momentum across all four countries analysed by Fyre.
In H1 2026, cocktails accounted for 16.4% of alcoholic-beverage revenue in France, compared with 10.9% in Germany, 7.0% in the Netherlands and 6.4% in the United Kingdom.
More importantly, cocktails gained share in all four markets analysed — and declined in none.
But behind this common European trend lie very different market dynamics. France leads in category weight, Germany shows the strongest momentum, while the United Kingdom and the Netherlands reveal very specific consumption occasions and preferences.
Looking at cocktails Europe through actual till receipts therefore tells us much more than which drinks are popular: it shows how differently the category is developing from one market to another.
France remains the market where cocktails carry the most weight
With 16.4% of alcoholic-beverage revenue, France clearly leads the four markets analysed.
Cocktails are also sold in 87% of French venues in the Fyre panel that sell alcoholic beverages. This is no longer a category limited to specialist cocktail bars: cocktails have become widely established across the French on-trade.
In Germany, cocktails account for 10.9% of alcoholic-beverage revenue, but momentum is the real story. Across a constant panel of 12,406 venues, the category gained +0.36 percentage points year on year, the fastest growth recorded among the markets analysed.
The Netherlands and the United Kingdom currently have lower shares, at 7.0% and 6.4% respectively, but the category is also gaining ground in both markets.
In other words, cocktails are not simply an important category in Europe. They are continuing to take a larger share of the drinks mix.
Aperol Spritz: Europe’s cocktail?
When we move from the overall category to the individual cocktail names identified on till receipts, one drink stands out: Aperol Spritz.
It is the number-one named cocktail in Germany, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
In Germany, its dominance is striking: 39.3% of named-cocktail revenue comes from Aperol Spritz alone. It sits far ahead of Mojito at 6.8% and Gin & Tonic at 5.8%.
In the Netherlands, Aperol Spritz represents 20.0% of named-cocktail revenue, followed by Rum Cola at 12.5% and Mojito at 9.3%.
It also ranks first in the United Kingdom, with 18.7%, ahead of Baby Guinness at 10.0% and Espresso Martini at 7.9%.
France is the only market where Aperol Spritz does not take the top spot.
France keeps a distinctly local podium
In France, the Mojito remains the number-one cocktail, accounting for 15.0% of named-cocktail revenue.
It is followed by Kir at 10.2%, with Spritz at 9.9%.
This podium highlights an important feature of the French market: alongside international cocktail trends, locally established and historically popular serves remain highly relevant.
But the ranking could change quickly.
Because when we look beyond current share and focus on momentum, Spritz is clearly moving ahead.
Spritz is the biggest growth story in cocktails Europe
Aperol Spritz is the strongest-growing named cocktail in every market where year-on-year evolution can be measured:
+2.2 percentage points in the Netherlands
+0.9 percentage points in France
+0.5 percentage points in Germany
And the momentum extends beyond a single brand or recipe.
The wider Spritz family is also growing: Campari Spritz gains 0.4 points in Germany, St-Germain Spritz gains 0.4 points in France, and Limoncello Spritz gains 0.4 points in the Netherlands.
The phenomenon therefore goes well beyond Aperol alone.
At the same time, some long-established cocktails are losing ground. Mojito, for example, falls by 1.2 points in France and 0.3 points in Germany.
In the Netherlands, cola-based serves are also losing share.
One cocktail is nevertheless worth watching across markets: Espresso Martini, which ranks among the top six named cocktails in all four countries analysed.
Four countries, four different cocktail cultures
The data shows why it can be misleading to talk about cocktails Europe as though it were one homogeneous market.
Germany is heavily structured around bitter and Spritz-style serves. France retains a stronger presence of local and traditional references. In the Netherlands, long drinks and cola-based cocktails remain significant. The United Kingdom stands apart through the weight of spirit-and-mixer serves, shots and coffee-based cocktails.
For beverage brands, these differences have major implications for innovation, portfolio strategy and commercial activation.
A product designed around the dominant German trend will not necessarily have the same relevance in France or the United Kingdom.
The trend may be European. Consumption occasions and preferences remain local.
What cocktails Europe means for beverage brands
The growth of cocktails across the four markets points to a category with both scale and momentum.
But the real opportunity comes from looking beyond the European average.
Which cocktails are gaining share? Which flavour families are expanding? Which serves are uniquely strong in a particular market? And where are consumers already moving before the broader market catches up?
For beverage brands, understanding cocktails Europe at this level of granularity can help turn market trends into much more precise portfolio, innovation and activation decisions.
Methodology
This analysis is based on Fyre transactional data collected daily from approximately 33,000 European venues directly connected to their POS systems, among venues selling alcoholic beverages: approximately 5,607 in France, 12,925 in Germany, 9,262 in the United Kingdom and 5,252 in the Netherlands within the scope of this analysis.
The data comes from actual till receipts. It is neither a consumer survey nor an extrapolation to the total market. Every figure therefore describes the observed Fyre panel, not the total national market.
The category analysed follows Fyre’s “Cocktails & Mixers” taxonomy, which also includes non-alcoholic cocktails and covers 22 families based primarily on base spirit.
For named-cocktail rankings, Fyre identifies cocktails based on the product names recorded on receipt lines. Recognised named cocktails account for approximately 79% of cocktail revenue in Germany, 72% in the Netherlands, 59% in France and 36% in the United Kingdom. UK name-level results should therefore be considered indicative.
H1 2026 covers January to June for Germany and the Netherlands, January to April for France, and January to June excluding April for the United Kingdom, following data-completeness checks. Year-on-year changes use like-for-like panels made up of identical venues observed in both periods.
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