Soaring Post-Lockdown Demand Challenges UK Cocktail Bars

Amid soaring demand following pandemic lockdowns and with summer cocktails popular amid the recent good weather, the U.K.’s cocktails bars are having a difficult time satisfying demand from bargoers, the Financial Times (FT) reported Friday (June 11).

London Bartenders’ Association Founder Drew Mallins said per the report that the association’s Facebook page has contained reports of shortages of brands made in Europe like Kahlúa, Cointreau, Patrón Tequila, Aperol and Birra Moretti.

“Demand has obviously surged post-lockdown and with the recent good weather, summer cocktails like Aperol spritzes are very popular, as are margaritas with Cointreau,” Mallins told the FT.

Tom Lord, who works as a consultant in the hospitality sector, noted that multiple customers were upset over shortages. “Suppliers may have underestimated the resilience of the British drinker,” Lord told the FT.

One popular British cocktail is made from a mixture of lime, vodka and Passoã, which is a passion-fruit liqueur that FT says is “one of the hardest ingredients to come by.” To that end, one businessperson told the FT that his collection of bars had so much trouble getting a hold of that ingredient that the bars presently prepare their own take on the drink.

As PYMNTS previously reported, Uber in Great Britain is back in the driver’s seat as more consumers leave their residences as pandemic lockdown restrictions are relaxed.

“We were frankly not anticipating the speed of the recovery we have seen in some key geographies and definitely the U.K.,” Anabel Diaz Calderon, Uber’s regional general manager for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said, as per the FT.

As of the beginning of 2021, 17,000 taxi drivers throughout Europe have joined Uber. Their cars can be reserved via the app or hailed on the street as usual.

“The partnership with taxis is a strong lever for the business in many geographies and is actually allowing us to grow or unlock multiple regions,” said Diaz Calderon.