Bioluminescence, 3D printed, & more: Leading bartenders predict 2025 mixology trends

Ahead of this year’s Jameson Black Barrel Bartender Series competition, judges Millie Tang, Claudia Cabrera, and Danil Nevsky have each revealed their trends predictions for premium cocktail bars and mixology for the upcoming year.

Brisbane-born, Paris-based De Vie bartender Millie Tang anticipates an increased focus on dessert and pastry techniques.

“Culinary techniques in drink production will intensify, with a focus on methods and technology used by expert pâtissiers,” she said.

Claudia Cabrera, bartender at Kaito del Valle, Mexico, predicts a return to traditional, and even ritualistic, drinks and flavours.

"I expect to see bartenders looking backwards in time, using plants and herbology to make cocktails; from tree saps to herbs and roots and beyond,” she said.

“Additionally, I predict we will see cocktails that will bring ancient ritualistic beverages and their ingredients, such as Tejate (prehispanic maize and cacao ‘drink of the gods’) and Pulque (2,000+ year old Mesoamerican fermented agave drink), to the wider world, shining a light on regional culture.”

Claudia Cabrera also forecasts a strong focus on umami flavours and new approaches to cocktail presentation.

“Umami flavours will be dialled up, with algae and tomatoes being key players, and also using ingredients to create rare visual experiences - I expect to see concepts like bioluminescence, colour shifting and 3D printed ingredients pop up on menus soon.”

Similarly, hospitality consultant and Founder of Indie Bartender Danil Nevsky expects extremely savoury ingredients and combinations to become increasingly prevalent in 2025.

“Expect to see unseen ingredient combinations in drinks pushed further, like parmesan and espresso, as well as extreme savoury ingredients, such as mushrooms, anchovies and even root vegetables, used to push classics like the dirty martini to the very edge. Drama won’t just come to cocktails in the ingredients. Dramatic garnishes and presentation will continue to get bigger and better across the year, whilst still being refined.”

These predictions differ greatly from both Flavorman’s annual predictions and from key takeaways from the CGA by NIQ Global Cocktail Report, likely due to the focus on industry-leading methodology and cocktail-specialist environments.

Flavorman’s annual predictions for 2025 signposted an increased global focus on tropical fruit flavours such as banana, mango, dragon fruit, papaya, and coconut; along with an expansion into international spices and herbs. It also anticipates a shift in consumer interest towards increased ingredient transparency, with consumers taking a closer look at ingredients and associated health claims.

Similarly, the latest CGA by NIQ Global Cocktail Report found that 32% of cocktail consumers globally believe it is more important than it was 12 months ago that their drink is healthy. The CGA report also outlined that Australian on-premise consumption remains especially high among younger generations, thus presenting opportunity.

Click here to read more 2025 predictions from Co-Founders of Curatif and Clean Collective.