Mexican Momentum

As tequila and mezcal take center stage, don’t sleep on Mexican beers and picadas (hard aguas frescas that rival hard seltzers), as their drinkability has vast appeal. On the non-alc front, beverage development should continue to explore aguas frescas and tepache, along with a look at licuados (thinly blended milk, fruit and ice drinks) for new inspiration. Health-conscious patrons seeking new fermented drink options are prime candidates for tepache. Cross-functional Mexican beverages, like cold-brew coffee horchata, will tap into the trending consumer preference for dual-purpose benefits with both flavor craves and hydration.

Applying unexpected Mexican seasonings/spices and flavor injections to drinks creates a heightened sensory experience aligned with the evolving direction of consumer tastes.

Consider these ideas to leverage trend-forward Mexican beverages for signature sips:

NEW TAKES ON TEPACHE:

• Coconut water-pineapple tepache
• Passionfruit-pineapple tepache
• Spiced apple-cinnamon-pineapple tepache
• Raspberry-pineapple tepache
• Hard cider-pineapple tepache
• Tequila, mezcal, rum or bourbon cocktails with pineapple tepache&
• Mexican beer-pineapple tepache (similar to a shandy)

MANGONADA RIFFS:

• Vary the chamoy fruit base: mango, apricot, peach or plum
• Add tequila or mezcal
• Increase the spicy level with a chile flavor (and heat level) of choice
• Utilize different seasonal mango varieties
• Add a complementary fruit (chopped, puréed, or in sorbet form) to the mango, like strawberry or watermelon

HORCHATA INFUSIONS:

• Strawberry horchata
• Boba Thai tea horchata
• Matcha-vanilla horchata
• Maple-bourbon horchata
• Pumpkin spice (or roasted sweet potato) horchata
• Ube horchata

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Mexican drinks and ingredients that demonstrate impressive lift over the last four years in beverage development, according to Datassential MenuTrends:

• Mangonada +555%
• Mezcal Margarita +177%
• Carajillo +163%
• Mango-Habanero +122%
• Elote +82%
• Paloma +81%
• Poblano +80%
• Tepache +55%
• Horchata +22%