Smoked salt in a cocktail may have once raised eyebrows. Now it’s a sign of the times.
Savory cocktails—long anchored by stalwarts like the Dirty Martini and Bloody Mary—are commanding attention across the country. From New York to Los Angeles, bartenders are reimagining umami-driven drinks with the precision of chefs. The rise is not sudden, but the recent momentum is impossible to ignore.
“There’s a natural progression in food and drink to find initial attraction through fruit and sweet flavors and then move to the more savory or umami,” says Tyson Buhler, a bartender at Death & Co. in New York City. “The resurgence of the Martini—the Gibson and Dirty varieties specifically—has led more bartenders to be exposed to savory elements.”
What distinguishes this movement is not novelty. It is the steady refinement of ingredients and techniques. Seaweed, mushrooms, tomatoes and soy sauce are appearing on cocktail menus—not as gimmicks, but as components engineered for flavor balance.
“Fermentation, which typically adds savory aromas and flavors, has taken over in the modern kitchen and that has also bled into the bartender repertoire,” Buhler says. “Now a lacto-fermented raspberry syrup brings out deeper, earthier aromas.”
That shift aligns with broader changes in diner expectations. “Our guests are looking for an experience and are becoming much more adventurous with their choices,” says Jen Jackson, enterprise beverage manager at Thompson Restaurants, via Zoom. “They are seeking out cocktails that are unique, different or something they’ve never had before.”
Jackson observes that as consumers dine out less often, they want each occasion to offer something distinctive. Menus now feature more inventive options designed to surprise. “We are seeing more and more pickled vegetables, spices like basil and thyme and bacon fat,” she says.
This change is also structural. Bars are beginning to carve out menu space for savory cocktails alongside more familiar offerings. “We’ve seen more menus begin to not only add savory cocktails but also have specific sections highlighting them and helping to guide guests in that direction,” Jackson says. “Cocktail menus are becoming an adventurous read for guests.”
Bartenders are leaning into that freedom. “Bartenders are always on the lookout for new and interesting flavor combinations,” says Charles Joly, Diageo World Class Global Champion and a James Beard Award-winning beverage program designer. “As bartenders move beyond the traditional sweet, sour and strong profile, integrating savory elements more often associated with the kitchen has become a natural evolution.”
Umami, long understood but rarely spotlighted, is now central to this evolution. Joly recounts a bar where caramelized onion, roasted garlic and oyster shell extracts were once considered radical.
“It makes perfect sense to shine some light onto this important and impactful category,” Joly says. “In the right hands, the result is subtle, unexpected and delicious. This was seen as pretty out there at the time, but doesn’t raise an eyebrow at modern cocktail bars today.”
The experimentation is wide-ranging. There are no fixed rules. The drinks can skew earthy, briny or smoky. The unifying factor is complexity.
“The best applications I’ve seen of savory or umami ingredients often pair a challenging ingredient with more familiar flavor to help ease the guest into trying something new,” Buhler says.
Execution still depends on balance. “Even a Bloody Mary, the most iconic savory and umami-laden cocktail, works because of the inherent sweetness of the tomato and brightness of fresh citrus,” Buhler adds.
Consumer response has encouraged the expansion. “They are so much more adventurous than they were a few years ago and less likely to order the same drink twice,” Buhler says. “This exploration in drinking means they take more chances.”
Recent data reflects the growing interest in savory cocktails among both bartenders and consumers. According to consumer intelligence firm CGA by NIQ, cocktails accounted for 35% of total spirits value in the U.S. on-premise sector in 2024, a six-point increase from the previous year, suggesting a broader shift in drinking habits toward complex, experience-driven drinks. The Bacardi Brand Ambassador Survey noted a 20% increase in demand for savory flavors and a 15% rise in herbaceous profiles in North America in 2024.
Younger drinkers, especially millennials and Gen Z, are leading that shift. “They are more open to innovative flavor combinations that buck traditional norms and certainly something they can share on social media,” Jackson says.
The palate is expanding alongside global culinary exposure. Ingredients long valued in East Asian cuisine—nori, sesame, soy, dried mushrooms and teas—have become common in modern bar programs. “Asian culinary ingredients offer a treasure trove of umami,” Joly says.
That experimentation stretches beyond ingredients to ritual. Joly notes the rise of the “caviar bump,” a bite of caviar followed by a sip of vodka. “The guests don’t need to understand why this works from a flavor standpoint, but they are loving it,” he explains.
Still, the most successful drinks resist novelty for its own sake. Bartenders are conscious of what their guests will enjoy, even when pushing limits. That kind of attention may be the reason savory cocktails have moved from the margins to the spotlight. The drinks are no longer rare exceptions. They are becoming fixtures on menus and in the glasses of a more curious and demanding clientele.
“It is important to remember that no two guests are the same. Some lean to the unusual and unconventional,” Joly says. “Many others will be well-served by a bartender who understands their preferences.”