I recently sent out a feedback form to all my past customers. Thank you to everyone who took the time to fill it out, it has been immensely helpful! The feedback overall was really positive, with constructive comments. The few less than stellar forms I received, I could have almost predicted because I knew the exact issues and have already taken action in those areas.
One comment that came up a few times was I should have "more well known regular traditional cocktails."

I thought this would be an interesting topic to talk about as I have actually just recently done research on what the most popular cocktail searches are on Google in the UK. 

The top ten searched for cocktails from January 2020 to March 2021 are 

1. Pornstar Martini 
2.  Mojito
3.  Aperol Spritz
4.  Espresso Martini
5.  Pina Colada
6.  Margarita 
7.  Cosmopolitan
8.  Martini (classic, dry, dirty, wet)
9.  Negroni
10.  Tom Collins

Diggin deeper there is some interesing data within this ranking

• Pornstar Martini is searched for more than 2.5x more than the Mojito (434,000 per month v 181,000 per month average)
• Aperol Spritz, Mojito, and Pina Colada all spike in the summer (as to be expected) 
• Espresso Martini has a huge surge in the winter, by about 5x compared to the rest of the year
• All cocktails saw a big increase in searches during the first lockdown, March 2020 - June 2020
• Searches for Old Fashioneds, Whisky Highballs, and Manhattans are tiny compared to the rest.

So what's this have to do with Cocktails By Mail's drink menu? 

One thing you will notice is that I don't have many traditional classic versions of cocktails.

This is a concisous choice for a few reasons. 

1. Most of the other online cocktail companies are already offering the traditional classic versions of Martinis, Manhattans, Negronis, and Old Fashioneds. Because I felt the consumer already had these available to them, there wasn't a reason for me to offer them as well.
   
   
2. Porn Star Martinis- same as above. There are so many offerings already out there, it seemed silly to compete in this space. Especially since the offerings are usually very inexpensive. Using the high quality ingredients I choose, would push the price up making it seem very expensive in comparison.
   
   
3. A handful of the top cocktails wouldn't work in the eco-pouches and going through the mail. 
   • Pina Coladas are frozen blended, so shipping in the mail certainly wouldn't be feasible.
   • Mojitos need fresh mint and soda water, and I can't get bubbles to stay in the pouches.
   • Aperol Spritz needs Prosecco and soda. 
     
     
4. I actually do base all of my drinks on classics, but with small twists that would be hard to make at home. Like the Cut Grass Martini, Jerezano Manhattan, Pomegranate Cosmo, Covfefe Martini, Spring Negroni and Meadow Margarita.  So in that sense I do actually offer classic(ish) cocktails but I like to use unsual or hard to find spirits and ingredients because...
   
   
5. The classic cocktails are all very easy to make at home with just a few bottles. Gin, Whisky, Dry & Sweet vermouths, bitters, and Campari. With just these ingredients you can master the following cocktails at home (I'll even give you my preferred recipes here) 

• Dry Martini
• Wet Martini
• Negroni
• Manhattan
• Boulevadier
• Old Fashioned
• Old Pal

What you don't want to have at home is 74 different bottles of spirits that you only use 5ml of here and there, sitting in the cupboard for ages. And you don't want to spend your time making infusions, syrups, teas, cordials, etc. Leave that mess to me!

So there you have it, that's why I don't offer the classic traditional cocktails. 

*ok it's was a bit of clickbait. don't hate me