Vodka-based cocktails trend on Google

Google has released its US data for 2024, which has revealed the top-trending cocktail searches for the year.

The data shows the searches that had a high spike in traffic over a sustained period this year compared with 2023.

Taking the top spot on the podium this year was the Pornstar Martini, which was found to be the top-trending cocktail in the US.

The Pornstar Martini blends vodka, passion fruit, vanilla, lime juice and Passoã, and is served alongside a shot of Champagne or Prosecco. It was created by the late Douglas Ankrah in London in the early 2000s, and has continued to grow in popularity ever since.

The serve also found popularity in the UK, with searches for the vodka-based serve, along with its alias, the Passion Fruit Martini, up 2,400% in 2024.

This was followed by the Honey Deuce cocktail, the signature serve of the US Open tennis tournament. This year, Grey Goose Vodka, the makers of the cocktail, sold more than 556,000 units – equal to US$12.8 million – throughout he tournament, which is when searches spiked on the search engine.

Searches for the serve also soared in the UK during the tournament.

These serves were followed by the Hugo Spritz and the Gin Fizz.

Two more vodka-based cocktails followed in the top-trending list: the Dirty Martini and the Lychee Martini.

Spanish cocktail Carajillo, which is said to be popular in Mexico and is made with espresso and Licor 43, was the seventh top-trending cocktail in the US this year.

This year, coffee-based cocktails have been popular with consumers, with the Espresso Martini attracting 932,000 searches online in the 12 months leading to November, according to Craig van Niekerk, global vice‐president for rum‐based liqueur Malibu and coffee liqueur Kahlúa at Pernod Ricard.

Despite this, the Espresso Martini did not make it onto the top-trending list for 2024, however the rum-based Dark n’ Stormy did, taking the eighth spot.

The fifth and final vodka-based cocktail in the list was the Lemon Drop Martini, coming in at number nine on the list. This features vodka, triple sec and fresh lemon juice, and can be compared to a White Lady, which is made with gin.

The final cocktail on the list that trended consistently throughout the year is the Aperol Spritz.

In June, Coffeeness, a German-based coffee resource, used Google search results to determine the favourite cocktails for each US state.

The research showed that American palates are becoming more accepting of bitter flavours, with the Aperol Spritz at least tied for the favourite in 22 states.