Top 3 Alcohol Drink Trends to Follow in 2023

Every year has its drink of the moment. Sometimes it's a category — the spritz summer of 2019, the hard seltzer boom of 2020. Sometimes it's a specific spirit, or a way of drinking. 2023 is different because the biggest shifts aren't about a single trend at all. They're about three parallel changes in what people are actually ordering.

Here are the three that matter, why they matter, and what to buy to be part of them.

1. Premium Tequila Overtakes Whiskey

For the first time in a generation, tequila is on track to surpass American whiskey as the second-highest-selling spirit category in North America (vodka still leads by volume). This isn't the tequila boom of the 2000s — the shot-glass, salt-and-lime era. This is high-end sipping tequila, especially añejo and reposado, being ordered neat or in premium margaritas.

What's driving it: the celebrity brand wave (Casamigos, Teremana, 818) put quality tequila in front of drinkers who'd never taken it seriously. Once someone tastes a proper añejo, mezcal, or high-agave reposado, the mental model shifts. Tequila stops being a Saturday night party spirit and starts being a nightcap sipper.

What to Order

For the entry point: Casamigos Blanco or Don Julio Blanco — clean, smooth, agave-forward. For a step up: Clase Azul Reposado or Don Julio 1942. For something adventurous, add a mezcal like Del Maguey Vida — smoky, complex, and increasingly popular in cocktails.

2. Low-ABV and No-ABV Cocktails

The other big shift is downward. "Zebra striping" — alternating alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks throughout a night — has moved from being a niche health habit to being the norm at good cocktail bars. And low-ABV cocktails (usually 5-15% ABV, built around aperitifs, vermouths, or sherries rather than base spirits) are now menu staples at every serious bar in Toronto.

The math is simple. A gin martini is around 30% ABV in the glass. An Aperol Spritz is 8%. An Americano — Campari, sweet vermouth, and soda — is around 10%. You can drink three of them over the course of a dinner and still walk home clear-headed. That's why the category is exploding.

What to Order

Aperol, Campari, and Cocchi Americano are the three most useful bottles for building low-ABV drinks at home. Add a bottle of Cinzano Bianco or Dolin Blanc and you can make an Americano, a spritz, a bicicletta, or a bianco negroni in about thirty seconds.

3. Craft Canned Cocktails Get Serious

The RTD (ready-to-drink) category used to mean vodka sodas or over-sweet coolers. In 2023 it means Nütrl vodka sodas, Cutwater tiki drinks, High Noon hard seltzers, and increasingly, serious bar-quality canned Old Fashioneds and Negronis from small distilleries. Sales of premium canned cocktails grew nearly 40% year over year in Canada.

What's driving it: convenience without compromise. If a can of Cutwater Vodka Mule tastes as good as a decently made one at a bar, and it costs a quarter of the price, the value equation changes. Add the growth of hosting-at-home post-2020, and cans have become the beer-replacement for a lot of drinkers.

What to Order

White Claw's variety pack is still the volume leader. Nütrl vodka soda is the cleaner premium option — no sweeteners, actual juice. High Noon has taken the same real-juice approach. For the cocktail-in-a-can category, look for Cutwater, On the Rocks, and Fabrizia Spirits at your delivery service.

How to Play the Trends

You don't have to buy into all three. Pick the one that matches how you actually drink. If you host dinners: buy a nice añejo tequila and a bottle of Campari, and you're set for six months. If you're trying to drink less without stopping: build a low-ABV bar. If you're the person hosting the pool day: stock a variety of premium canned cocktails and skip the cooler entirely.

J&J Alcohol Delivery stocks all three categories and delivers same-day across the GTA. Call (437) 328-0030 or order online. Whether it's a bottle of Casamigos, a case of White Claw, or a full aperitif setup — one order, one delivery, one night.