Something's shifting behind the bar. Walk into any decent cocktail spot right now and you'll notice the low ABV cocktails list looking a little different - more spritzes, more aperitifs, more things built to be sipped slowly across a long evening rather than knocked back in two. It's not a phase. It's how a growing number of people actually want to drink, and bars are catching up fast.
Mindful moderation goes mainstream
The days of "low-ABV" meaning a sad, syrupy compromise are well and truly over. What's replaced it is often called mindful moderation - drinkers who aren't cutting alcohol out, just cutting back, and who expect real choice, real quality and a proper premium experience while they do it. Bartenders have responded by building entire session menus: spritzes, sherry cobblers and other lighter serves designed to let guests socialise for longer, order another round, and actually enjoy themselves rather than watching the clock. In some bars, session cocktails now account for as much as a quarter of total cocktail sales.
The spritz itself has become something of a mascot for the whole movement. Aperol led the charge, but the format - something bittersweet or fruity, topped with fizz or soda over ice - has exploded into a category of its own, with elderflower and other botanical spritzes climbing the ranks fast.
Natural is doing a lot of the heavy lifting
Alongside the ABV story, there's a bigger appetite for drinks that feel like they were actually grown somewhere, rather than assembled in a lab. Bartenders are reaching for fresh juices, herbs, foraged botanicals and honest, recognisable ingredients - the line between a proper cocktail and a well-made tonic has never been blurrier, and that's exactly where natural, botanical spirits are built to live.
That's not a new idea for us. It's the whole idea behind Wild & Wonder Drinks.
Where Wild & Wonder fits into the low ABV trend
Our Rosehip Spritz sits at 20% ABV - a rum-based liqueur built specifically to be topped with soda, light tonic or sparkling wine, offering a genuinely Scottish alternative to the Aperols and St-Germains already propping up spritz menus across the country. Our Elder range comes in at 17% ABV, rich and flavour-forward enough to hold its own neat, but equally happy lengthened into a long, sessionable serve.
Neither is a diluted version of something else. Both are built, from the ground up, around hand-harvested Scottish ingredients - hedgerow elderberries, wild rosehips, botanicals gathered close to home - rather than an afterthought bolted onto an existing full-strength spirit. That's a meaningful difference for bar teams building out a lower-ABV list: the flavour was the whole point from day one, not something added back in after the alcohol was taken out.
As Tom Chisholm, our co-founder, puts it: "We wanted to create a brand that celebrates the quality of our native flavours, and make them relevant to today's drinking experiences - whether that's a cocktail in a high-end bar or at the garden BBQ with family and friends." A session menu built around proper flavour, in other words, isn't a compromise. It's the point.
Premium doesn't have to mean exclusive
The other shift worth watching is what "premium" actually means to today's drinker. It's moving away from expensive-and-untouchable, and towards considered, well-made and genuinely interesting - the kind of quality you notice without needing a lecture on it. That's precisely the space independent, small-batch brands are built for, and precisely why bar teams are increasingly looking past the big names for something with a real story and real provenance behind it.
We're already finding our way onto some excellent bars, restaurants and back bars across Scotland and the UK, through partners like Dunns Food & Drink and Inverarity Morton, with more to come. If you're building a lighter, more natural drinks list and want something with genuine Scottish provenance behind every pour, we'd love to talk.
FAQs
What counts as a low ABV cocktail? There's no single fixed cut-off, but most bar teams treat anything from around 5% to 20% ABV as low ABV - lighter than a standard spirit-forward cocktail (usually 25%+), but with more character than a soft drink.
What is a session cocktail? A session cocktail is a lighter, lower-alcohol drink designed to be enjoyed over a longer period without the heaviness or intensity of a full-strength serve — built for socialising, not just for effect.
Are low ABV drinks less premium than full-strength spirits? Not any more. The category has moved firmly towards quality-first, natural ingredients and proper craft, with drinkers expecting the same standard of flavour and presentation regardless of ABV.
What ABV are Wild & Wonder's drinks? Our Rosehip Spritz is 20% ABV and our Elder liqueur range is 17% ABV - both built around hand-harvested Scottish botanicals rather than diluted from a full-strength base.
Sources:
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The New Moderation: 5 N/A & Low-Alcohol Trends for a More Profitable 2026
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Bartenders Share Their Cocktail Trend Predictions For 2026 — Forbes
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Session Cocktails Are Very Much On-Trend This Year — Bartender Spirits Awards
