Sweet drinks, step aside. Savoury whisky cocktails and spicy whisky cocktails are in vogue now.
According to the Hospitality Insights 2025 cocktail forecast, anyway. It claims that the sweet and sour stranglehold is loosening as drinkers reach for flavours of umami, chilli heat, and ingredients that once lived only in the kitchen: miso, mushroom, kombu, smoked sea salt, and even wasabi. The age of polite cocktails is fading.
Whisky might not seem like the obvious candidate for miso, chilli, or mushroom, but that is exactly why bartenders are leaning into it. The natural spice of rye, the smoke of peated malts, and the savoury backbone of sherry cask Scotch are now the perfect playgrounds for drinkers chasing something bolder than an Old Fashioned.
You’ve had a Spicy Margarita, but adventurous drinkers constantly want something new to show off.
Savoury & spicy whisky cocktails are becoming a staple in the modern bar
Why whisky and umami make sense
To dig deeper into the movement, we spoke to Sebastiano Cristofanon, bar manager and drinks designer at Nightjar Shoreditch, one of London’s most inventive cocktail institutions.
And according to him, the shift did not happen overnight.
“Bartenders in the last 15 years always looked toward the kitchen for inspiration,” he says. “Michelin star chefs especially have been a huge influence. Whenever I’m working on a new menu, I turn to cookbooks to explore techniques, flavour pairings, and ideas we can adapt behind the bar.”
That crossover has left many bars with what Sebastiano calls a “pantry of kitchen ingredients that naturally lead us toward savoury profiles.”
Meet Sebastiano Cristofanon
The secret to savoury & spicy whisky cocktails
Sebastiano breaks down umami with the precision of someone who has definitely reduced a broth or two.
“Taste and flavour are not the same,” he explains. “Taste is sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and umami. Flavour is aroma. When balancing umami in cocktails, I focus on taste first. Sweetness and bitterness complement umami well, much like a Negroni. Acidity can clash, so I use it sparingly.”
Once you get that balance right, whisky fits beautifully. Here are some of Sebastiano’s go-to pairings:
Miso with pear and Champagne
Sweet pear rounds out the savoury depth of miso and adds lift.
Rye, smoke, maple and piquillo pepper
Smoky, sweet and gently spicy. A natural match for a robust rye.
Bourbon with salted corn, caramel and butter
Rich, creamy and comforting. Classic bourbon savoury sweetness.
Rye, mushroom, vermouth and pine in a Manhattan twist
Earthy mushrooms and herbal vermouth meet pine for layered complexity.
Gin with kombu seaweed, fino sherry and pomelo
A delicate saline, oceanic depth that transforms a Gimlet-style serve.
Campari with truffle vermouth and tonka bean
Bitter-sweet with earthy truffle depth. A luxe Milano Torino variation.
Mezcal with olive oil and Aperol
Smoky mezcal and olive oil bring texture and gentle savoury richness.
Nightjar doesn’t do things simply. Visit if you have a chance
Spice and whisky: how to turn heat into harmony
Heat is another rising star, and whisky handles it better than most think.
“I start with rye whisky for spicy cocktails,” Sebastiano says. “It already has natural spice. From there, I build supporting flavours that elevate the whisky rather than compete with it. Piquillo pepper, pickle juice, even beef jerky infusions.”
The key is subtlety. Not challenge-level Scoville numbers. Spice should highlight, not bulldoze.
Start with subtlety and build from there
Who drinks savoury & spicy whisky cocktails
Who’s ordering these drinks? Not who you think. These aren’t just for the tattooed-apron crowd who order amaro flights at 2 am.
“My creations aren’t overly bold, so they appeal to everyone,” Sebastiano says. “Younger explorers and seasoned whisky fans enjoy them. Savoury options show that whisky isn’t limited to sweet or bitter drinks.”
And that is the point. Savoury cocktails are making whisky feel new again.
The stunning Name of the Samurai
Name of the Samurai: a Nightjar icon
To understand how far savoury and complex whisky cocktails have come, you only need to look at one of Nightjar’s most enduring creations: Name of the Samurai, first mixed in 2011 by the bar’s founding manager, the legendary Marian Beke. It has been a Nightjar emblem since the very first menu, and for good reason.
Built on Nikka Whisky From the Barrel and layered with Junmai Daiginjo sake, Akashi Tai umeshu, popcorn tea, rice mirin and galangal liqueur, it is the kind of cocktail that proves just how naturally whisky can sit within the world of umami, florals and refined sweetness. Each element adds its own texture and tone: the maltiness of the whisky, the soft fruit of the umeshu, the savoury subtlety of tea, the fragrant warmth of galangal.
True to Nightjar form, the drink arrives wreathed in Japanese blossom smoke, with an edible garnish and the sort of theatrical presentation that has become the bar’s signature. Sweet and sour, malty, elegant, and impossible to file under any single category, it captures exactly what modern cocktail culture is chasing.
This is Nightjar, one of Shoreditch’s most famous bars
Where whisky goes next
Distilleries are already picking up on the trend. Experimental cask finishes, unexpected collaborations, and savoury-leaning releases are creeping into the market, all chasing that “next whisky buzz” the reports keep shouting about.
Drinkers are hungry for novelty. Umami and spice deliver it. It’s invigorating for bartenders, and for whisky fans, it is a whole new terrain.
For the rest of us, it is an excuse to add miso syrup and chilli bitters to the cocktail trolley.
