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It’s that time of the year again when the Christmas spirit is taking over the world…and social media. With every holiday comes a slew of innovative dishes, decor ideas and a general avalanche of tips to dress up every aspect of your life in a Yuletide glow. This year there’s a trend sweeping the globe in the cocktail department and that’s the Snowglobe Cocktail
The viral video by creator Meg Quinn (@ainttooproudtomeg) is sitting at over 38 million likes on Instagram and has drawn the attention of Christmas lovers everywhere. The concept is to create a scenic winter scene in a glass with just a few simple household ingredients. Simply turn a stick of rosemary upside down to resemble a fir tree, add about an inch of water to your glass and then freeze it in place (creator @colettescocktails also suggests fixing the frond in place with some string or ribbon to keep it upright and adding some powdered sugar to resemble snow). Then once it’s frozen, simply add the spirit of your choice – clear spirits like vodka, gin or white rum work best – along with tonic or soda for a bubbly Christmas scene in a glass.
Though most people were captivated by the simplicity and beauty of this hack, some commenters raised concerns about the glass breaking or the cocktail being overpowered by the taste of rosemary. As long as you’re using tempered glass along with room-temperature water and cold soda to finish, the first point isn’t likely to be an issue. And as for the second, there will probably be an edge of herbaceous flavours in the drink, but as long as you’re not allergic to (or just particularly dislike) rosemary, it will likely only act as a flavour enhancer.
Social media has been the instigator of many viral cocktail trends over the last few years. Who can forget the obsessive wave of Negroni Sbagliato’s that swept the internet after actor Emma D’Arcy claimed it was their favourite in an interview? Other drinks like the Aperol Spritz which have been on the fringes of cocktail culture for decades were relaunched into the limelight through their popularity on social media. The Parmesan Espresso Martini also drew attention for its unusual use of savoury umami flavours and has since spurred a rise in savoury cocktails at leading bars around the world.
While it’s definitely more common to see trending concept cocktails around major holidays that lean into a theme and give your creations an air of whimsy, the influence of viral recipes extends far beyond the social media-verse and is shaping the way mixologists and chefs design their menus. Who knows, maybe snow globe cocktails will be one of the trends to make it past the kitschy holiday season appeal and become a cemented part of mixology trends in 2024. We’ll just have to wait and see.
