15,000 Bartenders Name Aquafaba a Top Cocktail Trend

During last week’s 15th annual Tales of the Cocktail conference in New Orleans, LA, alcohol-industry professionals identified top trends dominating the cocktail world this year. The event attracts 15,000 bartenders, spirits brand ambassadors, and alcohol enthusiasts, and this year, “aquafaba” (a vegan egg replacer made from chickpea brine) was selected among the top eight cocktail trends. “It does the same thing as an egg white, but it doesn’t make people turn up their nose,” Jennifer Contraveos, brand ambassador for liquor brand Bacardi USA, said. “It emulsifies and provides viscosity. And it’s vegan.” The trendy vegan ingredient was first discovered in 2015 by French tenor singer Joël Roessel and first used in a cooking application—a baked vegan meringue—by American software engineer Goose Wohlt (who coined the term aquafaba, or “bean water”). Since its discovery, the miracle vegan ingredient has been used by Sir Kensington’s to create vegan mayonaise Fabanaise, became the topic of several new vegan cookbooks, and become a favorite among bartenders.