United Kingdom: Hugo Elderflower Cocktail Snaps at Heels of Aperol As Britain's Favourite Summer Drink

The elderflower drink is enjoying explosive growth, with Campari, Sarti Rosa and limoncello varieties also taking off. It’s the summer of spritz as British sales figures show the Hugo elderflower cocktail snapping at the heels of the market-leader Aperol to be this year’s favourite drink. The number of Hugos ordered in bars nearly tripled in the three months to the end of June while demand for the vibrant red Campari spritz surged 52%.

A limoncello version has also taken off, with sales up 31%, according to the payments company Square. The Hugo has absolutely blown up, said Steve Young, business unit director for Bacardi in the UK (the group’s St-Germain liqueur is the drink’s signature ingredient). He agreed that the Hugo spritz could be the drink of summer.

Young said sales of St-Germain are growing faster in the UK than in any other country, with the elderflower liqueur outselling some of our major spritz competitors across a lot of our customers. It has doubled in size over the last 12 months. Created in Italy, and very popular in France, the Hugo is sweeter than an Aperol spritz and is made with elderflower liqueur, prosecco, soda water and mint.