Each summer brings us a new "it drink." The last few years have seen the Dirty Shirley, the Chilton, and the Hugo Spritz all having their moment, but this year, a lesser-known pick is taking top billing: the spaghett.
The spaghett consists of a bottled beer – Miller High Life is the preferred choice – topped with Aperol and a splash of lemon. Business Insider says that the wallet-friendly option, which is sometimes called a "trailer park spritz," is yet another recession indicator.
While there are a number of reasons the spaghett is seeing its popularity surge this summer— from a Miller High Life marketing push to a culture shift in attitudes towards alcohol— the outlet says there's one factor that stands out above the rest. Namely, that beer cocktails like the spaghett tend to be a lot cheaper than mixed drinks.
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“As consumers are looking to pull back a bit on spending and shift to lower ABV beverages, we’ve seen a rise in the popularity of beer cocktails — across restaurants on Square, orders for Spaghetts and other beer and spirit mixes have been increasing over the past few years,” Square Head of Food and Beverage Ming-Tai Huh said.
According to Square data, Spaghett orders are up by 65% from the first half of the year, and have increased by 1000% since 2022. Google searches for the drink, the outlet reports, are also on the rise.
As consumers become increasingly concerned about the state of the economy and the impacts tariffs will have on their wallets in the coming months, they've begun to look for easy ways to save a buck or two. They'll vacation closer to home, spend less on eating out, and reduce the number of shopping trips they're partaking in.
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Alcohol spending is another effortless place to cut back. When Business Insider polled a series of bartenders about how they charge for a spaghett, answers varied from no extra charge to a dollar to double the price of a low-cost beer. Regardless of exactly how they configure the bill, it almost always comes out to less than a Hugo Spritz or a Dirty Shirley.
Spaghetts aren't the only beer cocktail trending this summer. The Corona sunrise, the beermosa, the lagerita, and the shandy are also popping up on menus in joints around the country. For many consumers, the drinks are a way to add a little fun to a day without breaking the bank.
If you find yourself appreciating the cost-saving element of the trend, but are unsure about the taste, Julianna McIntosh, author of the beverage recipe book "Pretty Simple Cocktails," says not to worry. "Don’t knock it till you try it,” she said of the spaghett. “It’s actually really, really fun.”
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