Spirits are now more in vogue than beer and wine, reaching a height of fashion not achieved since the early days of the 1900s when speakeasy’s reigned and drinks such as the Moscow mule, gimlet and pink lady were among the choices from the bar.

Restaurants and bars throughout North America and on the other side of the Atlantic as well, commonly feature an array of intricately conceived cocktails created by their own bar tenders.

“The move towards spirits is now more than ever,” said Joe Cabassa, who from 1993 to 1997 was part of the trainers’ team for the international restaurant group Hard Rock Café, training dozens of bartenders, servers and bar managers in spirits and beverage knowledge, bar management and the art of mixing cocktails. His job took him from his home in San Juan, Puerto Rico to Buenos Aires, Argentina and St. Thomas, USVI.

For Mr Cabassa, his job with Hard Rock Café resulted in a new career which meant combining his knowledge of multiple brands with innovative service philosophies and new mixology trends.

He is brand ambassador for Glenfiddich and Hendrick’s — a role which brought him to Bermuda this week for distributors Gosling’s Wine and Spirits.

Mr Cabassa also which speaks on behalf of The Balvenie, Monkey Shoulder and Grant’s, among others.

Now, he has seen a flourishing of the popularity of spirits and cocktails that has reached an apex in the past few years. “You see mixology in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington DC,” he said.

Caribbean area manager for marketing company Stanfield Scott Inc Susan Warren, in Bermuda with Mr Cabassa, said: “Spirits are back in a way they were a century ago. People are experimenting — now, William Grant & Sons, a whisky distiller, is making gin in Scotland.”

William Grant & Sons, a family distillery which owns the single malt Scotch whisky brand Glenfiddich and were its original distillers, also own the speciality gin Hendrick’s, which is created by combing gins created from a Carter Head — “There’s only one, and we own it,” said Mr Cabassa — and a Bennet still. The Carter Head creates gin described as “botanicals being bathed in vapours in the flavour basket, a divinely smooth spirit with lusciously subtle flavour characteristics ...” The Bennet still was “created in 1860” and “its meticulous and vigorous process produces a spirit of robust and distinctive character,” according to Hendrick’s.

“By combining these two spirits we are able to create an extraordinarily smooth gin that has the required character and balance of subtle flavours.” Those flavours include lemon peel, angelica root, chamomile, elderflower, caraway seeds, orange peel and juniper, which compliment the base rose petal and cucumber notes.

The resulting gin has been an inspiration to the growing cadre of mixologists who are manning bars around the world. Drinks such as Gin Rose Lane, created at the The Ritz in Moscow, consists of Hendrick’s Gin, hibiscus syrup, fresh grapefruit juice and grapefruit bitters.

From Los Angeles, the Pickled Pig was created by Eric Alperin at Varnish. It is made from Hendrick’s Gin, live red wine vinegar infused with bacon, cucumber simple syrup and rose water. And from Seville, a bartender at El Desvan called Menfri combined Hendrick’s Gin with lemon juice, lime peel, a stick of cinnamon and sugar with a cup of tea.

The focus is on creating new cocktails from new ingredients. Mr Cabassa said: “For the last 50 or so years (a spirit brand) would give you exactly the same thing. The main challenge for malt whisky is, how do you create a different flavour profile?”

He explained it is done by combining whiskies of different ages and aged in casks made from different woods.

Spirits created in new ways “provide an opportunity to the consumer”, he said. And when a person has tried it, they become curious about the other brands of whisky.

Whiskies such as those in the Glenfiddich portfolio, the most awarded single malt whiskies in the world they boast, include a 12-year-old which takes an additional plaudit for being the most popular single malt in the world, and is described as “Our signature single malt,” and “ ... fragrant with a fresh fruit nose thanks to its long maturation in American and Spanish oak casks.”

Glenfiddich also produces a 15-year-old, with “rich fruit and notes of spice and honey”, and which is matured in three types of oak casks — sherry, bourbon and new oak.

The 18-year-old Glenfiddich is described as “exceptionally smooth, rich and woody with robust notes of oak, and hints of spice apple and cinnamon”.

And in a world where cocktails and mixology reign supreme, this top of the line whisky is “perfect” on its own, perhaps with a splash of water, said Mr Cabassa.