2018 Best Cocktails in America: Mood Ring

These 10 cocktails, representing leading bar trends, were selected by editors of Restaurant Hospitality to spotlight innovation. Read on and get inspired. See all the winners >>

Where to get it: Antique Bar & Bakery, Hoboken, N.J.

Price: $14

Creator: Stephanie O’Neill

Ingredients: Espolon Silver Tequila, St-Germain, Fever- tree Ginger Beer, lime juice, butterfly pea flower tea

Trend: Butterfly pea flower tea as hot color-changing ingredient

If there is one ingredient that really stood out in this year’s batch of cocktail submissions, it is butterfly pea flower tea.

This Southeast Asian herb tea is caffeine free and has a very mild flavor, making it a versatile component of cocktails. Its most noticeable quality is a bright violet blue color, which can change when exposed to acids.

Stephanie O’Neill, bartender at the Antique Bar & Bakery in New Jersey, said the Mood Ring was developed initially as an update to the traditional Moscow Mule. But her goal was also to “bring some joy and excitement” back to drinking cocktails.

The base of the cocktail is made with Espolon Silver Tequila, St-Germain and Fevertree Ginger Beer with a layer of fresh lime juice on top. At the table, the guest is invited to pour from a separate small vessel the bright blue butterfly pea flower tea, which “activates the Mood Ring,” evoking the namesake color-changing jewelry popular in the 1970s when the most desirable color was violet blue.

When the tea comes into contact with the lime juice, the drink turns purple, said O’Neill. Guests can decide how much or how little they want to change the color.

She described the flavor of the tea alone as “faintly citrusy,” without a lot of flavor. “It’s super versatile,” she said.