Your shout mate

I love a new idea, and I am excited to say that I have just been advised of something new on the market – it’s not only new, it’s CLEVER!

If you have been looking for that new place everyone can’t stop talking about or just want to visit an old favourite, Clipp has always had some of the best bars and restaurants and great deals to boot.

Starting out as a way to pay when you’re out for dinner or a drink, Clipp has evolved into Australia’s leading and fastest growing deals app for bars, pubs and restaurants, offering up to 40 per cent off your bill with exclusive last-minute deals. The app also has the ability to track your spending in real-time and pay from your table instead of queuing up.

Clipp has now launched a social media feature that allows you to buy your mate a drink, even if you can’t be with him or her at the time. The free app is available to download now from the App Store (http://clipp.co/ios) or Google Play (http://clipp.co/android). Some screen shots of the app in action are attached and here is a video explaining how the exclusive deals work: https://vimeo.com/138501117.

Some great Melbourne establishments are on board offering deals, including Sake, Fratelli Fresh, The Mill House, The Rum Diary Bar, and many more.

To celebrate the new feature, Clipp analysed drink orders from 55,000 Australians across 700 establishments to determine which drinks have been trending in our urban cities as it launches Shout Your Friend a Drink.

While beer might be the most popular drink for socialising during the day, spirits rule the night.

The Clipp data reveals that gender stereotypes are confirmed at the bar, with cocktails the most popular drink order – making up 35 per cent of orders among women. Surprisingly, among men vodka is more popular than whisky: it is the biggest order for almost a quarter (23 percent) of men, and whisky the top order for just 19 percent of men.

It may not seem surprising that vodka is most likely to be ordered on the weekend: 21 percent of orders on a Friday, 22 percent on Saturday and 22 percent on Sunday are vodka – the highest percentage across all drinks, including beer.

While spirits are the most popular choice for late night outings for one in two Australians (55%), up to a quarter of spirits orders are made at lunchtimes and into the afternoons (16 percent at lunch and 23 percent during the afternoons), at similar numbers to wine (16 percent at lunch and 16 percent during afternoons).

The top five drinks that will grow in popularity this spring and summer

To get the inside scoop on what will trend as the weather gets warmer and into 2017, Clipp asked Australian food and drink experts to predict the drinks that will rise in popularity in the coming months.

 

• Frosé (frozen rosé). Australian wine expert Joe Menezes of Once Upon a Wine says rosé will be the menu – but, not as many of us know it. Joe says frozé drinks, a frozen slushie drink made from rosé wine, are already starting to pop up on menus in our cities, and being enjoyed by men as well as women.

• Spritzers with spirits. Tony Williams, GM of North Sydney establishment The Greens predicts bubbles to be the winner amongst Australians as it gets warmer. Vodka, gin and cognac will be popular additions to summer spritzers at The Greens.

• Dessert cocktails. Rita and Katherine of Instagram page Lick your Phone believe decadent dessert cocktails will come back in a big way, having recently enjoyed a Dulce de Leche cocktail with salted caramel foam, and a bubble gum sour with toasted marshmallows.

• Espresso martinis. Oh Sunny Mornings’s Sylvia Huang predicts the classic espresso martini will make a comeback this summer, with coffee lovers wanting to enjoy the taste and aroma of coffee at night.

• Ombré drinks. Melb Food Baby aka Bianca Ling believes ombré drinks will start dominating orders at the bar thanks to them making great Instagram-worthy photos. Australians can expect to see ombré drinks in the form of punch, cocktails, slushies and sparklers at bars around the country.