More than 60 staff from drink giant Bacardi will hit the town tomorrow to visit bars around Hamilton to carry out hands-on market research.The firm’s “Back to the Bar” drive was designed to keep employees around the world in touch with trends and give them the time to talk to people on the front line of the drinks industry — bartenders and their customers.Mahesh Madhavan, the Bacardi CEO, said: “Back to the Bar tradition is a time when everyone across the company, regardless of day job, becomes an ambassador and researcher by going back to where our business is made — the local bars and restaurants.“We are in the relationship business and never miss an opportunity to talk to a bartender or our consumers to learn what they’re seeing and what they think will be the next big thing.”The Bermuda contingent will join about 7,000 other Bacardi staff in 100 cities from London to Sydney, Australia, in a bid to spot new trends in the industry and keep the company at the cutting edge of innovation.Jacob Briars, Bacardi’s global advocacy director, said: “In an era where people are flooded with data, there’s no substitute for putting feet on the street and seeing first hand what’s happening at the bar.“When something excites the bartenders, we know that it is a matter of time before we start to see a shift in the mindset and behaviour of our guests.”The event — the third of its kind — was organised to coincide with the release of the firm’s 2020 cocktail trends report, based on Bacardi surveys and information from consumer trends companies carried out last year.Dark rum was said to be the leader in the spirits trade and 42 per cent of bar staff ranked it as the top premium spirit.The cocktail report also found that natural ingredients had increased in popularity, with 31 per cent of bartenders more interested in the use of fresh, local ingredients.A total of 83 per cent of bar staff reported that drinkers were more inclined to “mindful drinking” with a surge in demand for low-alcohol drinks and a 42 per cent increase in online searches for alcohol-free “mocktails”.The survey added that methods and ingredients from the kitchen, including seasonal, savoury and herbal ingredients, had become more popular.More than 90 per cent of bar tenders said they used vegetables in their cocktails and 68 per cent of American Culinary Federation members rated “culinary cocktails” as a “hot trend” last year.