It’s the end of the year, and everyone is making their drink predictions. Last year, I made food predictions, of which one-third came true… which is enough to have merited me the title of a prophet back in the day. While I still think kumquats are due for their time in the spotlight (man, I love those things), I’m ready to get even more right this year with the eight top spirits predictions for 2015. Read more
Thank goodness for Thanksgiving! This is the time of year when the weather starts trapping us inside for the winter months, so we clean the house obsessively, cook complex dishes for days on end, and get together with our families to yell at each other!
Hmmm. Wait. Scratch that. This is really the time of year that we decide to ditch time-consuming food efforts and go out to eat at your restaurant. (Thank goodness for you!)
In order to make us feel better about abandoning our families for the official start to the holiday season, how about you include some simple and affordable cocktails on your holiday menu. Here are five great Thanksgiving cocktails to sweeten up your prix fixe menu (and increase your margins) this year. Read more
Do you want to add something a little unexpected to your fall drinks menu? A recent article in the New York Times, “Culinary Trends in New York” described all the new, exciting innovations that I did not see coming in the predictions I made for 2014, and they sound delicious. Try adding these three alcohol trends to your drinks menu to spice up the season.
The beverage industry is an industry of trends and catching on to the latest whiskey trend is critical for pleasing customers and increasing beverage sales. Whiskey has been hot for the last couple years, including bourbons, flavored whiskeys and now Irish whiskeys. First there was the Fireball craze, with a younger generation replacing Vodka and other spirits with Fireball as their go-to shot. In just two years, Fireball whiskey increased sales by over 30x, to $60 million in 2013. Other producers released new brands and products in a wide range of flavors from cherry to honey. Bushmills became the first Irish distillery to jump onboard followed by Dewar’s in Scotland, not to mention the dozens of American products. If your restaurant or bar hasn’t started carrying Fireball and other flavored whiskeys, you’re losing money. Don’t miss the next big beverage trend, craft Irish Whiskeys.
If I told you that the hottest gin in international markets was made in America, you’d likely laugh at me… but I’d be telling the truth. Because you sell various spirits, you’ve probably already run across a lot of the new craft distilleries that are starting to spring up all across America. Like me, perhaps you’ve noticed these places but have largely dismissed them out of hand. “American distillery? Sounds like moonshine,” I’ve told myself when I’ve noticed small distilleries in the mountains or on the outskirts of small towns, “I’m sure this stuff has got to be terrible.” Apparently though, I’m completely wrong, and a New York Times article from this week, Raising a Glass to Upstart Distilleries explains exactly why. Here’s what you need to know about the newest, hottest international booze trend.
A lot of my tips revolve around training your servers or bartenders to memorize information and repeat it back when needed, or to ask key questions at opportune moments. Sometimes though, words just get to be too much. Here’s a tip to increase your drink sales without having to say a single word. Read more
I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I’ve got to tell you: you’re missing out on sales. Sure, your bar is selling enough beer and wine, and man, your cocktail sales are killer. But why aren’t you selling sake? Many bars don’t feel confident in selling this super-premium beverage because they don’t think they know enough to advise a customer—or to stock their own bar. All that’s about to change though, because here are the three things you and your servers need to be saying to get your sake sales going.
Absinthe. Just breathe the name of this notorious, strong-tasting liquor, and many connotations come immediately to mind: It’s bright green. It’s illegal. It’s hallucinogenic. It can make you insane.
While all of these statements are actually false, the long-running rumors about absinthe certainly make it intriguing. Why not capitalize on that intrigue?
Here are some “do”s and “don’t”s when it comes to bringing absinthe to your bar: Read more
With the slow food revolution and the ever-increasing trend toward artisan / small batch / made-from-scratch consumables, craft alcohols such as infused vodkas are only continuing to rise in status. In fact, unique mixology that capitalizes on the craft alcohol trend is the hottest customer draw out there right now, so why isn’t your bar cashing in? Perhaps it’s because you don’t know where or how to start introducing more artisan items into your menu. Since I always want to help bars make more money, I’m here to get you on the right path. This is your quick and easy guide to making infused alcohols. Read more
The recent mixology and cocktail fever sweeping America can be seen as nothing but good fortune for today’s bars and restaurants. However, even good fortune can have its downsides, and the recent cocktail craze has left some in the food and beverage industry scrambling to invent new and exciting drinks to tempt their customers’ palates. Here are the three top tips that you can use to spice up your cocktail menu.