mer wine director Korby. Seeing the Internet business
controlled by a few big names and a player in New Jersey
that seems to give its products away below cost, Julio's
has confined its ambition so far to somewhat broadening
its audience while providing a convenience to regular
customers, most of whom pick up their orders right at
the store. The store does two e-mailings each week to its
list of more than 7,000 customers, including a general
letter on Thursday and a sin-bin letter on Monday that's
usually focused on a single varietal or winery or region
of France, offering three to six items at drastically
reduced prices. Yes, using AngelShare.com as the brand
rather than Julio's was unconventional, Korby allows,
"and I was a bit worried about it myself." At offsite tastings, employees reinforce the connection by referring to
the site as "Julio's Liquors/AngelsShare.com." Still,
"Ryan's goal is to build it as a brand," and Korby feels
the company is off to a good start. Maloney's partnership
with the regional Phantom Gourmet TV and radio
property has helped broaden the audience within New
England – "the best advertising we've ever had in my 17
years with the store," he terms it.
Of course, "It's the Liquor Talking," the radio show,
accomplishes similar goals. The show originally was
launched as a modest podcast before Maloney attracted
the attention of WCRN. In its earliest days the show was
broadcast from the station's own studio in Worcester
(where the hosts got around the station's no-drinkingon-the-air policy by sometimes brown-bagging it on the
steps of the local public library) before moving directly to
the store, in full view of the shoppers. (Announcements
on the store's PA often can be heard behind the hosts'
banter.) Maloney owns the show, which attracts endemic
advertisers like Deep Eddy Vodka, and he always makes
sure to include a call to action that will drive listeners to
the store – say, a free bag of ice for those who visit.
Regular segments include "Inside the Bottle" (a play on
"Inside the Actor's Studio") and "The Spirits Medium,"
featuring master blender Bird "channeling" his spirits
knowledge to listeners. Overall, the show aims to be both
informative and totally irreverent, Maloney says.
On the show that August morning, Bird ended the
discussion by defining savory as "a taste quality that
bridges all four of the taste senses without diverging too
much in one direction." That was too complicated for
Maloney, who decided to default to the Supreme Court's
rule of thumb from its landmark ruling on pornography
– you can't define it, but you know it when you see it.
And then the pair was off to tout an upcoming event at
I
the Rotary Club.
