LIQUEURS: Summer Selling
A broad overview of what’s available in the category, including the latest offerings, and encapsulated descriptions of the products’ characteristics and uses.
By Robert Plotkin
iqueurs have been instrumental in the ongoing renaissance of the cocktail. With few excep- tions, they’re the essential components in most great cocktails and specialty drinks, making them franchise players in modern mixology. Their brilliant fla- vors and lush, satiny textured bodies render them capable of tempering the enthusiasm of high-octane spirits and transforming different ingredients into joy-inducing liba- tions. Without a varied complement of liqueurs on store shelves, drink-making abilities shift into low gear. The truth of the matter is that liqueurs are in style anytime, at any occasion and in any season. All self- respecting retailers need a complement of liqueurs and cordials at the ready if they are to be satisfy the wants of parched partygoers. Naturally, many of the largest sellers remain the competitively priced lines of cordials and liqueurs, including DeKuyper, Hiram Walker, Bols
L
Drinks shown above include, from left, Iced Kahlua Mocha; Negroni made with Campari; Rum Chata on the Rocks; The Golden Coconut with Alize and Coruba Rum; Thatcher’s Blood Orange Spritzer; and Coffee Heering Sour cocktail (credit: Alexander Lieberman).
and Marie Brizard. For the most part, these brands keep adding new tastes and flavors to their extensive lineups throughout the year.
The adage that people buy on Saturday what they drink Friday night suggests a clear path how to increase retail liqueur sales. Consumers have taken to cocktails in a big way. Recreating their favorite concoctions at home for friends requires them venturing into your store for the ingredients—a few of which will assuredly be liqueurs. So in the event that you missed the fanfare over their initial release, here’s the scoop on the hottest prospects of the past year or so.
Highly Anticipated Newcomers
O
ne of the significant trends is the shift away from sweet liqueurs to those with more savory and
ROBERT PLOTKINis a judge at the Ultimate Spirits Challenge and author of 16 books on bartending and beverage management including Secrets Revealed of America’s Greatest Cocktails. He can be reached at www.AmericanCocktails.com or by e-mail at robert@barmedia.com.
28 • Beverage Dynamics • www.beveragedynamics.com • July/August 2011
