Cheers

Cheers Jan/Feb 2017

Cheers is dedicated to delivering hospitality professionals the information, insights and data necessary to drive their beverage business by covering trends and innovations in operations, merchandising, service and training.

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www.cheersonline.com 12 • January/February 2017 "I tell people, try everything but drink what you like, that's all that counts," says Xan McLaughlin, operating partner at the Park Cafe in Charleston, SC. "When we fi rst opened, we had a minimal selection behind the bar because I wanted our customers to tell me what they wanted." Park Café attracted an eclectic group of guests: Some come in just for the cocktail program and are excited when the list changes, other customers want the house classics. "Then we have lots of 'ladies who lunch' who love their Cosmos." For that latter group, McLaughlin always keeps an assortment of three fl avored vodkas behind the bar. "Selection always has to do with your clientele base." GENUINE FLAVORS New York bar Genuine Liquorette is set up like a liquor store, "and we are not too snobby about what we carry," says Eben Freeman, head of beverage development and bar operations for parent company Avroko Hospitality Group. "I have every fl avor of Pinnacle vodka, Skyy vodka and Burnett's vodka. I defi nitely have a lot of fl avored spirits in my bar." Opened in fall 2015, one of the aims at Genuine Liquorette was to promote under-represented spirits, which includes fl avored whiskey, rum and vodka. Bottles on the wall, such as Burnett's vodka, are sold by the gram at 15 cents per gram. So a drink would cost about $5. Made by Heaven Hill, Burnett's is not too well known in New York, notes Freeman, but people who went to school down south will get nostalgic and do shots. Genuine Liquorette has gained Instagram fame with its Cha-Chunkers, unusual cocktail presentations involving cans and mini liquor bottles. For instance, its version of the Cosmopolitan comes in a cranberry juice can, with fresh lime juice and Cointreau, topped with a upside down bottle of Absolut Citron. The drinks are priced at $10.59. "The novelty helps sell the drinks, but also the familiarity," says Freeman. "It may look weird, but it is still a Cosmopolitan." HARD'S CORE Hard Rock Cafe's core menu offers a number of cocktails using fl avored vodka. One prime example is its press drinks. These combine spirits with fresh fruits in a French press pot, which brings the infusion experience tableside. The Red Berry Press, launched in 2014, is house-made lemonade, Svedka Clementine vodka and fresh lemons, strawberries and raspberries. The Raspberry Lemonade version uses Smirnoff Raspberry vodka. A recent promotion featured the Sweet & Firey, with house- made lemonade, Absolut Peppar vodka, Domain de Canton ginger liqueur, DeKuyper blue curaçao and ginger beer with a red pepper garnish. There is a contrast between sweet and spicy, says Busi, and the ginger beer is certainly on-trend. "The blue curaçao added a color pop, which contrasts with the bright red pepper, which lets you know you're going to hit some heat." WHISKEY Whiskey of all kinds—from bourbon and rye to Irish and Scotch—is by far the hottest category in the beverage alcohol industry right now. Novice drinkers often enter the brown spirits arena via fl avored versions. Jim Beam pioneered with the launch of Red Stag Black Cherry back in 2009. But the spicy cinnamon Canadian whisky Fireball set the category on fi re following a 2006 rebranding. That inspired other whiskey makers to release their own versions as well as introduce other fl avors—honey, apple, maple and more—which are also fi nding success in the U.S. market. ON FIRE "The story I like to tell is that I have people come in who want three shots of Fireball," says Freeman. "There is the automatic reaction of a mixolgist or fi ne-dining bartender to tell them, 'I don't have Fireball.' Which I don't, but I do have four products that are just like Fireball," he adds. Beam Kentucky Fire and Cinerator are among the stock at Genuine Liquorette. "If people keep asking for some kind of spirit, it seems silly not to have it in your bar," Freeman says. Among the fl avored whiskeys on the market right now, a cinnamon-hot variant is the most useful, he adds. New York's Genuine Liquorette, which opened in the fall of 2015, aims to promote under-represented spirits, which includes fl avored whiskey, rum and vodka. "I TELL PEOPLE, TRY EVERYTHING BUT DRINK WHAT YOU LIKE, THAT'S ALL THAT COUNTS." — Xan McLaughlin, operating partner at the Park Cafe in Charleston, SC. PROFILES IN Flavor

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