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.
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/30177
VODKAHolds its Appeal Flexibility and accessibility are key factors for this spirit’s long-lasting popularity. By Johnny D. Boggs such a wide variety of drinks. It has a less assertive taste profi le than many other spirits, he C says on a quiet afternoon at the Secreto, which seats about 40 in the lounge of the 80-room, high-end hotel. And Milligan also knows something else about vodka. “You can’t deny the numbers on it. It is the most popular spirit in the world.” Th ose numbers show no signs of slowing down. According to the Beverage Information Group, Cheers’ parent company, overall vodka sales in 2010 rose 5.8 percent over the previous year. Th e total leading brands—including Smirnoff , Absolut and Grey Goose—saw a 2.3 percent rise while other brands jumped 10.2 percent during the same period. Many operators agree that vodka’s popularity is not likely to slow down any time soon. “Th e unique nature, mixability and fl exibility of vodka are what drives its market dominance,” says Bob Midyette, director of fl eet beverage operations for Royal Caribbean International & Azamara Club Cruises based in Miami, Florida. “It appeals to a broad swath of our demographic makeup, young and old alike. How they drink it is far more segmented, with the 20 | MAY 2011 hris Milligan, head bartender at the Hotel St. Francis’s Secreto Bar and Loggia in Santa Fe, New Mexico, knows why many bartenders and mixologists across the country like to use vodka in younger guests more apt to try fl avors and unique cocktails as well as be more infl uenced by shows such as Sex and the City, etc. Th e older generation, my grandmother for instance, consumes cocktails that usually have a longer heritage to them.” “When we continue to poll our bartenders and Hooters girls, we always get the same answers, ‘We need more vodkas,’” says Scott Kinsey, director of research and development and corporate chef for Atlanta, Georgia-based Hooters of America, which has 452 restaurants worldwide. FLEXIBILITY IS KEY One of vodka’s top selling points and a reason it continues to appeal to mixologists, is that “It’s easy to drink. It’s easily mixable. It’s trendy,” says Milligan. He typically typically stocks 12 to 17 vodkas at the Secreto, priced from $6.50 to $13 for one and a half ounce pours. One of Milligan’s popular vodka-based drinks is the Milligan’s Gone at 20 ($9), which combines Absolut Brooklyn with sweet vermouth, Elderfl ower liqueur, a dash of peach bitters and a lemon twist. Th e Absolut Brooklyn “is one of the fl avored vodkas that I really, really enjoy because it’s not a single-dimension citrus or orange or pear or grape,” Milligan says. “Th is has apple as well as ginger so it already has a base line to play with.” www.cheersonline.com