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Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/30177
but when Milligan adds a half-ounce of Skyy—Secreto’s well vodka—the taste is quite diff erent. “It brings those very pungent, strong fl avors to something that’s a little more approachable,” he says. A MAIN INGREDIENT IN LEADING DRINKS Th e fl avor profi le that vodka brings to many operators’ best selling drinks is notable. Hooters’ Kinsey used vodka when he created the Christmas Light Lemonade four years ago. “Vodka added a nice subtle fl avor to the overall citrus-based drink that we couldn’t get with making it with other liquors,” Kinsey says. Th e $6.25 cocktail, which blends Absolut Citron, with sour apple Schnapps, a cherry, a lemon wedge and a lime wedge, “has become one of our signature drinks,” Kinsey says. While beer makes up the bulk of alcohol sales at Hooters, vodka is the highest-selling spirit since the chain introduced spirits four years ago. Hooters carries seven vodkas and Kinsey is considering adding orange-, açaí- and grape-fl avored brands to its back bar. STAFF TRAINING AND CHOICES But these days, there are so many vodkas out there—organic vodkas, Kosher vodkas, high-end vodkas and myriad fl avored vodkas—educating the wait staff is essential in order to sell them eff ectively and professionally. “We focus heavily on the spirits we carry,” Emlyn D. Th omas, general manager of Pensiero Ristorante, a contemporary Italian restaurant located in a 42-room boutique hotel, the Margarita European Inn, in Evanston, Illinois. “Monthly we do a spirits training class [lasting one to two hours] dealing with one category. We discuss methods of production, history and cocktail usage. [Th at is in addition to] a blind tasting of most or, in many cases, all of the products we carry within that category. Th is is in addition to another monthly class dealing with wine.” Another challenge for operators is choosing amongst the At Secreto, the Healthy Harvest is made with Absolute Mango, Galliano, celery, thyme, lemon juice, orange juice and cane syrup. Another one of vodka’s advantages, Milligan says, “Is when you have a very bold drink and you want to tone down the fl avor a little bit, adding vodka will tone down the fl avor without watering the drink down.” An example of this process at work in a drink is Th e Farolito ($12), which mixes Chinaco Tequila with Sage leaves, chokecherry shrub, Lillet Rouge and Bitter End Mexican Mole Bitters. Th ose ingredients on their own are quite powerful, 22 | MAY 2011 vast range of brands and fl avors that the category off ers. “We look for some very specifi c things,” says Midyette. “One, are guests asking for it, do they know about it, is it established in the market place? Two, is it unique? If so will it enhance our menus, guest satisfaction or beverage program? Th ree, will it sell, is it available on six continents, is the company off ering it properly resourced?” He adds that that means it is not a startup or working out of someone’s garage. “You have to meet at least two of the three, preferably all three for us to move forward with a decision.” Th e fl eet—22 Royal Caribbean ships and two Azamara Cruise Line ships—typically stocks 17 vodkas. Stoli is the well vodka for the Azamara ships, but Midyette says that Royal Caribbean has had problems fi nding a solid range of vodkas available in all the markets in which his ships do business. So the cruise line created an in-house vodka label called Private Stock, “at a price point that was in line with our expectation for the volume we do.” Royal Caribbean uses the www.cheersonline.com KITTY LEAKEN