Cheers

Cheers July/August 2016

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 24 • July/August 2016 www.cheersonline.com 24 • July/August 2016 More operators change up beverage programs with the calendar By Jack Robertiello N ot so long ago, bars and restaurants would need to tweak their beverage menus only occasionally, usually by adding the latest trending spirit or cocktail. As long as sales stayed steady and customers kept content, operators could focus simply on reliable execution. Not anymore. The seasonally changing menu plays a major role in establishing a place's cocktail bona fi des today. Beverage managers have plenty of reasons to update a cocktail menu when the seasons change. Temperature, of course, is a big one, as winter's strong, stirred and more robust drinks don't provide the thirst-quenching quaffability guests seek when the weather gets steamy. There's also the culinary desire to include briefl y available fruits and vegetables. Especially at operations in which the bar is tied closely to the kitchen, drink- makers may be required to at least complement if not pair beverages with seasonally changing food menus. And given the consumer interest in mixology, bars are under pressure to provide novel beverages to keep steady customers interested and involved. Bartenders, too, want the opportunity to stretch and explore, as well as stay on trend and in step with new and seasonal ingredients. "We do four changes a year, in order to continue to make sure that we are innovating and developing new cocktails, and the seasons are a good way to measure the changes with the different ingredients that become available," says John Stanton, head bartender of Chicago's Sable Kitchen and Bar. "We try to make sure for every season we incorporate fresh ingredients as they become available." Given Chicago's dramatic weather—icy, windy winters and stifl ing hot summers—the shifts from summer to fall and winter to spring are more dramatic than fall to winter and spring to summer. "People's drinking habits change: In the fall and winter in Chicago, they're looking for things like hot toddies, egg nogs and fl ips, and those drinks won't sell at all in the middle of summer," Stanton says. "And the same is true for cocktails served on crushed ice when it gets cold." Miso mul miso sugar, lime, coconut cream and ginger ale. www.cheersonline.com 24 • July/August 2016

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