Keep your spirits up

Some journalists say it's lazy to use quotes at the start of a feature. So what is it to use your own quote at the start of a feature - a quote you wrote only two months ago? Vanity? Narcissism? A sackable offence? Maybe, but it certainly helps make my point that spirits in pubs are indeed a strange beast. Long before a strange little foreigner called lager and the interloper that is wine burst onto the bar, spirits were always the preserve of a pub.

But while lager and wine have not only entered the pub universe but taken it over, spirits have just stumbled along. Spirits, be they vodka, gin or whisky, are not sold with the same imagination or verve. Style bars have been left to do that.

Some lessons have been adopted from the style bar but the only real advance in pubs has been the introduction of quality programmes, such as Diageo's Every Serve Perfect.

Here are some basic ideas on how to improve your spirits offer, as well as a look at the thing that symbolises how antiquated spirits can be in pubs: the Optics rail.

Introduce premium brands

Everyone is, by no means, convinced by the value of stocking premium spirits in pubs. While brands such as Tanqueray gin, Grey Goose vodka and Havana Club rum rule in bars, it is much easier for pubs to rely on the old favourites with better distribution, like Gordon's, Smirnoff, and Bacardi.

However, if you sell these premium brands effectively there is money to be made. EP Pubs & Bars introduced two premium gins into its Nostalgic Inns brand - Tanqueray and Bombay Sapphire. While operations director Tim Bird admits there was opposition to this move early on, "There was initial feedback that these brands wouldn't sell in ordinary pubs," he says, but the results have been hugely positive. People are stepping up to premium spirits. They won't just ask for 'a vodka and orange'. They are now brand-calling Tanqueray and Bombay Sapphire."

It has had an impact on cash margins, with the 20 pubs charging 30p a shot premium on those brands. "Not only that," says Tim, "but it has increased our overall gin sales. Previously, we only sold Gordon's gin. But the two new brands have increased throughputs across the pubs by two bottles a week on top of our Gordon's sales. And that adds up to a lot over a year."

Improve your mixer range

Lee James, customer development director at Pernod Ricard UK, says: "Having an interesting range of spirits is part of the solution, but pubs could go further by making spirit and mixer suggestions. So many consumers default to cola as it is often the first thing that springs to mind. Pubs could do more to promote different spirit and mixer options by creating bottle displays on the back-bar. Driving sales of premium packaged soft drinks alongside spirits is also a great way to drive profit."Upsize spirits measures

In the last three years Bacardi Brown Forman has invested £2m in upgrading pubs' Optics from 25ml to 35ml. It is a project the company is passionate about, and not only for the obvious benefits it affords the sales of the brand.

"There are clear benefits that it offers to both publicans as well as the spirit sector, driving profit for pubs and volume for the category," says Fraser McGuire, senior trade marketing manager for Bacardi rum. "Additionally, a 35ml serve delivers a higher-quality, better-tasting drink for customers, which is likely to develop brand loyalty and encourage them to trade up to spirits instead of wine or beer on their next visit to the pub."

The upsizing appears to be reaping benefits for retailers. Says Fraser: "More than 50 per cent of consumers actively choose a bigger serve size in pubs and bars - a figure that has increased 38 per cent in the past three years. Furthermore, the outlets that have already switched to bigger measures report significantly increased cash margin - normally with an average of 18 per cent profit increase."

The key theme outlined above is about increasing your range and improving choice for consumers. As Tim Foster, category development manager at Pernod Ricard UK, puts it: "Pubs don't dedicate too much space to the spirits category and often the range on offer isn't as exciting as it could be.

"There are six or seven big brands that the majority of pubs all stock, but it is important to focus on range and choice. Consumers also want a premium range of spirits to choose from, providing the opportunity to trade up."

This idea of increased choice and range is a theme that has recurred over the past two weeks while I examined both beer and wine retailing. With opinions emanating from both retailers and brand owners it is a message licensees should heed.Optics rail - classic or cliché?

Surely there is a more advanced and exciting way of selling and retailing spirits than sticking them on an Optics rail?

But this isn't the only problem with Optic rails. On average, spirits make up approximately 12 per cent of a pub's wet sales. And yet by being displayed on an Optics rail behind the bar, they have the prime back-bar position. It is the first thing you see at eye level as you approach the bar to make your order.

If you want to cast an eye over the bottled beers, ciders and RTDs then you will have to crane your neck over the bar. Surely, with greater sales to be made from good back-bar fridges you should put them higher on the wall, at eye level, and merchandise your spirits in a different way?

Have we got to a stage where the Optics rail should be cast aside? Is it a relic of pubs of years gone by?

Geoff Brown, marketing director at Punch Taverns, cannot understand why the Optics rail has remained stuck in the same position for so many years. "I have never explored it fully, but the basic statistics don't add up. The spirits rail started years ago and the idea of merchandising never existed then. The spirits rail really evolved as a service opportunity - for display and security.

"Now people are a lot more concerned about space and impulse purchase issues. The sales spirits generate - particularly in English and Welsh pubs - don't equate to good value. So does a spirits rail really have to take over the whole of the back-bar?"

Tim Bird, operations director at EP Pubs & Bars, whose pub brands include Que Pasa and Nostalgic Inns, says: "We don't have Optics in a lot of our pubs - we have pourers instead. "The first thing designers say when they are setting up a pub is where do the brackets go for the spirits Optics? I just think if you use your spirits measure and people are trained up properly then there is no issue. Some people say pourers are slower - but again with proper training this isn't the case."

Quite naturally, however, brand owners are very supportive of Optics rails. Tim Foster, category development director Pernod Ricard UK, says: "Our advice to pubs when they are looking at their back-bar layout is to always put the customer first and think about what is going to help them to make a quick and easy decision.

"When you consider that there are at least 12 main spirit categories, use of Optics is an ideal way to display your range clearly."