The industry perspective

Andy Rose, on-trade business manager, Beam Global UK

"Staff can have a significant impact on a customer's decision to purchase, purely by recommending a product. By simply knowing two or three key facts about each product, staff can talk to their customers and boost sales of premium products that offer a higher profit margin. They are also more likely to receive tips as they will be educating the consumer and adding to their overall experience at the bar. Making sure they use the word 'try', and nodding when making suggestions or recommending something new to customers always helps make the sale."

Jim Grierson, on-trade sales director, Maxxium UK

"In classic and traditional pubs golden rum is doing particularly well right now. We're starting to see places give it some visibility and it's become quite an opportunity. Gin is showing fresh shoots of growth too, and there are some wonderful premium gin brands. If you have a perfect gin and tonic delivered just at the perfect moment then there's nothing else that can beat it. In both gin and rum, people are looking for some authenticity."

Brian Cunliffe, business unit director for the on-trade, First Drinks Brands

"Licensees shouldn't really be looking just for spirits categories with untapped potential, but drilling right down into the sub-categories to see where the real growth is coming from. There's a big opportunity to trade people up from standard gin to premium gin, for example, and we're doing well with Sailor Jerry rum as a long drink with coke. Malt whisky is a great example of a category where there has been an increased number of brands on offer to consumers, which has helped to generate more interest."

Ali Wilkes, spirits marketing manager, Diageo GB

"It's about doing the basics brilliantly. Some pubs can be a bit of a lottery when it comes to spirits. It's not always clear whether you're going to get a 25cl, 35cl or 50cl measure - or even what type of mixed drink it's going to be. The ones that are doing spirits well are serving interesting drinks and giving great value, using quality brands and mixers, with the right garnish and the right amount of ice. It's about communicating this to the consumer, so that they know what measure they're going to get and that the quality of serve is going to be good."

Wayne Collins, mixologist

"The need to connect with the customer is the key message to remember. Don't over-complicate things, keep it short, use the right words and don't try to pull the wool over their eyes. The worst thing you can do is to say you don't like something. When we're doing education days, we always tell people they have to remember that all well-made mixed drinks taste great - you don't have to like them, but remember that other people will. Make sure your suggestions are based on the customer's level of knowledge and their likes and dislikes, not your own."

John McDonnell, chief operating officer, Patrón Spirits Company

"We're not selling tequila, we're selling Patrón as a brand. Our competitive set really is premium and super-premium vodkas, a lot of which are supposed to be neutral and flavourless, but we've got the versatility along with the natural flavours that come from the agave plant. It's an expensive product because we do everything by hand: the bottle, the labelling and putting the cork in. A lot of people think they don't drink tequila, but when you get them to try it they'll come back to it."

Roustam Tariko, founder, Russian Standard vodka

"Often people think you can come to the market with a fancy bottle and pay a bar to sell it, but big business needs to be solid, well resourced and have passion. We always strive for leadership but it's not always in our hands. In the UK, we are prepared to come to the market and do everything that should be done to be successful. Russia is the motherland of vodka, but it's not enough to produce attractive packaging, you need to go back to the tradition of making vodka and invest in raw materials and resources."

Scott Gemmell, managing director, LA Bartenders

"I'm a bit of a whisky evangelist. A lot of people say that you shouldn't use whisky in cocktails and mixed drinks and they're very passionate about it, but there's no reason why you shouldn't. The problem is that with whisky's diversity it does come down more to the skill of the bartender than it would with tequila or rum, where you have similar products and they all work. Blends are generally easier to work with, but its not just about blends versus malts; you really have to take a look at the individual properties of each product. Saying you shouldn't mix any spirit is like saying to a chef you shouldn't use a certain cut of meat."

David Brown, on-trade sales director, Whyte & Mackay

"With the introduction of the smoking ban, pubs can expect to see a rise in food sales. To maximise this opportunity, licensees should be looking to offer a range of food and drink products that complement each other. Wine is often matched to a particular course, but whisky can just as easily be connected to a particular dish, for example Jura 10-year-old is great with fish dishes as it helps release the flavour. After-dinner drinks could be served as an extra course and there is the opportunity to give traditional end of meal drinks an added twist by serving the Glayva Highland Latte, which is a mix of espresso, brown sugar, cream and Glayva." 

John Glaser, founder, Compass Box whisky

"Better quality wood makes better quality whisky. The industry has traditionally been reliant on reused low-quality cooperage, so I wanted to build a style around better oak. More active oak doesn't necessarily mean younger, it means oak casks that have not been reused too many times. It means more first-fill casks that may have been used elsewhere in the world, for sherry or bourbon for example, but have only been used once in Scotland. The wood provides 60% or more of the flavour, so the less it's been used, the more flavour it will give to the whisky."