Mixability: Time to mix it up

Related tags Cocktails Cocktail Bartender

Cocktails! Why does that word fill licensees with dread? The answer is quite simply a lack of knowledge, not just of the the art of producing good...

Cocktails! Why does that word fill licensees with dread? The answer is quite simply a lack of knowledge, not just of the the art of producing good cocktails but also in understanding what cocktails can do for their business. The pub and bar business is evolving into a far more sophisticated consumer environment, it is not dumbing down, and even those who stand still will lose out to those who are moving with the times.

Five years ago I had the good fortune to meet Jamie Stephenson, one of the most acclaimed cocktail bartenders in the UK. Jamie can invent the most sublime and technically challenging cocktails imaginable. But unlike many of his 'mixologist' peers, he believes cocktails are not the exclusive domain of style bars, and that thousands of pubs could benefit from a simple cocktail offering.

To this end Jamie and his training school The Bar Academy have produced dozens of excellent recipes that can be served in the time it takes to pour a Guinness.

Cocktails can be as complicated as you want to make them but, more importantly, they can be dead simple too. A cocktail can be one ingredient more than a spirit and a mixer. Any licensee worth his salt already understands how long drinks can improve both gross profit and cash margin, and cocktails are no different. In short, there are excellent rewards to be had for anyone who is prepared to step out of their comfort zone.

Many times I have heard licensees say that cocktails are not for their pub. For a few that may be true, but for most it is not and we are on the way to proving it.

Recently we embarked on a project in conjunction with The Publican to demonstrate that with a little preparation and training a typical pub can improve its business with a cocktail offering.

We chose five pubs, all different, with the only common factor being the licensees' enthusiasm for the challenge. After an initial consultation and a look at what was available on the back-bar, a list of between six and 12 cocktails was suggested for each venue, a menu and generic point-of-sale material (posters, banners and tent cards) were produced and after about three hours' training our 'pub mixologists' were ready to go.

The early signs are very encouraging indeed, with one of the participants now typically serving 30 cocktails on a Friday or Saturday evening, and the non-alcoholic cocktails being especially popular at Sunday lunchtimes. Let's face it, invention within the spirits business has pretty much run its course. The biggest names in the industry have had some spectacular failures in recent years, so where is the growth going to come if not from invention? I think it has to be innovation in mixed drinks.

We have recently launched a national campaign to go alongside our Antica Longshots range. Here we have taken spirits that are traditionally consumed as a shot, and have turned them into long drinks with the simple addition of a mixer. Not only does this increase gross profit significantly, it is also responsible retailing to boot.

The idea for this campaign actually came from a licensee who told us how he added lemonade to Antica Raspberry Sambuca. So I say to all licensees "go forth and innovate!"

Jeremy Hill is managing director of drinks company Hi-Spirits

Related topics Spirits & Cocktails

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