Bar Business February 2018

February 2018

THE HOW-TO PUBLICATION

BAR BUS NESS MAGAZINE

Page 20

POS Systems Guide

Glasswashers

How to choose the right machine

Music Entertainment

Cultivate an experience

A Splash OF WHISKEY

Explore the dark side of spirits.

www.barbizmag.com

Contents How Tos

18

Picking a POS

21

The Dirty Details

Functions and features to focus on.

February

What to consider before you purchase a glasswasher.

28

Don’t Pour Out Your Profits

36

Tuning Up: The Sound of Music

Two self-pour technologies offer big savings.

The right music experience can increase revenue.

Contents photo: The smoking Gun - Walter Wilson Photography Cover Photo: Shutterstock/ Anastasia Grig

Departments

4

From the Editor

6 8

On Tap

A letter from our Editor Ashley Bray Industry news and announcements.

10th Anniversary

A special look back at the last 10 years of Bar Business.

12

Behind The Bar

16

Happenings

49

In-depth analysis of beer, wine, and spirits.

Important dates for the month.

Bar Tour

The evidence is in, and this 70’s-inspired bar is guilty of a good time.

52

Inventory

56

Q+A

42

Featured product releases.

Steve Strong – S.D. Strong Distilling, Parkville, MO

Features Seasonal Cocktails: Springtime Sippers

Shake off winter with fresh and vibrant flavors.

46

Top Tips for Upselling Wine and Spirits The key to upselling is training.

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February 2018

Bar Business Magazine

1

THE HOW-TO PUBLICATION

BAR BUS NESS MAGAZINE

February 2018

What is your favorite type of glassware?

Vol. 11

No. 2

Bar Business Magazine (ISSN 1944-7531) is published

by Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation 55 Broad St 26th Fl., New York, NY 10004

subscription department 800-895-4389

executive offices President Arthur J. McGinnis, Jr. Publisher Art Sutley 212-620-7247 asutley@sbpub.com

editorial

Editor Ashley Bray 212-620-7220 abray@sbpub.com Contributing Writers Karen Douglas, Emily Eckart, Elyse Glickman, Andria Park, Rachael Robbins

“Red solo cup (haha, just joking). I like the way cocktails look served in a coupe glass.”

art

Art Director Nicole Cassano Graphic Designer Aleza Leinwand

production

Corporate Production Director Mary Conyers mconyers@sbpub.com “I love to drink tropical cocktails out of a hurricane glass.”

Digital Ad Operations Associate Kevin Fuhrmann

circulation

Circulation Director Maureen Cooney mcooney@sbpub.com

“A Weizen glass.”

advertising sales Art Sutley 212-620-7247 asutley@sbpub.com

Bar Business Magazine (Print ISSN 1944-7531, Digital ISSN 2161-5071) (USPS#000-342) is published February, April, June, August, October, and December. January, March, May, July, September, and November will only be offered in a digital format at no charge by Simmons-Boardman Publ. Corp, 55 Broad St. 26th Floor, New York, NY 10004. Printed in the U.S.A. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY and Additional mailing offices. Pricing, Qualified U.S. Bar Owners may request a free subscription. Non-qualified subscriptions printed or digital version: 1 year US $45.00; Canada $90.00; foreign $189.00; foreign, air mail $289.00. 2 years US $75.00; Canada $120.00; foreign $300.00; foreign, air mail $500.00. BOTH Print & Digital Versions: 1 year US $68.00; Canada $135.00; foreign $284.00; foreign, air mail $384.00. 2 years US $113.00; Canada $180.00; foreign $450.00; foreign, air mail $650.00. Single Copies are $10.00 ea. Subscriptions must be paid for in U.S. funds only. COPYRIGHT © Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation 2018. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reproduced without permission. For reprint information contact: Art Sutley, Phone (212) 620-7247, or asutley@ sbpub.com. For Subscriptions, & address changes, Please call (800) 895-4389, (402) 346-4740, Fax (402) 346-3670, e-mail barbusiness@omeda.com or write to: Bar Business Magazine, SimmonsBoardman Publ. Corp, PO Box 3135, Northbrook, IL 60062-3135. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Bar Business Magazine, PO Box 3135, Northbrook, IL 60062-3135. Instructional information in this magazine should only be performed by skilled craftspeople with the proper equipment. The publisher and authors of information provided herein advise all readers to exercise care when engaging in any of the how-to activities published in the magazine. Further, the publisher and authors assume no liability for damages or injuries resulting from projects contained herein.

2

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February 2018 barbizmag.com

from the editor

From The Editor

No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn.

- Hal Borland

4

Bar Business Magazine

I

f your winter has been anything like ours here in the northeast, you may be especially looking forward to spring.

The season brings with it more than just warmer weather, longer nights, and a welcome absence of that white stuff. For one, it heralds the arrival of this year’s Nightclub & Bar Show from March 26-28 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. This year’s show promises to be better than ever with a variety of panels and keynotes, 70-plus education sessions, and of course, can’t-miss parties and networking events.

Spring may also bring a change to your cocktail menus as darker spirits are replaced by vodkas and botanical-forward gins.

Speaking of botanicals, Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits, the largest North American wine and spirits distribution company, recently identified the top cocktail flavor and ingredient trends in 2018. The report follows a tasting tour across the U.S. led by an expert team of national sales staff and mixologists. The company visited 55 of the top mixology and restaurant bars in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Chicago, and they tasted nearly 250 cocktails.

One of the top trends is the garden to glass movement—the cocktail menu’s equivalent of farm-to-table. More and more bartenders now look beyond the bottles on the back bar and into the kitchen for new and unique flavor and color options. Ingredients like herbs, snap peas, and carrots are being incorporated into cocktails.

The mixologists we spoke to for this month’s seasonal spring cocktails feature

on page 42 also found that herbs, berries, seasonal fruits and citruses, and other fresh flavors are likely to be found on spring cocktail menus this season.

The mixologists also predicted that obscure fruits and vegetables will appear on spring cocktail menus. This fits in with the globalization trend Southern Glazer’s discovered in its report. For one, Middle Eastern-inspired ingredients like turmeric, which also has many health benefits, are taking off. Southern Glazer’s says bartenders should remember these global spices and ingredients can not only be used in a cocktail but also as a rim or garnish.

Our seasonal cocktails story also found that floral and bitter ingredients will be trending this spring. Similarly, Southern Glazer’s report said that bartenders are aiming to cut the sweetness in drinks with aperitifs, bitters, and even tea infusions.

(Note: For more on the tea infusion trend, be sure to check out last month’s story, “High Creativi(Tea)” on page 25.)

The other trends rounding out Southern Glazer’s report are bubbly ingredients and aromatics, which can add both taste and visual appeal to a cocktail.

Let us know what you’re putting on your spring menus and bring on the sun!

Ashley bray, Editor

February 2018 barbizmag.com

The Essential Ingredient

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I

ON TAP How to Make $300 Million More This Year

n an industry that claims slim margins, a high failure and turnover rate, and a lack of traditional employee benefits, it’s acceptable to be extremely wasteful and leave thousands of dollars on the table monthly.

In fact, US bars and restaurants lose about $28 billion dollars each year. That’s lost revenue due to one in four drinks walking out the door from poor company culture, lack of innovation, and not tracking or analyzing one of the most expensive assets—liquid cash.

Most bars and restaurants (from independents to big chains) count the money in the register each shift, but they count the inventory—liquid cash, which is worth much more—maybe once a month, maybe never. While this liquid cash is not counted accurately, it is still used to calculate financial metrics. These are then compared to arbitrary industry benchmarks but not truly analyzed to understand how to make better business decisions.

As a result, we have overwhelming alcohol shrinkage of 23%. No other industry would accept this standard. If a 6

Bar Business Magazine

business makes $30,000 in beverage sales each month, it would lose $9,000 per month at this rate.

No wonder we don’t have funds for vacation days or new equipment.

If we could capture 1% of the $28 billion dollars lost this year, we’d make an extra 300 million dollars. Those lost liquid dollars would allow bars to take better care of employees and be truly successful. Yet in most cases, bars don’t realize how much they are losing and the disservice this loss is doing to our entire industry and the folks in it. This is true for even the largest and most successful companies in food and beverage.

On top of everything else, as an industry we spend money on upgrades and new tools without understanding the ROI. We follow methods and standard operating procedures without questioning if there’s a better way to do things.

Today, we’re going to do the opposite of what’s expected in our industry. We’ll review five lessons from lean tech startups that you can use to capture part of that $300 million and find success for your team—behind the bar and beyond.

Challenge the status quo. Start

questioning how to do everything better, even if the answer isn’t conventional.

The best tech startups, companies, and visionaries didn’t come out of complacency or by following the same path as everyone else. They identified their pain points and put the time and resources into committing to solve them.

Take, for example, Danny Meyer’s no tipping policy. Whatever your opinion of this policy, Meyer stands out as a person of influence taking a risk to solve an acute, ongoing problem in our industry.

And this ethos is for everyone. Change the way you think, question, and innovate to make sure you don’t get lost in mediocrity. Build a culture of constant improvement and empowerment, which will lead to an amazing team.

Have clear goals. Clear objectives unify and motivate your team while driving profitability. Alignment is crucial to ensure everyone is rowing synergistically and empowered to have ownership over projects.

Since humans are driven by purpose and positivity, it’s important to have aspirational goals as well as metrics that keep everyone motivated, happy, and

February 2018 barbizmag.com

Photo: Shutterstock/ wutzkohphoto.

From ON TAP The Editor

ON TAP ready to go to war for your vision.

In Silicon Valley, all these concepts are encapsulated and executed via the mission, vision, values, and objectives and key results (OKRs). Objectives are aspirational quarterly goals. Key results are measured, smaller goals that help your company meet objectives.

I could write an entire book about OKRs and these concepts but someone already did! Here’s your homework: Read Christina Wodtke’s book Radical Focus.

Track, analyze, and understand why.

Most tech startups don’t have the luxury funding you believe they do. And even those that do, consistently track and analyze important indicators and key results to determine how their business is doing and what needs to be improved.

The best companies would never look at their numbers just once a month!

Analyze your business and what you track, how you track it, why, and how this information helps you understand and build a better business and culture.

In the example of inventory and beverage cost, why do we all—from toptier CFOs to brand new bar leads—guess on a 10-point scale, then want a brandby-brand reconciliation, only to use an

arbitrary “industry average beverage cost” as the performance indicator of success? We have to do a better job looking into our own data.

As discussed, Step #1 is questioning and innovating to escape mediocrity.

Innovation doesn’t stop at your cocktail menu—it should continue into the most conventional, time-consuming, and problematic parts of your business.

Focus on ROI. You need to embrace technology, understand the value of time, focus on your ROI, and run experiments.

As an industry, most of us don’t understand ROI. We’ll cut a cost, but what does it actually cost us in the long-run?

For example, you may say you “can’t afford” digital operations tools to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of your business (together known as efficacy). You’d rather do things yourself, whether that’s scheduling, social media, inventory, or accounting. But what’s the opportunity cost, and what could you have done in this time? What errors were made, and how does this impact your employees and potential hires? What vital data are you not getting as a result?

If you don’t hold yourself accountable as a real business, look at your own data

to understand what you’re getting back in return, and align it to your goals, you’ll continue having all the same issues—tight margins, turnover, and burnout.

User-focused technology where design is the focus holds the key to a lot of answers in understanding ROI and improving our businesses. Don’t buy it all blindly but truly track the return on your investment. Treat everything as an experiment with a clear goal.

If you get a new piece of technology, ask yourself: How many more patrons are hearing about and entering my bar? How much time and cash did I free up? How do these roll up to my bigger goals? Do my returns exceed my investments?

Work on your Business, not in it.

Make a commitment to take a few hours each week to strategize on how to execute your vision and set your team up for success. You’ll be surprised by the results.

Anjali Kundra is Co-Founder and Vice President of Customer Success at Partender (partender.com), a global startup that began in Gainesville, Florida and reached over 15,000 bars in less than two years.

Tradeshow for the Wine Industry Comes Stateside

T

he first-ever Vinexpo New York pours into the Javits Center from March 5-6. The show is open exclusively to the trade—wine and spirits producers, wholesalers/distributors, and retailers.

“The US is the leading market for wine consumption in the world, and it deserves a great show,” says Guillaume Deglise, CEO of Vinexpo. “The objective of the show is for brands to either partner up or improve the distribution in the US. It’s also an opportunity for new brands to enter the US market.”

Vinexpo, an international brand that specializes in creating and developing major events in the wine and spirits

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sector, has shows all over the world in Bordeaux, Hong Kong, and Tokyo, but this is the first time the brand is bringing its show stateside.

“We received so many requests from our exhibitors from other shows to do something in the US,” says Deglise, who explains there was a real void in the US market for a B2B tradeshow for suppliers, distributors, retailers, and those who work in the industry. “The market is changing very fast, and there are tons of opportunities here.”

To bring the show to New York, Vinexpo teamed up with Diversified Communications, a company that connects, educates, and strengthens business communities through marketleading events, digital products, and publications. Diversified Communications took an interest in the US wine market and decided that teaming up with Vinexpo was a good matchup. “It’s been a fabulous

collaboration and project to work on,” says Mary Larkin, Executive Vice President of Diversified Communications.

Response to the show has been immense, and the exhibit space has sold out with more than 450 exhibitors participating. 90% of exhibitors come from 20-plus countries outside the US, including Australia, Croatia, France, Italy, South Africa, Spain, Uruguay, and more.

Attendance is tracking strong, and the show has a goal of 2500 registered buyers.

Vinexpo New York will also be packed with educational content, including tastings, speakers, conference sessions, and master classes run by entities like the Institute of Masters of Wine.

“We also have One to Wine Meetings where we can introduce particular wineries to buyers,” says Larkin. The service is complimentary, but those interested must register by February 23. vinexponewyork.com February 2018

Bar Business Magazine

7

10th anniversary

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2 parts Ayate Reposado Tequila 1.5 parts dragon fruit puree 1/4 part orange juice 1 part fresh sour mix (1/3 lime, 1/3 lemon, 1/3 simple syrup)

Jon Taffer & Harbortouch discussing the first SmartPOS

8

READ ISSUE

DRINK RECIPE

BAR VISITED

5CHURCH CHARLESTON, SC

most-

savageandcooke.com Mix all ingredients over ice, shake and strain over fresh ice. Rim glass with a mixture of cayenne pepper, salt, and cracked peppercorn. Zest an orange over the mixture and garnish with an orange slice.

Recipe by Niccole Trzaska

Bilbo Garcia

February 2018 barbizmag.com

10th anniversary

a word

on the cover

FROM OUR PUBLISHER

10 YEARS AGO

Texting: Why you should be doing it and how to get started.

2008

608

MOST-LIKED INSTAGRAM

POST

favorite RESTAURANTS VISITED

Photo (bottom right): Margaret Pattillo.

Herbs & Rye Las Vegas, NV

robert NY, NY barbizmag.com

The beacon CHICAGO, IL

I

t seems like just yesterday I was discussing the need for a magazine that would deliver how-to content to the on-premise bar owner and operator. The goal was to create a resource in the hospitality industry that would help owners to better their business practices. The idea quickly became a reality. Bar Business Magazine is an indispensable resource for bar owners and a channel for the suppliers and manufacturers in the burgeoning hospitality industry to communicate with those owners.

Fast forward to 10 years later, and a lot has changed since that first brainstorming session. We’ve redesigned the magazine, launched a new website, added an assortment of digital products, and formed many trade partnerships—and we’ve had a lot of fun along the way!

I’d like to close with some acknowledgements. To our readers, thank you for embracing our magazine as a resource. To our advertisers, thank you for your continued support. To the Bar Business Magazine staff, thank you for your dedication to producing the number-one how-to hospitality magazine! Without all three of these components, we wouldn’t be here.

I hope you’ll join me in toasting to another 10 years and beyond!

Art Sutley Publisher Bar Business Magazine

February 2018

Bar Business Magazine

9

10th anniversary

2008 The How-To Publication

Texting:

HIGHLIGHTS

Why you should be doing it and how to get started

BAR BUSINE$$ Sept/Oct 2008

M A G A Z I N E

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HOW TO DECIDE IF IT’S RIGHT FOR YOUR CLUB

preview of Drai’s Hollywood before open to the public

HOW TO: LIGHTING INSURANCE: LOW RISK BIG SIX: BOSTON

First issue of Bar Business Magazine

2014 Celebrated with RumChata for 1,000,000 cases sold

2015

talked Scotch with Chef Anthony Bourdain

Bar Business Magazine

YEARS 2012

Traveled to France for Grey Goose Vodka’s Le Voyage Trip

2013

attended bar convent Berlin with Cherry Heering

February 2017

THE HOW-TO PUBLICATION

BAR BUS NESS MAGAZINE

NEW Craft Cocktail

RECIPES INSIDE

New Look For 2017!

2016

PLUS: INSIDE NYC’S NEW HARLEM RENAISSANCE (& AUSTIN’S ICE RENAISSANCE)

HOW TO:

POS SYSTEMS SCHEDULING SOFTWARE

DIGITAL JUKEBOXES: STATE OF THE SONIC UNION

Alternative Energy Solutions

2017

New website launch & redesigned magazine

Changing your whole perspective on energy drinks See our ads on pages 9 & 27

Shakes on A Plane event with JetBlue to Tales of the Cocktail

10

OVER THE

2010

Bottle Service

2017 Talking vodka with Chef Peter Kelly & Actor Bill Murray of Slovenia Vodka

February 2018 barbizmag.com

Meet Tobin and check out the Tobin Ellis Signature Cocktail Station at the Nightclub and Bar Show in Las Vegas March 27-28. Booth 435 Tobin Ellis, founder and CEO of BarMagic.

Imagine bar equipment conceived by a renowned bartender, and built by Perlick Perlick’s new Tobin Ellis Signature Cocktail Station is a breakthrough achievement in underbar design resulting from an ambitious collaboration between 6-time national bartending champion and celebrated bar designer, Tobin Ellis and the award-winning engineering team at Perlick.

“Together, we’ve built a cocktail station that’s perfect for everything from craft cocktail bars to high-volume nightclubs and 5-star/5-diamond hotel environments. It’s the tricked-out station every serious bartender has dreamt about and every savvy operator has hoped for.”

Tobin Ellis

Exclusively from Perlick Contact Perlick today to learn more! perlick.com • 800.558.5592

Let’s talk

Behind The Bar: Whiskey

Journey over to the dark side of spirits.

BY Rachael Robbins

12

Bar Business Magazine

D

ark liquor, dark drunk— that was my motto for the majority of my drinking years. As my life behind the bar started to morph from bartender to mixologist, my palate evolved as well. Lucky for me, this happened simultaneously as the liquor market was being blessed with some very special, very delicious dark spirits.

Just like when I moved off the farm into the big city, my world of whiskey, bourbon, and rye expanded.

It used to be 90% of women would not order whiskey. Sure, there are some hotrod betties out there who can keep up with the boys, swilling whiskey and

smoking filter-less Camel cigarettes. But the term “girlie drink” exists for a reason.

Girls generally like to drink easy, breezy, palatable drinks.

But according to Mary DeMarco, Cask & Crew Director of Marketing, that is changing. “The amount of women drinking brown spirits has increased about 35% since the 80’s,” says DeMarco. “Groups like Women Who Whiskey and Whiskey Chicks, to name a few, are popping up all over the country.

Its great!”

Cask & Crew Cask & Crew makes some of my favorite dark spirits. They have created two

February 2018 barbizmag.com

Photo: Shutterstock/ Y Photo Studio.

whiskey

Behind The Bar: WHISKEY naturally flavored whiskeys and one rye that goes down smoother than most vodkas. “The 51% Canadian rye blended with 49% American corn makes for an extraordinarily smooth mouth feel,” explains DeMarco.

Cask & Crew’s rye is grown in Canada, and the colder climate provides a more flavorful grain for distillation. Then its aged for three years in charred American oak barrels to produce aging notes of vanilla, caramel, and smoke. The varying climate (cold to hot) puts added stress on the aging process and enhances the smoothness of the whiskey.

Cask & Crew are considered “small batch,” and when I asked what the definition of that was, they told me, “For batch one of each variety, we had a total of 19 barrels tapped to achieve our 1500-gallon batch sizes.

That’s roughly 7500 bottles each.”

Cask & Crew’s two whiskey flavors are Ginger Spice and Walnut Toffee. “We wanted our flavors to sit in the back, so the whiskey would always be the forward flavor,” says DeMarco. “One of our brand’s hashtags is “respectthewhiskey,” and we live by that when developing new flavor enhancements.”

It’s amazing how little it takes to transform these whiskeys into noteworthy concoctions. And it’s so much fun watching light liquor loyalists order one whiskey drink after another!

The first flavor I worked with is Cask & Crew Ginger Spice. “Much thought and research went into the development of our two flavors,” says DeMarco. “We want to be different and develop flavors that are one-of-a-kind, or at least first to the flavored whiskey category. The ginger spice was on the fence for a while, but after speaking to mixologists and bartenders, it became clear that ginger was a go-to flavor in many trendy cocktails.”

The flavor is light and not overpowering, but it’s present enough to act as an element in a cocktail. In other words, this whiskey allows the bartender

to use fewer ingredients while making a delicious cocktail in less time.

And as I’ve said a million times: the faster the bar can get the drinks out, the quicker the customer drinks them, and the more the customer orders—resulting in everyone (bartender and owner) making more money! Plus, a quickly served customer is a happy, returning customer!

Cask & Crew’s most popular flavor is Walnut Toffee. “Walnut Toffee was also a unique and different flavor profile we knew could stand on its own because of its approachable sweetness, but also its fun in cocktails and culinary dishes as well,” says DeMarco.

When I tried this flavor on the rocks, it already tasted like a perfectly balanced cocktail. It had hints of sweetness without being syrupy, a burst of flavor that reminded me of maple syrup, and zero burn on the back end. It really didn’t need anything else added, which excites me as a liquor aficionado but scares me as a mixologist. Booze like this will make me obsolete!

Whiskey is a distilled spirit made from fermented grain mash.

New entries have changed the world of dark spirits.

barbizmag.com

Graton Distillery When Graton Distillery recently sent me a bottle of their whiskey, Redwood Empire, I was very interested. The first thing that intrigued me was that The Graton Distilling company is owned by and part of Purple Wine Vineyards, which is known for their extraordinary northern California wines. Now they are called Purple Wines and Spirits, and once I took a sip of their whiskey, I was very glad they added spirits to their portfolio! Redwood Empire is a full-bodied, smooth, and flavorful sipping bourbon.

Redwood Empire has very strong notes of vanilla and caramel, which makes it a very subtly flavored whiskey (in the best way). Because of that, it is much more enjoyable on the palate as a sipping whiskey, and it’s a dream to make cocktails with because it’s already bringing a flavor element to

Copper stills extract impurities from the whiskey as it’s distilled.

Whiskey is put into oak casks and stored until it reaches maturation (typically, at least three years).

February 2018

Bar Business Magazine

13

Behind The Bar: Whiskey the drink, allowing the mixologist to use less ingredients to achieve a memorable cocktail.

I had a chance to speak to Redwood Empire’s Master Distiller Jeff Duckhorn, and I asked him how they brought out these delicious flavors in the distilling process. “Our blending program combines youthful rye (two and three year old) and aged bourbon stocks (four,

five, and eleven year old),” he said. “The ryes are aged in a unique combination of used port barrels and American oak and the Bourbon in classic high-char American oak casks. These components integrate into a very smooth, yet fullflavored whiskey.”

I thought it was very cool that they can reuse the same barrels they age their wines in to age their whiskey because—

sustainability! One of my favorite words.

“We have a system and set of beliefs that we feel reflect the best practices of sustainable production,” said Duckhorn.

“We are proud to run one of the most eco-friendly, water-efficient, solar-enabled facilities in the industry.”

This made me want to know more about the distillery. “We are located in Graton, California,” he said. “On the

Blueberry Pie in a Glass 2 oz Cask & Crew Walnut Toffee Whiskey 2 oz blueberries (I like to use thawed frozen because they produce more juice) 3 dashes Dashfire Allspice Bitters Muddle all ingredients and double strain over ice. Garnish with fresh grated cinnamon.

Rachael Robbins

Long Island Iced Coffee 2 oz Cask & Crew Rye Whiskey 1 oz amaro 1 oz orange liqueur 1/2 teaspoon instant espresso

Rachael Robbins

Photo: Shutterstock/ HandmadePictures.

Come see us at Nightclub & Bar Show Booth #1652

Dissolve the instant espresso in one tablespoon of hot water and shake with the remaining ingredients. Serve in a pint glass with a floater of Kerrygold (or any Bailey’s type liqueur).

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February 2018 barbizmag.com

west side of Sonoma County. Located inside a wine production facility, our distillery is state-of-the-art with a continuous micro-column still custom built by Headframe Stills of Butte, Montana. We also have a dedicated Redwood Empire barrel resting room adjacent to our distillery.”

Because of the careful crafting it takes to make these new whiskeys, the absence

of anything artificial, and zero additives, the world of dark liquors has been changed forever. I used to look at a cocktail list and hope for a vodka option that sounded good to me. But now I just look for the most delicious cocktail and don’t even concern myself with what kind of spirit it’s made with. So come on, cross over to the dark side with me and enjoy some of these heavenly whiskeys.

Rachael Robbins owns Chickologist, a cocktail consulting company. Her main objective is to infiltrate “the boy’s club of mixology” and show the world that chicks can mix a mean drink too. She’s tended bar in NYC, Miami, LA, & NJ for 20 years. She opened a speakeasy in Jersey City and began creating innovative cocktails. She’s the in-house Mixologist for VDKA 6100. Reach her at chickologist.com or @chickologist.

Ginger Mule A-Go-Go! 2 oz Cask & Crew Ginger Spice Whiskey 1 oz peach nectar .5 oz lemon juice 1/4 oz vanilla simple syrup 2 oz ginger beer

Combine all ingredients and serve on the rocks with a mint garnish.

Rachael Robbins

Tea for One 2 oz Cask & Crew Ginger Spice Whiskey .5oz honey syrup .5oz lemon juice 2.5 oz strong brewed tea To make the honey syrup combine one part honey, one part water. To make the strong brew tea, I use English breakfast tea, two tea bags per 18 oz hot water. Bring the mixture to a boil and let it sit overnight.

Strain out tea bags. For the cocktail, combine all ingredients and serve on the rocks with a lemon garnish.

Photo: Shutterstock/ Brent Hofacker.

Rachael Robbins

barbizmag.com

February 2018

Bar Business Magazine

15

Happenings March 2018

march 15 The Ides of March

Caesar didn’t heed the warning about this day, and well, we all know how that ended. Raise a toast to Caesar with a Bloody (Caesar) special.

march 16 National Artichoke Hearts Day Today’s the day to highlight that bottle of Cynar on your back bar.

The Italian bitter liqueur is made from 13 herbs and plants, and artichoke is the most predominant.

2

march 2 Employee Appreciation Day A bar is only as good as its employees. Show your appreciation for your staff everyday, but today especially.

march 20 First Day of Spring

St. Patrick’s Day isn’t the only day to work some green into your bar menu. Celebrate The Green Fairy today by putting together a list of absinthe cocktails.

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Bar Business Magazine February 2018 barbizmag.com

All Photos: Shutterstock.com.

march 5 National Absinthe Day

It’s been one heck of a winter. The botanicals in gin are a great way to welcome the new growth spring represents, so get mixing!

Happenings march 1 Peanut Butter Lover’s Day

Upcoming

Peanut butter isn’t an ingredient you find in a lot of cocktails, but we challenge you to create some tantalizing concoctions.

EVENTS

March international restaurant & foodservice show of new york New York, NY March 4-6, 2018

march 11 Daylight Savings Time Spring ahead! We’ll take a lost hour of sleep for those upcoming long summer nights, but you may still want to have some coffee cocktails on hand.

internationalrestaurantny.com

VINEXPO New York New York, NY March 5-6, 2018

vinexponewyork.com

nightclub & bar show

13

march 13 Jewel Day This day celebrates the giving of jewelry, but we think jewel-colored drinks are just as good (if not better)! Pull out those jewel-toned liqueurs, and create a colorful cocktail list.

Las Vegas, NV March 26-28, 2018 ncbshow.com

April wine & spirits wholesalers of america convention Las Vegas, NV April 30-May 3, 2018 wswaconvention.org

may nra show march 17 St. Patrick’s Day Don your green—everyone is Irish today. Queue up the Guinness, Irish coffees, and Irish Car Bombs. Extra points for green beer.

barbizmag.com

Chicago, IL May 19-22, 2018 show.restaurant.org

February 2018 Bar Business Magazine

17

How To: POS

How To

Functions and features to focus on.

Picking a POS 18

Bar Business Magazine

By Ashley Bray February 2018 barbizmag.com

How To: POS

HARBORTOUCH

2TOUCHPOS

Exclusively iPad based with hybrid cloud technology.

Stationary terminals with payment processing options tableside.

f you own a bar or nightclub, the question is no longer should you or shouldn’t you invest in a POS system, it’s which system best fits your business.

POS systems are now workflow stations that take payments, collect data, and help you manage and organize multiple aspects of your business. The POS system is the beating heart of your business, so choose right the first time.

“You are doing your bar a disservice if you don’t do your research when choosing a point of sale,” says Jeh Holsomback, President of Paradise POS. “A good pointof-sale system can mean the difference between barely breaking even and a profit margin that is going to make you money.”

Control & Organization. Your business is only as good as how it’s run, and a POS system can make sure you’re operating efficiently.

“Point-of-sale systems give you precise control over the business activities that lead to the sale and payment of your goods,” says Eric Elwell, CEO of 2TouchPOS. These activities include the tasks that keep you up and running. “A POS helps you with administrative functions like managing your staff, your product sales, your cash, and really gets you closer to your real numbers,” says Daniel Baron, CEO/Founder of SmartTab POS. POS systems also help with internal workflows. “POS systems streamline communication between servers/ bartenders and the kitchen/bar to improve operational efficiency and speed of service,” says Nate Hirshberg, AVP, Marketing, Harbortouch. “POS systems save servers and bartenders time entering orders and ensure order accuracy.”

By improving the efficiency of service, you in turn improve customer service, which can lead to larger profits.

“Increased sales come not only as a direct result from a more efficient business process where you can expect to see sales increase in double digits, but also through greater accountability through a system that tracks all sales,” says Baron. “A POS provides organization of every action and transaction. And having everything tracked within a POS effortlessly produces all the reports and records necessary to run your business at your fingertips.”

Data Collection. POS systems collect a multitude of data on your customers, which you can use in a variety of ways.

Hirshberg says POS systems are able to generate a number of useful data reports such as labor reports that lead to reduced errors when calculating wages and employee hours worked; sales audit reports to reduce theft within the business; and combined sales reports and labor reports to schedule staff more efficiently. “Business owners can also manage and track customer data for marketing purposes and loyalty,” he says.

Elwell says that customer data is some of the most valuable information available from a POS. “You have your customers names and spending habits, information that will help you influence customer visits and spending while on site,” he says. “Use visuals to analyze your data and adapt to your customers wants and needs. “[Business data helps] you measure progress towards your goals and the effectiveness of your business at satisfying customers while maintaining profitably.”

Some of the data collected can even be used with additional features in your POS,

such as inventory management. “Liquor inventory management is essential to making a profit and controlling costs,” says Holsomback. “That capability should be built into your POS.” Fraud & Theft. Another major benefit of POS systems is their ability to deter, and even outright eliminate, fraudulent activities. According to Paul Katsch, CEO of Rezku POS, POS systems can now reduce fraud thanks to features like preauthorizing bar tabs, automated inventory management, employee loss reporting, customizable permissions, and more.

“POS security is now the responsibility of the bar owner who could be held liable for a data breach,” says Katsch.

He also emphasizes the importance of EMV chip technology. “EMV compliance is critical if you don’t want to be liable for credit card fraud,” says Katsch. “Imagine a customer comes into your bar or nightclub and spend hundreds of dollars with a stolen credit card; and you are now liable for the entire bill.”

Finally, Katsch reminds bar owners of the importance of a POS company with a great support department. “Don’t buy any POS without first calling their tech support on a Friday night,” he says. “Make sure they are there for you when you are probably going to need them most.”

Obviously, the benefits of POS systems are many, but it’s important to choose the system that works best for you. Baron says a great place to start is to ask other trusted business owners about their experiences with systems and to define your goals and the functions you’ll need.

We’ve put together a chart of features of some of the top POS systems to help you get started on your search.

I

Photo: Rezku POS.

PARADISE POS

Offers traditional POS stations in a POS-as-a-service model.

barbizmag.com

February 2018

Bar Business Magazine

19

POS-as-a-Service model that provides the system with no up-front costs for a low monthly fee. This includes a lifetime equipment warranty.

Leasing programs with a variety of terms and timelines.

A variety of leasing options.

Installment payment options as well as leasing options that are underwritten in-house.

Harbortouch

Paradise

Rezku

SmartTab

POS

POS

POS

POS

Lease program and software as a service.

2TouchPOS

Leasing/Payment Options

Traditional stationary resistive-touch unit and iPod and iPad units.

iPad based.

Exclusively iPad based.

Traditional POS station.

Stationary terminals and tablets with payment processing options tableside.

Hardware

Hybrid local server and cloud-server based system.

Cloud based with robust offline mode.

Hybrid cloud technology.

Utilizes the cloud, but can run fully functional without it.

Hybrid cloud technology. This provides cloud benefits (realtime reporting and redundant back-up) while maintaining the advantages of a local system (faster speed and the ability to operate if the Internet goes down).

Hybrid cloud installation. The application runs on-premise and historical and real time data is published to the cloud. Through OData feeds and APIs, they provide a secure way to transport transaction data and reports.

Software

Standard features included at no extra charge: Inventory Management with the capability to track pours and recipes; proprietary built-in staff scheduling for greater time management; payroll file exporting; ID scanning through a proprietary Bouncer Application; both bar tab and table management; full menu customization with advanced customizations; and accurate financial reporting along with dynamic graphs. Ability to download additional features, and SmartTab POS integrates with other specialized systems.

Inventory, time clock, menu customization, data reporting, and check management all included for free. Table management available for $49/month. Customer management package with gift cards, CRM, and loyalty for $44/month.

A variety of features are included as standard, including inventory management, staff scheduling, payroll, ID scanning, check and table management, menu customizing, and metrics/data reporting.

A variety of features are included as standard, including inventory management, staff scheduling, payroll, ID scanning, check and table management, menu customizing, and metrics/data reporting. Users also have the option to download additional features.

Gold, silver, and platinum plans offering a variety of features, services, and support activities, including inventory, payroll, employee maintenance, tab and table management, menu optimization, and OData feed to Microsoft Excel and PowerBI for analytics. The flexible API makes working with custom applications happen.

Additional Features

Debit/credit, EMV and mobile payments through a mobile wallet with expanding payment options like Apple Pay.

100% EMV and PCI-compliant with E2E encryption Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Google Wallet, mobile pay, and pay at table.

Debit/credit cards, EMV chips, mobile payments (Apple Pay, Samsung Pay). Functions with a semi-integrated solution, meaning they communicate to a credit card terminal so anything a terminal can do, they can do. Also offers gift/loyalty on the system for free.

Debit/credit cards, EMV chips, mobile payments (Apple Pay, Samsung Pay).

Cash, credit cards, EMV Chip, NFC mobile payments, gift cards, multisite gift cards, loyalty cards, house accounts, up to three miscellaneous tender types, checks, and “funny money.”

Accepted Payments

In-house technical support included as part of the standard monthly licensing cost.

Included with subscription at no additional charge.

In-house tech support is provided at a low monthly fee per station, with a cap of five monthly fees per location regardless of how many stations a client has.

24/7 technical support is included at no extra charge.

Free 60-day technical support program (for new users) and fee-based support plans (for project-based customers).

Software-as-a-service model includes various levels of technical support and valueadded services.

Technical Support

How To

How To: bevware

The Dirty Details What to consider before you purchase a glasswasher.

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Finally, when comparing models, look at maximum effectiveness of spray patterns, minimal water and chemical usage, ease of cleaning, ease of servicing, and, if required, whether it has a drain pump-out option.

General Considerations James A. Brown, Sales Engineer at Perlick Corporation, says, “Make sure [the machine] meets local code. Not all municipalities may allow the use of lowtemperature machines.”

Checking your local health code is an important preliminary step, as well.

Brown also says to pay attention to what the model can handle. “Make sure it can easily accommodate your glassware type and size without damage loss,” he says.

The machine should be economical to operate, as well as easy to maintain and service. It’s helpful if the vendor has a trained and established service network.

Choosing a Model Some companies, like Perlick, offer a wide variety of washers, such as door style, batch rotary, and carousel. The best option depends on the setup of your particular establishment, the type of glassware, and the number of glasses you need to wash.

According to Brown, “Door style machines tend to have a stronger, more robust spray action to deal with driedon fruit pulp and lipstick.”

Door style machines can be used for general ware washing, not just glassware. Maintenance can be easier because they have less complicated machinery and fewer moving parts. But if you have minimal aisle space, or little

Photo: Shutterstock/ Somwang Issaramala.

lasswashers make it easier to wash your glassware.

With the many different types of machines available, it’s important to choose the right one. Look at your business operation and consider how your glasswasher will fit in.

barbizmag.com

By Emily Eckart space for employees to pass by the machine, a door style might not work as the open door would block the aisle.

Door style machines usually have the capacity to wash 30 racks per hour (assuming that a new cycle is started immediately after the previous one).

The exact number of glasses per rack varies depending on the machine model.

“Rotary and carousel machines can range from 700 to 1000 glasses per hour, based on machine type and speed,” says Brown. “[They] can produce a higher volume of glassware with less handling.

[They] tend to be gentler on glassware with less chipping and breakage.”

However, carousel machines require higher water consumption than door style, as well as higher energy use for heating all that water.

It’s also important to think about how your staff will physically load the machine. “The thing about a glasswasher is the loading point,” says Doug Cole, Sales Development Manager at ITW February 2018

Bar Business Magazine

21

How To: BEVWARE

STERO SG

This model is an Energy Star product, uses less water, and is user friendly.

STERO SGW

This older glasswasher model remains popular because of its proven durability.

Sales Development Manager at ITW Food Equipment Group. “Because you’re only doing glasses, typically you can get away with an 11- or 12-inch door opening.

That means you can raise the loading point up as high as possible so that the bartender doesn’t have to bend over to load it. It’s more user-friendly.”

For certain models of glasswashers, there is a choice between high or low temperature. “Low-temperature machines are generally more cost effective to operate,” Brown says.

A low-temperature machine sanitizes glassware using chemicals. This requires storage space for the chemicals. For example, one of ITW Food Equipment Group’s line of Stero glasswashing machines is slightly taller, allowing for chemical storage underneath.

For a low-temperature machine, you’ll need a chemical supplier.

Usually bar owners acquire chemicals through a contract with their local chemical dealer. Upon initial set-up of the contract, the dealer will make sure you have any necessary dispensers or other equipment.

In high-temperature models, the water reaches 180 degrees Fahrenheit, which sanitizes the glasses. This, Brown says, has two advantages: it removes lipstick and dried-on food more effectively than low-temperature machines, and it’s ideal for wine service because the high heat sanitizes for sparkling clean glassware with no chemical flavor or residue.

Many bar, restaurant, and casino

owners also look for machines that last.

For instance, the Stero warewashing brand has two glasswashers. The SGW is Stero’s older glasswasher model, but it remains popular because of its proven durability. Cole notes that Stero’s newer SG model has several improved features, “It’s Energy Star, it uses less water, and it’s more user friendly.”

Installation Installation requires standard utility hookups: electric, water, and drain.

When looking for a place to install your glasswasher, make sure you have enough room around it, as well. “More space than just the footprint of the machine should be available,” says Brown. “Machines typically need 24 to 25 ½ inches, plus a little extra on each side for pulling the machine out of place for servicing. [Just] as important, space should also be allotted for critical glasswashing support pieces: chemical storage cabinet, nearby landing area for dirty and clean glassware, dump sink with strainer basket, and trash bin.”

Operation and Maintenance “Most machines are pretty simple to operate and maintain,” says Brown.

“Ensuring required training and maintenance is the challenge.

“Most commercial-grade machines complete a cycle in two minutes.”

Most machines can wash plastic, but it’s not recommended due to its light weight.

Both Brown and Cole emphasize that daily cleaning and routine de-liming are

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OMNI-RINSE

This machine rinses tools and complements the glasswasher to improve efficiency.

22

Bar Business Magazine

TAFFERVT.COM

February 2018 barbizmag.com

How To: BEVWARE necessary for maintaining your glasswasher. A glasswasher should be wiped down daily. The frequency of de-liming depends on your water hardness, whether your water is treated, and how often you use the machine.

De-liming may be necessary anywhere from weekly to every few weeks.

Many models of glasswashers have a scrap basket that catches debris and stops it from going into the water.

Keeping the scrap basket clean helps it stay effective.

Achieving Maximum Efficiency Many bar owners opt for glasswashers because they save time, freeing up bartenders and staff to do other tasks.

Naoki Sonoda, President of OmniRinse, is an inventor with a background in bartending who saw an opportunity to streamline the cleaning process even further. Sonoda’s machine, the OmniRinse, is a hands-free automatic rinser that uses warm water to rinse beveragemaking tools: mixing tins, mixing

glasses, jiggers, strainers, etc. The bartender simply places the tools on the rinsing platform and pushes a button. The Omni-Rinse rinses them inside and out.

Sonoda emphasizes that the Omni-Rinse does not wash glasses and doesn’t replace a glasswasher.

Rather, it complements the glasswasher to improve your operational efficiency.

By rinsing your tools separately, the Omni-Rinse standardizes the rinsing process and frees up space in your glasswasher that might have been used for mixing tools.

The rinse is faster than a full twominute glasswashing cycle, making your mixing tools available more quickly. “It’s really an efficiency tool,” Sonoda says. “It saves capacity, and it saves time.”

The Omni-Rinse is approximately 16 inches wide, does not require electricity, and can be mounted on the wall.

Sonoda is also working on countertop and freestanding versions.

Return on Investment If you’re deciding whether to purchase a glasswasher, there are a few things to consider when calculating your return on investment. As Brown says, “This is a subjective number that relies on how the owner calculates the reduced need for staffing compared to the cost of the machine. One factor is the increased efficiency of the bartender. Another mutable number is the savings on glassware replacement due to etching, chipping, and breakage.”

You should also consider the consistency a glasswasher offers.

Rather than having employees run glasses through your three-compartment sink, the glasswasher establishes a single standard process that results in a high level of sanitation. “With any type of a glasswasher, you’re providing a consistent cleaning across the board because a machine does the same cleaning process every time,” says Cole.

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ULTIMATE BARS www.ultimatebars.com (714) 849-1340

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February 2018 barbizmag.com

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How To: BEVWARE

Uniquely Unbreakable

P

lastic drinkware now rivals the look and feel of glass and offers a longer life, eliminates breakage issues, and can be easily customizable.

Drinique is a provider of quality, unique plastic drinkware and custom bar products and accessories.

“Drinique is all about adding value by greatly reducing repurchasing and liability,” says Hamid Charoosaie, Vice President of Marketing at Drinique. “The average Drinique customer who switches from glass saves roughly 50%.”

Drinique products are 100% American made with BPA-Free Eastman Tritan™ Copolyester.

The company is so confident in its products that it offers the industry’s only lifetime guarantee against cracking or breaking.

Like their glass counterparts,

Drinique products can be cleaned in glasswashers. The company has a close partnership with Ecolab.

“We work with them and our customers closely to dial in the best settings with the right washers and Ecolab cleaning products,” explains Charoosaie. “Each customer can be different based on their location.

We like to take a hands-on approach so our customers get the longest use with Drinique.”

The company offers plastic carafes, champagne flutes, coupes, stemless options, wine glasses, three different drinkware lines, a line of blue-hued drinkware, and more. Drinique recently released new products and plans on rolling out more later this year. “Our new Caliber Collection is now available in 9.5-ounce Rocks, 12-ounce Double Rocks, 16-ounce Pint and

22-ounce Cooler. We have also introduced a versatile 8-ounce Coupe Martini glass / Champagne Saucer,” says Charoosaie. “We’ll be releasing a 64-ounce Pitcher and 13.5-ounce Hurricane glass at the NRA show this year.”

Drinique finds that customers are looking for customization.

“Drinique has the unique ability to customize our drinkware with colors or logos,” says Charoosaie.

“We have recently developed the capacity to add custom color lips to our glasses.”

PBC-bar-business-ad-s2.pdf 1 2/13/2018 5:30:17 PM

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26

Bar Business Magazine

February 2018 barbizmag.com

Learn How Greater Efficiency and Profitability are a Sure Thing with Paradise POS See us at the Nightclub & Bar Show in Las Vegas!

March 26 th-28 th Booth #231 With the right point of sale system, you can do so much more than settle tabs and process payments.

Paradise POS systems equip you with innovative solutions that allow you to operate your nightclub or bar smarter, more efficiently and more profitably.

Paradise POS systems are designed for iOS, so they are perfectly suited for mobile POS applications at the bar or tableside, and they are configurable, so you can optimize screens for greater employee productivity.

Visit our booth for a demonstration of how Paradise POS systems can help you stack the odds for success in your business’ favor.

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paradisepos.com • 877-777-5530

How To

How To: Portion Control

Don’t Pour Out Your Profits Two self-pour technologies offer big savings.

T

here are numerous factors to consider when running an effective bar or dining establishment, and one of the greatest concerns is controlling expenses. The National Restaurant Association reports that 75% of all stock shrinkage occurs because of theft.

According to BeerSaver, theft occurs for the following reasons:

Pro Tip BeerSaver systems can increase a bar’s sales with the same amount of beer anywhere from 3-5% to 30%. iPourIt raises keg yield from the industry standard of 75% to 99%.

28

Bar Business Magazine

• Bartenders and waitstaff sell drinks without recording transactions in the point-of-sale (POS) system.

• Staff charges customers regular prices for drinks, rings those in as lower-priced specials, then pockets the difference and/or receives a bigger gratuity.

• Employees reverse and void transactions.

This leaves 25% of shrinkage to be attributed to poor bar management and to issues including the aforementioned: spills, over-pouring, incorrect accounting, or giving away free drinks.

Portion control is essential to a bar’s bottom line and to maintaining correct beverage costs and overall bar profits. As you investigate approaches to control your bar’s profit and losses, there are a few companies whose systems can help alleviate your future losses from portion control slip-ups.

BeerSaver is just one of the companies dedicated to helping bar owners efficiently manage their pours and profits. Founded in New York in 2007, BeerSaver now boasts offices in Vancouver, Canada, and Hong Kong.

Using advanced flow meter technology, the draft beer control system tracks what’s poured in realtime versus what’s actually rung up on the customer’s POS system—essentially keeping staff accountable for all inventory down to the minute.

BeerSaver’s draft beer monitoring system, the US BeerSaver Beer and Wine Control System, is web-based and can be accessed through your computer, at home, at work, and also through the BeerSaver app.

Within the past five years, BeerSaver introduced a spinoff to the Beer and Wine Control System with its SelfTAP system, empowering customers to pour their own beer under a guided and controlled environment. Bars can

February 2018 barbizmag.com

Photos: (top) Shutterstock/ Hakan Tanak; (all others) iPourIt.

By Andria Park

How To: Portion Control

Above every iPourIt tap is a screen describing the product.

choose from two options: tables with self-serve beer taps or a wall of selfserve taps.

The Beer Table features self-serve taps that can be remotely turned on and off by staff or operated by an optional RFID card scanner. “A customer comes in, the hostess opens up the table, allows them to sit at the table and to be able to pour (depending on the state, there may be some liquor control limits),” explains Kevin Tse, COO of BeerSaver.

“Essentially [they can] pour, pour, pour, and when they’re done, they ask for the bill, they close the table, and they pay for the number of ounces that were poured at the table.”

The Beer Wall option is operated by an RFID card scanner. The customer’s ID or credit card is scanned, and they are issued a SelfTAP Smart Card.

Using the Smart Card, the customer 30

Bar Business Magazine

scans the tap that they want and gets about 15 seconds to pour whatever amount they want.

When they’re done, customers return their card, and the server scans it to

The average tip in a self-service bar is still 15 percent.

see how much was poured from each tap. The customer is then charged for what they poured.

“For our system, we’re really selling it as a service, so we have basically all of this in

real-time,” says Tse. “We’re also integrated with the POS systems in real-time.

“We can pinpoint, for example, last night at 8 p.m. whether someone poured a beer. There was no ring up with your net time. So they still know staff gave them a beer at that time instead of looking at the overall number that says they poured this much last night versus what they rung in,” continues Tse. “The more they use it, the more they’re finding that it just becomes a deterrent for staff to give out free drinks.”

Tse has noted that bars have increased their sales with the same amount of beer anywhere from 3-5% to even 30% after using BeerSaver products. Giving customers the ability to pour their own beer also enables faster turnaround service.

The very notion of faster service was what sparked iPourIt’s CEO and Founder

February 2018 barbizmag.com

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How To: Portion Control Bret Jones’ idea for his own system.

Frustrated with having to wait for his beers at various restaurants and taprooms, Jones thought there was a better way to solve a negative experience that many patrons are all too familiar with.

Drawing from his IT background, Jones went home and started working on coding a self-serve beer dispensing system. The iPourIt self-serve technology was born after many hours spent researching, concepting, coding, prototyping, and beta-testing.

Originally, the technology was utilized in table-tap applications where patrons can sit down and pour their own beer.

After discovering a negative ROI to table-tap applications, Dave Pike, Owner of Barrel Republic, an establishment featuring self-pour taps, approached the iPourIt team in the San Diego market. With the team’s help, Pike took the technology and developed it into a beer wall.

“We have 2500 taps in the market currently in the U.S., 900 taps in backlog that will be installed in the first quarter of this year, and estimate there’s about 3500 taps in total in this market that are self-serve,” says Darren Nicholson, vice president of Sales & Marketing at iPourit. “Our market shares are over 60% in this market, so we’ve had very good success in the self-serve beer and wine technology marketplace.”

So how does the system work?

A customer opens a tab with a credit card and then presents their ID. The ID is scanned to ensure the customer is of drinking age and that the ID is legitimate. “It also creates a unique identifier for us based on your driver’s license number, and it records your gender, age, and zip code,” says Nicholson.

“You are then associated with an RFID wristband. That RFID wristband is essentially the key to control the various taps that are installed on that beer wall.”

Above every tap is a screen that describes the product, what kind of beer or wine it is, the ABV, the IBU (the bitterness percentage or the hoppiness 32

Bar Business Magazine

February 2018 barbizmag.com

HERE’S WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT BAR BUSINESS:

“Deemed as “Bar Industry’s Bible”” David Rosengarten – Television Personality and Journalist for Forbes, The New York Times, Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, Harper’s Bazaar, Departures, The Wine Spectator and Newsday

“Bar Business Magazine is full of valuable how-to information for the bar owner or operator.

It should be one of your essential tools in your bar.”

Jon Taffer – Renowned Hospitality Consultant and Host & Executive Producer of Bar Rescue

“Bar Business Magazine is my immediate recommendation to our Ark Restaurants bar managers and staff as the trusted premier educational resource for smart industry trends and practices” Jeff Isaacson – VP Beverage Operations, Ark Restaurants

THE HOW-TO PUBLICATION

BAR BUS NESS MAGAZINE

How To: Portion Control

Self-serve taps enable faster turnaround service.

that wristband up to the tap of the beer), the brewery and where it’s screen, our valvometer opens, from, and the per ounce price.

“When you find the beer or beverage and you then pour as many ounces as you want (up to a limit of 32 ounces),” you want to try, you use your wristband says Nicholson. (we have an RFID reader at the tap screen), and you essentially put 5:30:49 PM At checkout, the wristband is scanned PBC-bar-business-ad-s3.pdf 1 2/13/2018

and prints out a ticket and receipt for all ounces consumed, and patrons sign for their credit card on file.

By taking the guesswork away from the patrons, and the labor away from bartenders, it’s easy to see why bar staff wouldn’t be keen on the idea of implementing self-serve systems within their establishments—until they see the other side of the coin (literally).

“You’d be surprised that the average tip in a self-service bar is still 15 percent,” says Nicholson. “The patron sees a lot of value in the employees that they do interact with in a fast-casual setting.”

With iPourIt’s system raising keg yield from the industry standard of 75% to a whopping 99%, it’s clear to see how self-serve systems can track and manage portion control for bars.

Pair this statistic with the capacity to appeal to the “curious” customer, and you may be looking at a gamechanging hospitality experience on your way to reducing slippage.

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2018

MARCH

26-28

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Tuning Up

How To: MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT

HOW TO

The Sound of Music The right music experience can increase revenue. here are a number of ways to make sure your patrons stay in your establishment longer, and music entertainment is one of them.

“It’s well known that dwell time and consumer spend on food and beverages are closely related,” says John Margold, Vice President of Sales

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at AMI Entertainment Network.

“Simply put, a patron that’s empowered to share the music they love is going to dwell longer and spend more money at your establishment.”

Music can also help to establish a bar’s atmosphere. “Music, in general, creates an exciting atmosphere in any venue,” says Marc Felsen, senior vice president

of Marketing at TouchTunes. “Allowing this engagement with the location’s atmosphere increases dwell time and the longer patrons are in the bar, the more money they are likely to spend.”

Brian Krawcykowski, Director of Operations, Business Solutions at Guitar Center, agrees, “It’s proven that providing a curated atmosphere for

February 2018 barbizmag.com

Photo: AMI Entertainment Network at Murph’s Bar, Philadelphia.

T

By Ashley Bray

How To: MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT

customers

ARE MORE LIKELY TO PURCHASE A DRINK WHILE WAITING TO HEAR THEIR REQUESTED SONG

jukeboxes

your customers can increase average visit spend by 17%.”

There are a number of ways to bring music into your establishment, and we cover a few options below.

Digital Jukeboxes Jukeboxes have entered the digital age with built-in videos and mobile apps, and they’ve made it easier than ever to ensure your bar has the right playlist.

But what makes them popular hasn’t changed—the power to pick your music.

“Music has always been a great way to entertain patrons, but when your method of delivering that music has elements of engagement, its value suddenly evolves beyond simple entertainment,” says Margold. “Allowing a customer to ‘play DJ’ or create a soundtrack for their evening out, within a subset of digital music that’s been preapproved by the bar/restaurant, has become an incredibly powerful tool for use.”

It’s also a tool that generates revenue.

“A jukebox can create a cycle for a patron, while waiting for their song to play they are more likely to purchase another drink and so on, keeping them comfortable and spending in venues longer,” says Felsen.

The location of the jukebox plays an important role in the machine’s profitability. “Its placement matters, no different from the top-shelf liquor or craft beer bottles strategically placed for prime visibility,” explains Margold.

Bar owners should place it in a hightraffic, high-visibility area. “The front of the venue is not always the best,” says Felsen. “Placing the jukebox near the bar or in another highly populated area is key.”

Although placement is important, today’s jukeboxes also allow for interaction via a mobile app.

“There’s always going to be a certain appeal to the experience of walking up to a jukebox with a friend and using its large screen to navigate through available

music together. It’s a social experience,” says Margold. “But controlling the jukebox from your smartphone is equally as cool and has a bunch of benefits. [With the AMI Music mobile app,] you can play a jukebox without losing your seat at the bar on a busy night. You can purchase credits that don’t need to be spent all in one evening—or even at one venue! And you can mark your favorite songs for faster selection.”

Increased user efficiency and added features also keep users engaged with the apps. “Features like favorites, playlist creation, and rewards [on TouchTune’s app] keep users engaged and coming back for more,” says Felsen. “In addition, the ability to save credit card information makes the payment process a breeze.”

Apps certainly increase engagement with jukeboxes—and in turn dwell time—but AMI and TouchTunes have also built in other ways to get and keep your guests’ attention.

Some of AMI’s jukebox models incorporate video, which turns the jukebox into a digital signage system for in-house ads or guest promotions via Ad Manager. They also show music videos, which Margold describes as “bite-sized, highly entertaining movies” that are high in demand, especially among Millennial viewers.

“We have jukeboxes specifically designed to maximize the profits of music video play, like the NGX Ultra, and even offer kits that enable other models to offer music video selections,” says Margold. “If a patron selects a video for play, he or she will definitely stick around until its turn to play.”

TouchTunes offers both Karaoke and PhotoBooth options on its jukeboxes.

“True karaoke fans are fanatics, and in several instances, karaoke fans become jukebox fans just because they are familiar with the product,” says Felsen. “Similarly, PhotoBooth can encourage interaction with the jukebox, and once a patron is comfortable with the product, they are more likely to engage and play music.”

Music increases dwell time and customer spend.

now offer additional features like karaoke, music videos, and photobooths

live music

also helps to draw more guests to your bar

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GET THE ONLY JUKEBOX TO COMBINE SONGS, MUSIC VIDEOS, AND DIGITAL SIGNAGE.

Lighting at TRU Nightclub in Las Vegas.

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Bar Business Magazine

Music Shows Shows that provide music, either through a DJ or a live band, can also help your bar to draw in guests and craft a certain atmosphere.

“Having the right music, lighting, video displays, and acoustics all combine to provide the experience, as the customer sees it, of your bar/restaurant,” says Krawcykowski.

“Having a space that uses AVL technology to enhance this makes the customer feel more comfortable and be more engaged in what you’re offering. When customers are more entertained and/or engaged in your brand, this helps increase recurring visits and each visit has a higher spend than facilities not utilizing technology properly to engage their customers.”

The proper use of this technology varies from venue to venue and is also based on the type of show. “Today’s customer has an expectation of a more immersive experience,” says Krawcykowski. “A bar with a live band is much more enticing and engaging when the stage areas are well lit and when the lighting is dynamic.

“At a dance club that primarily uses DJs for music entertainment, the entire experience is upgraded with the use of flat-panel video walls and intelligent lighting systems.

These are the things that can change a boring and old-feeling venue to being an exciting spot that gets talked about and pulls in a more affluent clientele.”

Guitar Center Professional provides audio, video, and lighting products as well as the installation of these products through their nationwide group of affiliates.

They offer everything from ceiling speakers music systems to LED video walls to décor lighting and instruments.

Membership in Guitar Center Professional provides members with the pricing, products, and technical expertise needed when purchasing audio, video, and lighting equipment.

“For bars, nightclubs, and restaurants, benefits include access to our installation affiliate network, so it’s a one-stop experience from choosing the right products to having them installed at the venue,” says Krawcykowski. “We offer the largest selection of professional audio, video, and lighting equipment in the country, along with a nationwide team of regional experts to directly work with bars and clubs to help put together the best selections of products, along with excellent technical support.

“Once a member account is established, our customers can flexibly purchase online, in-store, by phone, or in person through their account manager. We also have great selections in finance options for bars, clubs, and restaurants that can create a program to meet any size budget or project requirement.”

Every venue is different, but Krawcykowski says space is the biggest challenge when planning an AVL system. “As each table or seat allows for revenue, and as overhead increases while space decreases, having a system that is created with that unique space in mind will provide for a much better customer experience,” he says. “Having an experienced professional to consult with through the design and install is key.”

February 2018 barbizmag.com

Photo: Guitar Center.

How To: MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT

Seasonal Cocktails

Seasonal Cocktails:

Springtime sippers 42

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Shake off winter with fresh and vibrant flavors.

Photos: (left) Shutterstock/ Ann Haritonenko; (right) Van Gogh Vodka.

A

fter the cold and dreary winter, we welcome the warmth and rebirth that spring represents with open arms. We also welcome the fresh flavors of spring cocktails.

“When focusing on a spring cocktail menu, we’re looking for fresh, vibrant flavors,” says Shaun Meglen, Bar Manager of Péché in Austin, TX. “Seasonal fruits/ vegetables like strawberry, pineapple, rhubarb, fennel, and floral flavors such as lavender, rose, or violet.”

Jonathan Pogash, The Cocktail Guru, agrees. “The two obvious ingredients that are found on spring cocktail menus are berries and herbs. I love the fresh and vibrant burst of raspberries and blackberries on spring cocktail menus, as well as the aromatic qualities found in herbs like mint, rosemary, and lavender,” he says.

“Blending herbs with flavored spirits, like flavored vodkas from Van Gogh, really add a twist of seasonality to cocktails.”

Adam Harris, Bourbon Vivant & American Whiskey Ambassador from Beam Suntory, also finds a focus on fresh flavors on spring cocktail menus, including seasonal fruits, citrus, and spirits that are refreshing and full flavored. But he also recommends adding a balancing element of spice to a cocktail.

“This year, spicy rye will be added into spring cocktails to create a fresh, spicy, and balanced libation that can be enjoyed in warmer weather,” says Harris. “Knob Creek Rye is spicy and full of flavor, which perfectly complements a wide variety of seasonal fruit, citrus, and fresh herb flavors that match the spring weather.” barbizmag.com

As for trending spring flavors, Meglen expects to see fortified wines and vermouths and lighter sherries being used, along with obscure fruits/vegetables.

“Personally, I’d like to see some well executed shrubs and an emphasis on low-ABV cocktails,” he says.

Pogash says floral and bitter ingredients in cocktails will continue to trend in addition to antioxidant flavors like pomegranate and açai. “I’ve been told that maple is the new pumpkin spice, so even incorporating maple (not just for the fall and winter) will trend,” he says.

When planning your spring cocktail menu, mixologists say that simplicity is key. “Spring is a time of rejuvenation and starting anew, don’t be afraid to go back to basics,” says Meglen. “Do a really, really good Daiquiri or French 75 and call it a day. This also gives you a great ‘go-to’ cocktail, while leaving room for something more interesting further down the menu.”

Even going back to the basics with spirits can have good results.

“Don’t knock vodka,” says Pogash.

“It’s still popular and guests are asking for it. You can be extremely creative on spring menus with great vodkas (unflavored and flavored).”

If you’re looking for an interesting twist on your spring cocktails, however, don’t be afraid to try whiskey.

“Full-flavored whiskey cocktails often have lighter-bodied but equally flavorful counterparts that can be accomplished by just tweaking one ingredient,” explains Harris. “A Boulevardier becomes an Old Pal by switching the sweet vermouth for dry vermouth, and the resulting cocktail is vastly different in mouthfeel and flavor profile.”

Knob Creek® Citrus Rye 2 parts Knob Creek® Rye Whiskey 1/2 parts freshly squeezed lemon juice 1/2 part simple syrup (equal parts white sugar and water) 1 cucumber slice cut in half 2 strawberries 2 basil leaves 1 bottle of ginger ale 1 lemon wheel (for garnish) In a cocktail shaker, muddle a half cucumber slice, one strawberry, and a basil leaf. Add Knob Creek® Rye Whiskey, lemon juice, and simple syrup to the cocktail shaker, fill with ice, and shake vigorously. Double-strain using a fine mesh strainer into a Collins glass over ice.

Top with ginger ale and lightly stir. Garnish with remaining half slice of cucumber, a lemon wheel, half a strawberry, and basil leaf.

John McCarthy

MelonBasil Sour

2 oz. Van Gogh Melon Vodka 3/4 oz. fresh lime juice 3/4 oz. simple syrup 1 egg white 2 basil leaves Muddle basil leaves at the bottom of a mixing glass. Add all ingredients and dry shake. Add ice and shake again. Strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with bitters in a fancy design, a dehydrated lime wheel, and basil leaf.

Jonathan Pogash, The Cocktail Guru

February 2018

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43

Seasonal Cocktails

2 parts Knob Creek® Rye 1 part sweet vermouth 1 whole fresh cherry Rinse of coffee liqueur 1 dash Angostura® Bitters

Muddle a cherry in a mixing glass. Add Knob Creek® Rye, sweet vermouth, and Angostura bitters and let it sit a minute. Fill the glass with large ice cubes and stir until cold. Put a dash of coffee liqueur around the inside of a chilled, rocks glass. Pour the cold drink into the glass using a strainer to catch cherry bits.

Kyle Davidson, Chicago, IL

Royal Bees Knees

1.5 oz Fords Gin .75 oz lemon juice .75 oz lavender honey syrup (house-made)* To make the lavender honey syrup, steep 4 tbsps of dried lavender flower in 32 oz of hot water for 30 min. Strain lavender, combine with 32 oz of honey, and let cool to room temp. For the cocktail, shake all ingredients with ice and double strain into a chilled coupe.

Shaun Meglen, Bar Manager of Péché in Austin, TX

Lovin’ the Blues

2 oz. Van Gogh Açaí-Blueberry Vodka ½ oz. cranberry juice ½ oz. fresh lime juice ½ oz. honey syrup (equal parts honey and warm water, dissolved) 5 blueberries Muddle the blueberries in the lime juice and honey syrup. Add remaining ingredients with ice and shake well. Strain into a martini glass. Garnish with two raspberries and a lime wheel on a pick.

Jonathan Pogash, The Cocktail Guru

HEAD TO BARBIZMAG.COM FOR MORE RECIPES FROM THIS STORY

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February 2018 barbizmag.com

Photos (top to bottom, clockwise): Van Gogh Vodka; Péché, Austin, TX; Knob Creek Bourbon.

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upselling

The key to upselling is training.

upselling wine and spirits TOP TIPS for

By Karen Douglas

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T

Photos: (left) Shutterstock/ Suvorov_Alex; (right) WSET.

here are clear benefits to bars and restaurants focusing their efforts on premium wines and spirits as margins are generally greater and the financial reward of a small shift in focus can be remarkable. But how do you convince a customer to opt for a premium choice over a house pour?

Fine wines and spirits can seem like a daunting proposition for burgeoning bartenders and hospitality staff, but they don’t have to be. The power of knowledge can increase staff’s confidence and enthusiasm when talking to guests about wine and spirits.

Educate your Staff “Many think training is an expensive cost and they won’t see the benefits of it in their business, but the more staff understand a business’ products, the better they will perform,” says Ian Harris DipWSET, Chief Executive of the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET). “Recent research has shown commercial training shows a good return on investment over a period of time and significantly improves sales performance, as with the right knowledge staff becomes more confident at up-selling. The result is happier customers and higher profit.”

Harris says there are different types of training, with the main variation being formal education versus on-the-job practical training. “While both prove valuable, there is a strong argument to say that without the formal education to enable an individual to learn the basic skills and background information, on-the-job practical training is less efficient as the individual does not have a grasp of the fundamentals on which they can build their knowledge as they learn more,” he says.

Awareness of well-known household brand names is a good start, but training staff on the main wine and spirit styles— from base ingredients and key regions to factors affecting aroma and flavour—will give them the knowledge they need to encourage customers to see the benefit in choosing a higher quality drink, despite the higher cost.

Indeed the consumer trend is to “drink less but better,” and new results from a study conducted by WSET with Living barbizmag.com

upselling Ventures and William Grant & Sons revealed that effective spirits training increases upselling to premium spirits by +16.9%, significantly contributing to the opportunity for revenue growth in on-premise trade businesses. Similarly, historical research on the value of training for the off-premise trade market showed that giving staff WSET wine and spirits education increased outlet profits by about $9961 across 30 outlets.

Engage with Guests With product knowledge at their fingertips, staff can handle any question thrown at them, which will result in customers’ respect and trust. Put this into practice, and rather than quietly accepting a customer’s first request, staff should ask them questions and encourage them to ask questions back.

This will get customers really thinking about their order, and they are more likely to think about stepping up a level by taking a recommendation.

Do customers prefer big, powerful flavors or lighter aromas? Sweet cocktails or sour? If they are dining, which wine might pair well with their meal?

Opening the conversation will reveal opportunities to make premium recommendations that will satisfy the customer. At the same time, it allows staff to spend more time with the customer while contributing to your bottom line.

Encourage Experimentation Customers are, more often than not, creatures of habit, and it is the professional’s job to guide them out of their comfort zone. Use education to good effect by suggesting a slight variation on their usual order to get them to experiment in small steps. If they normally order a Scotch whisky, why not suggest a Japanese one of similar quality? Or if they usually go for a Chablis wine, suggest an unoaked style of wine like Albarino.

Think outside the box to be one step ahead in the premium direction you’re after. But be honest, as overselling or mis-selling could damage their trust.

While pushing premium wines and spirits is clearly good for a business’ bottom line, staff may not see the direct benefit from this. Adding a personal incentive on top will encourage them to make an effort.

Workplace tastings allow staff to experience the products first-hand while applying their knowledge practically. And when delivered well, tastings can be a great team-building exercise.

Also incentivize the customer. Staff should share the knowledge that there is a clear value in the price difference between standard and premium wines and spirits. Good deals on wine pairings or “wines of the week” can also help.

Conclusion Arm your staff with the knowledge they need to upsell and educate customers, and the results will be larger profits.

“Whether formal, on-the-job, or both, on-trade businesses must recognize the need to train their staff to enable them to offer a superior service to their customers and, fundamentally, increase sales and profit,” says Harris. “Consumers are becoming ever more demanding with their desires and ever savvier when it comes to their own product knowledge as well as awareness to see through marketing speak, so it’s important that staff are still seen to have genuinely superior knowledge to cater to them.”

Karen Douglas DipWSET is Director of Global Education for WSET (WSETglobal. com), the largest global provider of qualifications in the field of wines and spirits.

Incentivize Educated, enthusiastic staff might still need an incentive to upsell to customers.

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Bar Tour

Bar Tour

T The Smoking Gun San Diego, California

The evidence is in, and this 70’s-inspired bar is guilty of a good time.

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he Gaslamp Quarter of San Diego is full of eateries, nightclubs, and bars focused on drawing in tourists, but The Smoking Gun offers something for the locals.

“I wanted to bring something back to downtown that has that neighborhood vibe. There are a lot of residents here too,” says Eric Johnson, Owner/ Operator of The Smoking Gun. “I wanted to have something with cheaper prices, a casual feel where you don’t have to dress up, and a place that isn’t like going into a club.”

Together with his business partners—Aaron Langellier, Dave Jones, and Joey Vaught—Johnson opened The Smoking Gun last August after a few months spent remodeling and touching up the space.

The goal from the start was to give the venue a 70’s makeover. “We were going for a funky, soul vibe,” says Johnson. “We wanted the décor to be something that people could look at and talk about.”

The partners brought on a designer

and architect who got them started with some renderings. A lot of items were also found scouring the Web and the local area. “I would buy signs off eBay,” says Johnson. “I bought an old 70’s couch on Craigslist that was in mint condition. We also found things around town.”

Ultimately, the space came together with a bright green bar, retro orange and yellow striped walls, and purple booth seating. A large “Smoking Gun” sign mounted to the ceiling looks down on everything.

The name “The Smoking Gun” is a nod to the 70’s theme, but it’s also a hat tip to the building’s history. “This is a historical building that started out as a gun shop and a gun range,” says Johnson. “Downstairs in the basement there was a shooting range, and there are still bullet holes down there.

There’s a little plaque on the building that talks about it, so we called it the Smoking Gun.” The bar’s 70’s theme is carried over into the menus, as well. “We use old Pee Chee folders as our menus and

February 2018 barbizmag.com

All Photos: Walter Wilson Photography.

By Ashley Bray

Bar Tour Viewfinders so you can look at pictures of the drinks,” says Johnson. “The ViewFinders were a great way to bring people back in that nostalgic way, but also get them to see what they’re going to pick out because some people prefer something visual versus just reading down a list.”

The bar also offers a variety of nostalgic games like ping-pong, shuffleboard, and foosball. “We added those games to have as entertainment so people aren’t just bored watching TV,” says Johnson. “You don’t see much of the old shuffleboard tables in San Diego. It brings people back, and some people have never seen it before in their life. It’s cool to see people playing these games that have been around for a long time.”

The bar has also started offering trivia nights, and on the weekends, a DJ spins 70’s, 80’s, and disco hits, which Johnson says is a marked departure from the club music typically found at venues in the Gaslamp Quarter.

Not everything has been brought back to the 70’s, however. The bar also has a variety of TVs so guests can catch the sports games of the present day.

The Smoking Gun isn’t the only thing Johnson and his partners opened. The entire leased space is 8000 square feet, which the partners knew was too much space for one bar. “We didn’t really need that much space for a bar, and many bar and restaurants had done that before us

and were unsuccessful, so we wanted to break up the space,” says Johnson.

They split the space into thirds. Onethird was used for The Smoking Gun, one-third was subleased to another business, and the final third was used to open a coffee shop. “We created one area for the coffee shop because we love coffee,” says Johnson. “I have some

I wanted to bring something back to downtown that has a neighborhood vibe.

friends who opened up a bunch of coffee shops here called Dark Horse Coffee Roasters, and they’re doing really well, and I had them consult with us. We buy all our beans through them, so it’s worked out as a good little partnership.”

Johnson and his partners named the coffee shop Spill the Beans, a layered pun that also pairs nicely with The Smoking Gun’s name. “We thought about it in light of a trial case—someone would always spill the beans, and it coincided with the Smoking Gun

theme,” says Johnson.

A wall separates the two businesses, but they share a bathroom. Sometimes the owners will allow groups from the coffee shop to use The Smoking Gun for meeting space. The Smoking Gun utilizes the coffee’s shop’s coffee in a variety of cocktails, as well.

The Smoking Gun’s cocktail menu changes seasonally and is a nod to the craft cocktail movement, but in a way that makes it more approachable.

“There were going to be a lot of tourists and people who don’t know extensive cocktails,” says Johnson, “so I tried to make it very approachable for people— things that they would know and spinoffs of old drinks.”

The menu includes a few twists on an Old Fashioned—including one that uses Spill the Bean’s coffee—as well as some original concoctions.

There are also a number of what Johnson calls “old-school party drinks” to choose from, including bombs and boilermakers, but with a craftier spin.

For example, a customer can order a strawberry-infused aperol in a tropical Red Bull.

On the boilermakers side, Johnson figured customers were going to come into his bar and order a beer and a shot anyway, so he thought it would make sense to have pairings already on the menu.

“The menu was designed so that if you wanted to have a really good Old

Comfort food, like sliders, dominates the menu.

Cinnamon Toast Punch

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Bar Tour

Fashioned or a variation of some sort of sour or Gimlet or Collins, you could have that,” says Johnson. “But you can also get a Miller High Life or something, and you don’t feel awkward ordering it.”

Guests can order their drinks alongside a variety of urban style street food and southern comfort dishes.

Selections include meats that are smoked for 24 hours, fried catfish, sliders, soups and salads, and an array of sides such as cornbread and mac and cheese.

“All in all, I would say our menu is comfort food. Stuff that we wanted people to come in, eat, and fill up and not spend the bank,” says Johnson. “I think we were going more for a bar with food than going full restaurant, but it’s definitely right in the middle.”

The Smoking Gun also serves brunch on the weekends with brunch cocktails and southern-inspired dishes. One of the highlights of the brunch cocktail menu is the milk punch cocktail, Cinnamon Toast Punch. It’s served in a

Eric Johnson

milk bottle and infused with cinnamon toast crunch cereal. Two varieties of slushies—a rosé and a coffee version— are also available.

Johnson says the traditional champagne brunch cocktails remain popular, as well. “Anything with bubbles is a big hit,” he says, citing the bar’s Strawberry Fields cocktail with strawberry aperol, champagne, pineapple, and lemon. thesmokinggunsd.com

Owner/Operator

E

ric Johnson started in the industry behind the bar, where he built up his talents and his name. He’s spent the last few years owning and operating a variety of bars, many of which leaned into the “fine dining” category. “I realized I wanted to get back into more of a neighborhood style bar,” he says. Luckily, a group of his friends were looking to open something in downtown San Diego, so he joined them. “They’re a real successful group.

They own 10 bars and restaurants around town,” says Johnson. “They were going with a theme I’d already done with another bar, Sycamore Den, which was a 70’s-80’s throwback theme, so it was a perfect fit.”

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SAVE THE DATE MARCH 4-6, 2018

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— PRODUCED & MANAGED BY —

— F E AT U R I N G — SM

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Inventory

Do Your Pool Tables Accept Bills?

Well Now They Can!

Enjoy the Teaz Teaz Vodka

Global Billiard Mfg.

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Get the convenience and increased profits of a bill acceptor pool table for the price of an upgrade kit.

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Original Jel Shot Co. Reinvents Jello Shots Original Jel Shots

Original Jel Shots are the only alcohol-infused “jello” shots in the USA that need no refrigeration, never melt up to 180 degrees, are vegan and gluten friendly, are preformed, and use no animal byproducts. The 30 Proof (15% ABV) shot is made with a plant-based extract and a sugar cane neutral grain spirit. It has a one-year shelf life. Every shot is hermetically sealed, and the containers are 100% recyclable. Just peel the top and squeeze the sides and the whole shot comes right out—no fingers, tongue, or mess! The shots are available in six flavors: Blue Razz, Banana, Peach, Root Beer, Cinnamon, and Watermelon. Unlike all other “jello” shots, we are perfect for the beach, tailgating, events, or parties. Since our product stays in the jelled form up to 180 degrees, the possibilities are endless. An added benefit is that our Jel Shots can be used in desserts. You can freeze them and also use the shots as ice cubes in craft cocktails. They are perfect for every occasion. Just peel, squeeze, and party! originaljelshots.com

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Inventory

Let Your Servers Light Up the Night

Best Shot of the Day!

LED Glowing Luminous Lashes from Foxyware are safe, lightweight, reusable, and easy to apply.

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Picklebacks Made Easy VH Pickleback Mixer

Van Holten’s VH Pickleback Mixer is authentic pickle brine in an easy-to-use, mess-free bottle for pickleback shots. It fits in the rail, is easy to add a pour spout to, and is less messy than pouring out of a pickle jar. VH Pickleback Mixer is a cost-effective way to add pickle brine to bloody marys, beer, pickletinis, or any other cocktails. Van Holten’s is also launching a freezable two-ounce version of their Pickleback Mixer at the Bar and Nightclub Show in Las Vegas. This freezable shot chaser is a great conversation starter when used as an ice cube in a bloody mary and is a fun way to interact with guests. Both versions are non-alcoholic and made with real pickle brine from a real pickle company. If you’re looking to give your guests something unique, find Van Holten’s at Booth #1419 in Vegas! vanholtenpickles.com

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February 2018

Bar Business Magazine

53

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To Advertise in Bar Business Magazine, contact Art Sutley 212-620-7247 Asutley@sbpub.com

February 2018

Bar Business Magazine

55

Q&A with Steve Strong

1

Why build a distillery in a cave?

Parkville is a small town of about 5,500 people, and we have a charming main street that attracts people from all over. It was important to me to keep it in our town. Turns out this cave system under Park University is really the only place in Parkville that isn’t a retail space—it’s more of an industrial type of setting.

At first I was hesitant to be in a cave because I worried no one was going to find us. But our business model is more about distribution to bars, restaurants, grocery stores, and liquor stores. We are focused on outward bound as opposed to people coming and sitting in a tasting room and buying things here.

And it’s kind of cool to be in a cave.

We’re one of ten to fifteen businesses in the cave system.

2 Owner and Head Distiller at S.D. Strong Distilling (Parkville, Missouri)

T

he craft spirit market is booming, and distilleries need to find a way to stand out. S.D. Strong Distilling can boast that its spirits are the only ones crafted 65 feet underground in a distillery located in a cave beneath Park University. “We knew the brand was going to have a bootlegger feeling, and I don’t think there’s anything much more bootlegger than making booze in a cave,” says Steve Strong. “My joke is we’re the only legal distillery located inside of a cave.”

Marketing can be a challenge in a cave as drive-by exposure doesn’t exist. But Strong says there’s a strong interest in tours.

“Every time I tell someone that we’re 65 feet below ground in this cave, they ask, ‘When can I come see it?’” The distillery runs tours the second Saturday of every month at three different times, and Strong tries to personally lead as many as he can.

56

Bar Business Magazine

What are some of the challenges of operating in a cave?

People think you’re digging your way in through this hole in the ground, however, it’s not like that. This isn’t a dirt floor type of setting. You can drive semi trucks into the cave—it’s big. But there are several challenges of being in a cave. As far as setting up goes, ceiling height was definitely an issue because you can’t go up or down. It’s set. I worked with an artisan in Maine who built our still to adjust the column heights of the still.

We have about four inches of clearance when I’m at the top of the still, so we can’t really ever go up.

When storing items, there’s a specific height to be accommodated as well.

Probably the biggest issue we deal with on a daily basis is the plumbing.

Pipes can’t run underground as at your house or most business—the pipes run along the ceiling in the cave system. Everything gets pumped into a big pit. Another pump brings it up to a pipe to go to a second holding pit. Finally it gets pumped out into the regular sewage system.

We have to be really careful—we can’t put any solids or anything like that down the drain (and we’ve burned out a pump or two).

3

first thing we introduced. About nine months later, we came up with our Pillar 136 gin. (In the caves, there are these massive pillars that hold the cave up, and the one that’s right by our distillery is Pillar 136.) I was able to really hone in on what I wanted when I came out with the gin. I took my time, and I made it to my tastes. We’ve won a couple of national spirits competitions two years in a row, so that was pretty exciting and validating. Our Barrel Rested Pillar 136 Gin has been popular as well. It’s unique and very tasty in an Old Fashioned. We’ve been making whiskey and laying it down in oak barrels, but obviously that has to age. We were finally able to release our straight rye whiskey after almost three years of being in business. We just released our Big Boom Straight Bourbon Whiskey, which is named after the blasts that can still be heard from operating portions of the cave.

4

What’s it like to distill in a cave?

It’s about consistency. It’s always the same temperature.

When we’re doing fermentation, it’s probably the biggest deal because when you pitch yeast into a mash, it will automatically heat the mash up. If your ambient temperature around you isn’t the same all the time, it can get a little too hot or not warm enough, and that can change flavor profiles.

5

Any advice for other distillers?

1. Make sure that your branding is tight, and 2. Always be selling. The distilling part isn’t nearly as hard as the selling and marketing part. The greatest thing for us has been word of mouth, social media marketing, and earned media.

Tell me about your spirits.

S.D. Strong Vodka was the very

February 2018 barbizmag.com

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