December 2015 Bar Business

SLINGIN’ IT:

The 2015 Cherry Heering Sling Awards barrel up some greatness for future consumption.

The How-To Publication

BAR BUSINE$$ December 2015

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THE FIXER Jon Taffer to the Rescue in 2016

How to: Multi-use Venues COCKTAILS: Asian Influence VODKA: Remaining Vital

e c i N d n a y t h g u a N

Try a cinnamon toast shot tonight!

1 OZ RUMCHATA + 1 OZ JACK DANIEL’S TENNESSEE FIRE PLEASE ENJOY RESPONSIBLY.

RumChata®, Caribbean Rum with Real Dairy Cream, Natural and Artificial Flavors, 13.75% alc./vol. Produced and Bottled by Agave Loco Brands, Pewaukee, WI 53072. Please Enjoy Responsibly. RUMCHATA and CHATA are Registered Trademarks of Agave Loco, LLC. JACK DANIEL’S and TENNESSEE FIRE are registered trademarks of © 2015 Jack Daniel’s Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

BAR BUSINE$$

On Tap DECEMBER 2015

CONTENTS

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VODKA VENTURES

HOW TO

23

15

19

23

THE ART OF THE BAR

Always Keep things simple

A sommelier, you say?

Creating a multi-use venue in an existing bar space can be as easy as hosting photography exhibits on-premise to bring in new customers. www.barbizmag.com

We offer bar owners eight simple tips toward untangling the often burdensome business aspects of running a successful venue.

When it comes to improving your wine sales on-premise, understanding a sommelier’s impact can help your profits.

December 2015 Bar Business Magazine

1

On Tap

BAR BUSINE$$

CONTENTS

Features 28 TAFFER TIME

32 Departments 4 Bar room drawl

36 Big six

6 Booze News

A throwback vibe is growing in a Miami neighborhood full of locals, thanks to the team that planted the seeds for a new club called Blume.

Sling Award winners build barrel drinks; A New Orleans bartender opens her piehole; Finally, a beer park unveiled; 2016 industry predictions from the experts.

10 liquid Assets With market trends swinging solidly in favor of whiskey and other brown booze, the clear choice for clear spirits is to remind loyal consumers and new drinkers alike that vodka is still vital, and for many reasons.

40 Inventory 42 h oliday happenings

An in-depth conversation with Bar Rescue’s Jon Taffer reveals a few things that make him crazy about the bar business, and we’ll give you a hint: He can smell failure.

32 RAGIN’ ASIAN We have seen the future of cocktail innovation, and a lot of it is originating in China’s fashion capitals, so we talk to bartenders about their insights on creating the perfect balance of east and west in a glass.

36

44 Owning Up If you are looking to sell (or buy) an existing bar, don’t overlook the commercial lease assignment — let The Lease Coach lead the way.

28 “Bar Business Magazine” (ISSN 1944-7531 [print], ISSN 2161-5071 [digital]) (USPS# 000-342) is published February, April, June, August, October, & December for $45.00 per year and January, March, May, July, September, & November will only be offered in a digital format at no charge by Simmons-Boardman, 55 Broad St 26th Fl., New York, NY 10004. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY and additional mailing offices. Copyright © 2015 Simmons-Boardman. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A. No part of the magazine may be reproduced in any fashion without the expressed written consent of Simmons-Boardman. Qualified U.S. bar owners may request a free subscription. Non-qualified U.S. 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 and 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 each. Subscriptions must be paid for in U.S. funds only. For subscriptions, address changes, and adjustments, write to: Bar Business Magazine, PO Box 1172, Skokie, IL 60076-8172. Instructional information in this magazine should only be performed by skilled crafts people with the proper equipment. The publisher and authors of information provided herein advise all reader 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. All rights reserved. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Bar Business Magazine, PO Box 1172, Skokie, IL 60076-8172.

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Bar Business Magazine December 2015

www.barbizmag.com

As demonstrated at NAFEM by 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 Learn more at perlick.com/cocktailstation WATCH the Video!

Bar Room Drawl

By Chris Ytuarte Editor

The Man in the Mirror "Sober or blotto, this is your motto: keep muddling through."

— P.G. Wodehouse

“For eleven months and maybe about twenty days each year, we concentrate upon the shortcomings of others, but for a few days at the turn of New Year we look at our own. It is a good habit.”

The above quote is attributed to Arthur H. Sulzberger, who was publisher of The New York Times from 1935 to 1961, and I think his words from decades long gone still apply today, especially in the bar business.

Sulzberger’s phrase popped into my head not long after I stepped away from one of the most interesting conversations I had in 2015, which, as it turns out, happened to be with Jon Taffer, longtime nightlife industry consultant and most well known today as the host of Spike TV’s hit show Bar Rescue. Once Taffer and I were caught up on all that was happening with his TV show as well as some future endeavors, we got down to talking about the bones of the bar business, and what we agreed upon, wholeheartedly, was that there are two dirty words rattling around the industry 4

Bar Business Magazine December 2015

that no one wants to address head-on: personal responsibility.

Just like Sulzberger said, most people go through the year looking outward, at others who are failing, and, perhaps, at those who they perceive to be causing their own failure. The blame game is the easiest to play; taking some personal responsibility, not so much.

In his decades of consulting, and now even more so on his TV show, Taffer has seen more failing bar businesses than he would like to in one lifetime, and far too often, as he explains in our in-depth feature article starting on page 28, the foundation for such failure is one thing: excuses. Of course, there are many intricate layers to a bad bar business, be it financial floundering or ignoring the trends, and Taffer touches on several of them. But the undercurrent that pushes all of those waves to shore remains a lack of personal responsibility as business owners. The Bar Rescue cameras can only knock on so many tavern doors, folks. It’s time to look in the mirror a little more often.

And what better time to get started doing just that. As Sulzberger pointed out, most of us spend at least a few days or weeks aiming for improvement in the beginning of a new year. Gym memberships spike; but the inevitable drop-off looms. This year, as an industry, let’s not let that happen. Check out my conversation with Jon Taffer in this issue.

Get inspired. Make some changes. And most of all, take some responsibility, for your wins as well as your losses. It’s your life; it’s your bar. Happy New Year.

BAR BUSINE$$ MAGAZINE

December 2015 Vol. 8, No. 12 Bar Business Magazine (ISSN 1944-7531) is published by Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation 55 Broad St 26th Fl., New York, NY 10004 executive offices

President Arthur J. McGinnis, Jr. Publisher Arthur J. Sutley 212-620-7247; fax: 212-633-1863 asutley@sbpub.com editorial

Editor Chris Ytuarte 212-620-7223; fax: 212-633-1863 cytuarte@sbpub.com art

Creative Director Wendy Williams wwilliams@sbpub.com Art Director Sarah Vogwill svogwill@sbpub.com Associate Graphic Designer Nicole Cassano ncassano@sbpub.com production

Corporate Production Director Mary Conyers mconyers@sbpub.com circulation

Circulation Director Maureen Cooney mcooney@sbpub.com advertising sales

Art Sutley 212-620-7247; fax: 212-633-1863 asutley@sbpub.com circulation department

800-895-4389 Bar Business Magazine is published monthly.

All rights reserved. Nothing herein may be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher.

To Purchase PDF files of covers, layouts or hard copy reprints, please call Art Sutley at 212-620-7247 or email asutley@sbpub.com.

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WINE ENTHUSIAST RATINGS SCORE OUT OF 100 POINTS

PTS

My American Handmade Vodka beats the giant “Imports” every day. That’s because it’s distilled six times, we use old-fashioned pot stills we built ourselves, and taste test every batch to make sure you get only the best. Try American!

Tito’s is made from corn, so it’s naturally gluten-free.

2015

Booze News

The Cherry Heering 2015 Sling Award finalists are squeezed between Bar Business Publisher Art Sutley (far left) and Peter F. Heering CEO Adéle Robberstad (far right) at Manhattan Bar in Singapore.

Sling Award Finalists Over a Barrel

V

ia several worldwide semifinals, and with a last stop at the global finals held in Singapore in November, Cherry Heering’s 2015 Sling Award has finally landed in Sweden, firmly in the hands of winning bartender and native son Christoffer Johansson.

Johansson’s Chris Cross Bitter Sling took top honors at the 2015 Sling Awards, besting four runner-ups from around the world. Bartenders from China, Ireland, Australia and France competed against Johansson at the legendary Raffles Hotel in Singapore, where the world-famous Sling was first created.

“Cherry Heering is the backbone of any sling,” said Johansson following his victory.

“No Singapore Sling is complete without Cherry Heering,” agreed fellow competitor Brendan Shorrock.

“There might be variations but it’s never complete without Cherry Heering.”

In addition to overall winner Johansson, the four finalists included Hungie Fong of China, Richard Grimsey of Ireland, Mathias Aso of Australia, and Jeremy LaFrance of France.

“We’ve sipped quite a few Slings in our days, but

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Bar Business Magazine December 2015

this year’s contestants have really raised the bar for what the legendary Singapore Sling can be,” said Adéle Robberstad, CEO, Peter F. Heering. “The new Sling menus and the skill, craftsmanship and creativity that was poured into each Sling blew us away. Watch out – these 12 will be dictating tomorrow’s cocktail culture.”

During the week of the competition, Robberstad welcomed the Sling finalists — along with Bar Business Publisher Art Sutley — to Singapore’s Manhattan Bar, found inside the Regent Hotel, to create a barrel-aged Sling cocktail. The chic 90-seat space at Manhattan Bar features contemporary design and pre-Prohibition style, including an expansive mirrored ceiling, black lacquer panels and upholstered furnishings. The Sling Award finalists, however, spent most of their time in the bar’s walk-in ingredients room and what is billed as the world’s first on-site rick house, where their Sling creation will age in imported oak barrels before being released for public consumption in 2016.

To see profiles on all of the 2015 Cherry Heering Sling Award finalists, head to www.barbizmag.com/ bar-business-magazine-news/77-spirits/4417-cherryheering-2015-sling-award-lands-in-sweden. www.barbizmag.com

Beer Park By Budweiser Hits the Roof

S

tarting in early January, visitors to Las Vegas can enjoy a bird’s eye view and an ice cold brew at the new Beer Park by Budweiser at Paris Las Vegas, the city’s first rooftop bar and grill.

Located on a 10,000-square-foot deck overlooking the world famous Las Vegas Strip, Beer Park will feature an outdoor grill, picnic tables, and more than 100 draft, can and bottle beer selections, including 36 beers on tap. The bar menu will also include craft beer cocktails, signature cocktails, and wines on tap, as well as other wines and specialty drinks, including an array of Bloody Marys. The atmosphere will be ideal for watching football games and other sporting events, with towers on each side of the bar housing dozens of high-definition televisions that offer premium views of the game from any seat.

“Beer Park is inspired by some of the great American pastimes that bring people together; things like going to the ball park for a baseball game, a tailgate party or a picnic at a neighborhood park,” says Matthew Silverman, corporate executive chef of Beer Park. “It’s a treat for the senses, being outdoors and smelling food cooking on the grill, drinking a cold beer, and watching the game while enjoying the view of the Strip from all around you.”

“Anheuser-Busch and Budweiser are excited to launch Beer Park as a first-of-its-kind destination on the Vegas Strip,” said Josh Halpern, Vice President, On-Premise Sales at Anheuser-Busch. “Details like the

Beer Park by Budweiser, now open overlooking the Las Vegas Strip.

Budweiser Beechwood Grill and the beer-food pairings make this place a dream for beer drinkers and food lovers alike, and we’ve made sure that the personalities of our brands will enhance the consumer experience in different ways.”

All-American cuisine will be served from the menu as well as from roaming carts serving concessionstyle offerings. Grill selections are the specialty, with meats and other foods prepared on a custom-made Budweiser Beechwood Grill, which imparts the flavor of the beer into anything from burgers, brisket, ribs or sausages.

All food selections will lead back to Beer Park’s namesake offering, with a recommended pairing for every item. Visit www.beerpark.com for more info.

New Orleans Bartender the Pride of PIEHOLE Brooke’s Pecan Pie-tini Shot 1 oz Piehole Pecan Pie .25 oz Bailey’s Rim shot glass or martini glass with sugar.

Mix Piehole and Bailey's and stir.

Strain into glass.

Garnish with a piece of soft caramel on a pick.

www.barbizmag.com

E

arlier this year, whiskey brand PIEHOLE set out to celebrate the everyday celebrities behind the bar by giving them a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be the inspiration behind the label of the next PIEHOLE flavor, launching in 2016.

In August, bartenders in select markets around the country were invited to participate in vintagestyle photo shoots, and nine were selected as finalists.

After thousands of adult consumers nationwide cast their vote at www.pieholewhiskey.com for their favorite bartender, Brooke Flaherty (pictured) from New Orleans bar Cosimo’s was officially declared the winner. Brooke’s photo will serve as the inspiration for the next PIEHOLE variant label, which will be on shelves in April 2016.

PIEHOLE Whiskey is a blend of Canadian Whiskey and pie-flavored liqueur inspired by Grandma’s favorite pie recipes. This new-to-world whiskey was launched last November and is currently available in three tempting flavors including, Apple Pie, Cherry Pie and Pecan Pie. And the next time you're in New Orleans be sure to visit Brooke at Cosimo's and buy her a PIEHOLE drink.

December 2015 Bar Business Magazine

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Booze News New Year, New Trends

As usual, the end of one year prompts predictions for the next, and the bar industry is ripe with trend watches for 2016. Industry experts from the nightlife business see some major changes coming in the new year.

T

he Andrew Freeman & Co. team has released their ninth annual Trends Report titled The Year of Multiple Personalities – a preview of the hottest trends and predictions that will be shaping the industry in 2016. “One’s age, financial status or location no longer dictates whether they will visit your establishment,“ says Andrew Freeman, president of AF&Co. “Guests are looking for more multifaceted unique experiences.”

AF&Co predicts healthy food trends will continue to spread in bars and restaurants. People want less animal protein and are requesting that veggies are ramped up to their fullest creative potential.

On the beverage side, “mocktail” offerings are popping up all over America’s food cities from San Francisco to New York. They target consumers watching their diets, designated drivers, pregnant women, and even “foodie” children.

Bubble-mania expands from champagne and sparkling wine to sparkling water and fancy house made sodas. Restaurants and breweries are embracing this new preference by introducing their own housemade sodas and producers are creating their own alcoholic and non-alcoholic brews by infusing them with ginger and other botanical flavors.

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Bar Business Magazine December 2015

And you can expect gin to make it’s move in 2016.

Martinis and Gin & Tonics will never go out of style, but bartenders are putting a creative spin on the classic old school drinks with barrel-aged gins on the rise.

Aged in whiskey, brandy or rum barrels, these gins are infused with tastes of botanicals and sweetened with hints of vanilla, maple, and brown sugar creating a gin that is easy to sip and is perfect in any cocktail.

Beverage service will see a swing in 2016, says AF&Co. An innovative and effective way to pour wine is now gaining in popularity. More restaurants and wineries are offering wines on tap rather than going through the traditional process of popping open a stubborn cork. The ability to keep the wine in kegs increases preservation time. With the efficiency that it provides, it’s no wonder bars and restaurants are turning to the popular trend.

2016 will also see the power of social media on-premise continue to expand. With the ever-growing popularity of Instagram comes a new wave of social media influencers and lifestyle bloggers who impact the daily dining decisions of foodies across the nation.

More and more, patrons are turning to social media for recommendations on where to get the trendiest, most Instagrammable dishes and drinks in the city. www.barbizmag.com

Liquid Assets

No Thin

Skin: The Vitality of Vodka

With market trends swinging solidly in favor of whiskey and other brown booze, the clear choice for clear spirits is to remind loyal consumers and new drinkers alike that vodka is still vital, and for many reasons.

By Chris Ytuarte

L

et’s start with the reality: It’s still very much a whiskey world out there today, as brown spirits continue to burn white-hot amongst in-the-know consumers and mixologists. But when the bourbon onslaught began, the vodka market could often hang its hat on two key demographics as stalwarts for sales: females and new LDA consumers, two spaces in which the spirit’s flavorless profile figured to be a boon. Vodka’s versatility and mixability would always play well with patrons who want to be eased into the world of cocktails.

But does that notion still hold up?

In at least one sector, maybe not.

According to recent reports, the

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Bar Business Magazine December 2015

ladies may be showing more love for whiskey than ever before, in part due to general cultural shifts in the drinking landscape, but also in some part because of oversaturation in flavored vodka aimed almost entirely at the female consumer.

There has been a “stagnation in demand for over-the-top [vodka] flavors in the U.S.,” Spiros Malandrakis, alcoholic drinks analyst at Euromonitor International, told The Drinks Business last month.

“All of these flavored products try to target the new drinker — between 21 and 30 — and especially women,” Fred Minnick, author of the book Whiskey Women: The Untold Story of

How Women Saved Bourbon, Scotch, and Irish Whiskey, told HuffPost.com.

“But today’s woman doesn’t have the same parameters set on them as with their mothers and grandmothers — they drink what they want.”

According to the International Wine & Spirit Research firm, Americans drank 24 million cases of domestically produced whiskey in 2013 — a 30 percent spike from a decade ago. Meanwhile, total U.S. sales of vodka grew by just 3.7 percent last year, compared with the 4 percent growth of the U.S. liquor industry overall, based on data from the Distilled Spirits Council. So what does this mean for the vodka category? The answer is simple: More product. www.barbizmag.com

Faced with the stiffest competition it has seen in decades, vodka producers continue to crank out both craft and large-scale brands, while at the same time focusing on the spirit’s well-known mixability and its flexibility, in terms of subtle flavorings and profile adjustments.

Take, for example, AUROR A, a new expression from multi-award

is dry and clean, with a warming sensation to finish.

The new expression of Crystal Head is bottled in hand-crafted glass with an original, decorative finish.

No two bottles are alike and the appearance is designed to reflect the aurora borealis natural light display, with its mysterious visual properties.

Taking a similar approach with

an ongoing campaign dedicated to reimagining the future of nightlife.

In simple, sleek metallic, the bottles serve as a muse for raising the energy of nights out and in – starting with next month’s Absolut Electrik House. The Electrik House will transform the typical house party into a once-in-a-lifetime experience by pushing the boundaries of

Faced with the stiffest competition it has seen in decades, vodka producers continue to crank out both craft and large-scale brands, while at the same time focusing on the spirit’s well-known mixability and its flexibility, in terms of subtle flavorings and profile adjustments.

winning, ultra-premium Crystal Head Vodka, which is making its way to retailers and bars just in time for the key selling season.

Founded in 2008 by actor, musician, and entrepreneur Dan Aykroyd, Crystal Head Vodka is now sold in over 42 countries around the world. Produced in Newfoundland, Canada, Crystal Head AUROR A comes in a uniquely crafted bottle with an iridescent finish, created in celebration of the most vivid aerial phenomenon in the world – the aurora borealis, otherwise known as ‘the Northern Lights’.

The additive-free, ultra-premium vodka is made with high quality English-grown wheat from North Yorkshire and pristine water from St John’s, Newfoundland. It is five times distilled and filtered seven times, with three of the filtrations passing through layers of Herkimer diamonds.

Instead of exploring different flavors, AUROR A was crafted using a different grain, which offers a drier, bolder, and spicier vodka while staying true to the Crystal Head house-style.

On the nose, AUROR A is crisp with delicate floral aromas and a subtle hint of anise. The taste profile is warm with strong peppercorn notes and a touch of sweetness. The vodka www.barbizmag.com

regards to a reimagined package is vodka giant Absolut, which ended 2015 by introducing its newest limited edition bottle, Absolut Electrik, available in striking silver and electric blue. The Absolut Electrik bottle is the latest continuation of Absolut Nights,

traditional “house rules.” Building on Absolut’s commitment to transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary, the Absolut Electrik House and Electrik bottle will reinvigorate nightlife conventions.

“At Absolut, nightlife is in our DNA,” said Joao Rozario, VP, Absolut Vodka,

“The entire process of growing, harvesting and distilling Prairie Organic Spirits is treated with respect from seed to glass—respect for the land, the crop, and the spirit.”

December 2015 Bar Business Magazine

11

Liquid Assets is another way vodka brands stay relevant in the face of whiskey growth. Besides rebranding its iconic bottle with the Electrik line, Absolut this year positioned its new luxury vodka, Elyx, as a vehicle to promote a non-profit clean water program called Water for People.

Absolut Elyx debuted a pop-up water truck and retail boutique in New York that embarked on a threecity tour of the country in November and December. Starting in New York on November 6 - 8, followed by Los Angeles on November 19 – 21 and Miami on December 3 - 5, during the prestigious Art Basel, the pop-up truck sold Elyx’s limited edition copper pineapples, which will be available for purchase in the mobile boutique, as well as online. A portion of the proceeds will go directly to Water For People, which brings together local entrepreneurs, community members and local governments to establish innovative, collaborative solutions that allow communities to build and maintain

Scroll a holiday greeting on your vodka.

Americans drank 24 million cases of domestically produced whiskey in 2013 — a 30 percent spike from a decade ago. Meanwhile, total U.S. sales of vodka grew by just 3.7 percent last year, compared with the 4 percent growth of the U.S. liquor industry overall. So what does this mean for the vodka category?

Pernod Ricard USA. “For us, nights are unique opportunities to celebrate creativity and self-expression, and we continue to seek ways to reimagine and re-energize what a typical night out, or in, can be. Our Electrik Bottle is the latest expression of our ‘Nights’ campaign and we hope it inspires unexpected, transformative nights for our consumers.”

Seasonal cocktail recipes have long been a key channel for vodka (and other spirits) to find a way into bars and onto drink menus. This fall, Prairie Organic Spirits introduced a line of infused vodkas ideal for such concoctions. “Made with respect from seed to glass, Prairie Organic Spirits 12

Bar Business Magazine December 2015

is the #1 organic spirit, offering 100% certified organic vodka, cucumberflavored organic vodka and more, which are made from single vintage organic corn grown on a handful of family-owned and operated Minnesota farms,” said Marla Burke, Marketing and Creative Director at Phillips Distilling Company. “Prairie Organic Spirits are distilled to taste rather than a prescribed number of times. The entire process of growing, harvesting and distilling Prairie Organic Spirits is treated with respect from seed to glass—respect for the land, the crop, and the spirit.”

Keeping with that theme of social and environmental consciousness

The new Absolut Electrik bottles reimagine the brand’s iconic aesthetic. www.barbizmag.com

their own reliable safe water systems.

“As a business, it’s imperative to be socially aware and responsible about the world we live in today.

Simple things that we take for granted, like safe and clean running water, are a scarcity in many parts of the world,” said Jonas Tahlin, CEO of Absolut Elyx. “We firmly believe that everyone has a role to play to help shape the world we live in, and our five-year partnership with Water For People reflects this. By combining the universal symbol of hospitality with copper, which Elyx uses as part of its unique distillation process, we hope the Elyx Water Truck will help to raise awareness for the global water crisis one copper pineapple at a time.”

And of course, ‘tis the season to bring holiday spirit to the spirits market, as several vodka companies focus on end-of-year festivities on-premise. Smirnoff Peppermint Twist, for example, is made with natural peppermint flavors, delivering a mouth-watering taste of sweet holiday candy balanced by a soothing cool peppermint taste.

The vodka specialty comes in a festive bottle, wrapped in its season’s best stripes, and features a unique “Scratch and Sniff” packaging, releasing hints of peppermint and holiday cheer simply by rubbing the outside of the bottle.

Meanwhile, MEDEA Vodka, the world’s only spirit with a customizable LED message band on the bottle, is now lighting up its new Bluetooth technology-equipped bottles, using Apple’s iBeacon Bluetooth technology in an innovative way to allow a smart phone to wirelessly set and display scrolling messages. Available for both on iPhone and Android. What better way to say “Happy Holidays!” than to have a message scroll along your bottle of vodka. For the on-premise market, there is no back bar display quite like it.

Whiskey may be browning out the sun these days, but don’t count out the vitality of vodka. www.barbizmag.com

Smirnoff Peppermint Hot Chocolate

RECIPES: Mint ChocoChata Martini 2 parts RumChata 1 part chocolate vodka ½ part green creme de menthe

Smirnoff Peppermint Twist Shot 1.5 oz Smirnoff Peppermint Twist Shake over ice and strain into a chilled shot glass with crushed peppermint rim.

Shake and pour over ice in martini glass or swirl ingredients into a shot glass.

Absolut® Citron Mule 2 parts Absolut Citron Vodka 3 parts Reed’s Ginger Beer 1 part lime juice 1 lime wedge Fill a mule mug with ice cubes. Add all ingredients. Garnish with lime.

Smirnoff Peppermint Martini 1.25 oz Smirnoff Peppermint Twist 0.5 oz Baileys Shake ingredients over ice and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with grated nutmeg and a mini candy cane

Smirnoff Peppermint Hot Chocolate

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1.5 oz Smirnoff Peppermint Twist 6 oz hot chocolate Pour shot of Smirnoff Peppermint twist into hot chocolate. Garnish with whipped cream and peppermint stick.

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www.ctocinsurance.com December 2015 Bar Business Magazine

13

How To:

ti-use l u M e t a r e Op Nightlife Venues

By Jim Kalin

More Than Meets the Eye In West Hollywood, The Darkroom is a bar that offers art exhibitions, and is a case study in how owners can operate on multiple levels on-premise to increase exposure.

all photos: Dave McCord

S

penser Genesy, head bartender at The Darkroom in West Hollywood, can’t feel his fingertips. He hopes the numb sensation will go away in a few days, but he’s more concerned about his silicone ice cube trays and the temperature of The Darkroom’s reach-in freezer. He had to relocate frozen slabs of ribs and sweet potato fries to enable his ice cubes to set without being disturbed by the kitchen staff. The chef isn’t too happy, but The Darkroom’s next photo exhibit opening is less than 24 hours away, and Genesy is worried about his ice cubes. He can’t seem to get them to freeze solid.

The Darkroom has been in existence for nearly eight years and is popular with the movie and music industry crowd. It was opened by Ken Jones and Jeffrey Best in 2008 and is in the heart of the Melrose Avenue fashion and

www.barbizmag.com

shopping district. The two also own Firefly, Mesa, Habana, Tiki No, and Warwick, all well-known southern California establishments. Keanu Reeves was one of the original investors in The Darkroom, and a life-size statue of a hobo and his dog that the actor donated to the bar stands in the corner next to the photo booth. The hobo is an attraction, and customers regularly pose for pictures with him.

The Darkroom initially opened as a bar, but a kitchen was added in 2010. They serve food til 1am (late-night eats are mysteriously rare in Los Angeles) and claim some of the best barbecue in town, though Genesy points out that The Darkroom is not a restaurant. “We are a bar that serves great food.”

The Darkroom was not initially intended as a showcase for photography. The name had more to do with the lack of December 2015 Bar Business Magazine

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How To: lighting than photos and cameras. The Darkroom’s interior is capacious and features a vaulted ceiling 40 feet high. The space was originally The Gig, a showcase club where bands performed, in search of record deals and stardom. The only thing left from its days as a music venue is The Darkroom’s adherence to rock’n’roll as the focal point. The employees wear black vintage rock t-shirts, and the jukebox might be the best in the city. It’s an old wall unit with 99 CDs that the staff constantly changes and upgrades.

But a year ago, The Darkroom began hosting photo exhibits. The first was a Bob Dylan retrospective that featured 20 pictures from various photographers. The opening was mobbed, so a follow-up seemed obligatory.

Smile, and Say 'Drinks!'

A photo exhibit opening at The Darkroom is hard to beat.

Each show runs six to eight weeks, and the images are always of rock performers. Displaying photographs in a bar is not original, but images at The Darkroom aren’t the usual 16”x20” art prints. The Darkroom exhibits show on a twostory brick wall, so the prints are the size of mattresses.

This benefitted iconic photographer Edward Colver and his images of LA’s early punk rock heroes. The giant black and white photographs of well-known performers like Henry Rollins, Darby Crash, and Jello Biafra were ominous and powerful, but it was the shots of the fans stage diving and duking it out in the mosh pits that really resonated with The Darkroom crowd. The show was extended two weeks.

Anybody can host an art opening, but it’s the extra details from Genesy that make The Darkroom events unique.

During the Colver opening, neighboring business Debonair Barber and Shave Parlor was invited to set up a chair in the corner. They offered free punk rock haircuts, and Mohawks and buzz cuts were the only choices. The crowd cheered loudest whenever any girl climbed up in the barber chair.

The Darkroom is a bar that exhibits great photographs, and Genesy makes sure that his drinks impress as much as the images on the wall. Artisanal cocktails are his specialty, and he creates a series of drinks for every exhibit that are named after something correlating to the photos. With photographer Michael Hyatt’s pictures of the band X, Genesy created White Girl and John Doe. The cocktails, unveiled at the exhibit’s opening, were offered throughout the show’s run. For White Girl, Genesy infused rum with lemon basil as the cocktail’s base. This was shaken with crème de peche, pineapple gomme, and lemon juice, then poured over fresh ice and topped with coconut sparkling water. Genesy’s cocktails taste like their names, and White Girl couldn’t have been called anything else.

The Darkroom’s catacombs are where Genesy’s concoctions begin. Large jars of spirits with fruits, leaves, peppers, and other produce he finds at local farmers’ markets are stored on shelves. It’s sideshow in appearance, like unworldly critters in containers of clear or shaded 16

Bar Business Magazine December 2015

Patrons can sit, drink, and gaze at art all at the same time. formaldehyde. Genesy monitors his infusions daily. He never rushes the process, and he finds merit in everything he attempts, even if it never makes it to a photo exhibit menu.

Genesy's interest in cocktails early on maneuvered him through a series of bartending jobs that emphasized slinging more than creation, until he landed a position at Freemans, a Lower East Side restaurant with an alley as an address.

At Freemans, his interview consisted of carving ice for cocktails. He passed, and his education in seasonal and crafted cocktails and the finer points of tending bar began.

The Darkroom does not offer artisanal ice. It’s not that kind of place. Like most bars, they rely on a standard ice machine. But that’s not the type of ice Genesy has been having trouble with. His specialty cubes don’t freeze at 32F, and that’s where the challenge comes.

Cocktails, Cameras and Community Genesy is an inventor, and like anybody who creates cocktails, he has barmen who inspire him: Matt Biancaniello is one, and so is Zach Patterson. Patterson’s pedigreed saloon Melrose Umbrella Company is just a few blocks from The Darkroom, and many of those bartenders visit Genesy

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The Darkroom's exhibits are shown on a two-story wall, so prints are the size of mattresses. rock-hard, but it’s not slush either. He puts on rubber gloves and begins removing them from the trays. It takes him nearly an hour to remove the cubes for his cocktail, Rodney On The ROQs, a nod to Rodney Bingenheimer, the station’s longest-lasting DJ. When those trays are empty, he begins the second batch, cubes consisting of Serrano chile infused Aperol and Chandon. These are pink and each cube contains one circle of sliced chile. These will go into Jane Says, Genesy’s homage to the song by Jane’s Addiction. One of the show’s largest prints is of Perry Farrell, the band’s singer.

That night, Genesy’s bartenders bang out his new creations. The place is packed, and everyone wants to try the cocktails. They take time to make, though the guests understand and wait patiently. The idea is that each drink changes as the customer drinks. Genesy instructs the guests to take their time and allow the cubes to melt, which creates an opposite effect from the diluting flavor normal ice cubes cause. Genesy’s cocktails morph and take on new flavors throughout their duration, and the product the customer receives on a fresh cocktail napkin is different than the final sip. Like a photographed artwork aging in the sun.

Artist signings can help draw big crowds on opening nights. at work. He tests different concoctions on them and is always interested in their opinions. Genesy also visits Patterson’s bar weekly and likes to sit and discuss new drink ideas. He revealed his concept for the troublesome ice cubes there, and the impressed bar staff admitted that it was a completely unique idea. Genesy may not be as well-known as those who inspire him, but he comes up with ideas that the celebrity cocktail creators haven’t considered.

This next photo exhibit, the one breathing down Genesy’s neck, features the images of Cody Black. Black is the in-house photographer and visual archivist for LA’s legendary radio station KROQ. Genesy knows this will be the best-attended event yet, so he needs ice cubes.

Ingredients are the problem. Genesy’s artisan cubes contain only spirits, so the reach-in freezer’s temperature needs to be South Pole cold. Genesy has let them go overnight, and on the morning of the show, he’s back at The Darkroom early. If they aren’t solid, he’s in trouble. Menus have been printed, and the drinks were included in the press release. He lifts a tray from the reach-in that contains Verbena/Thyme infused Yellow Chartreuse and red rooibos ice cubes and presses his finger against one. The thing is not

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December 2015 Bar Business Magazine

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800.339.0201

amientertainment.com

How To:

IT’S SIMPLE Shutterstock/grafvision

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unning your beverage business is getting more complicated with every passing day; just keeping up with changing technology is a plateful. Back in the day, TV sets were black-and-white with an on/off knob and a choice of three or four channels.

In those days, running a small business required equally simple steps.

Not so today. Tough competition, oppressive paperwork and dizzying advances in technology make it all too easy to fall into the costly trap of struggling to “keep-up.” While you can’t afford to fall behind, it’s important to focus on the critical

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Streamline Your Bar Business

8 Tips to Untangling Things for Better Profits and Happier Customers

basics by avoiding unnecessary and costly over-complication in running your business.

Here are eight tips that will help you to improve profits by simplifying things for you — and for your customers:

1. Simplify and slash your costs for keeping in touch These days, it’s important for busy bar owners to be able to reach others quickly and easily, and to make themselves easily reachable. With regards to that, the fact is that you’ve never had it so good. With your cell phone, pager, broadband Internet

By William J. Lynott access, and regular telephone service, you’re never far from anyone you want to reach (or anyone who wants to reach you).

Unfortunately, you’re probably paying a more than you realize for all that complicated technocommunication. Simplify things by contacting your primary provider to see what bundled plans are available in your area. You may be surprised at how much you can save by giving all of your communications business to one company, or simply by asking your sole provider to analyze your account for possible savings.

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How To: Whether your business is large or small, trust every aspect of your finances, including business and personal investments, to your computer.

With all the paper you’re required to slog through for business purposes, you don’t need to add to the burden by hanging on to reams of paper because of the worry that you might need it someday. Most of it will never see the light of day.

If that sounds like you, organizing guru Maria Gracia (www. getorganizednow.com) suggests these guidelines to help end the nightmare of out-of-control paper: Use the 4 D’s for Every Piece of Paper That Crosses Your Desk: * Do it * Delay it (File it in an action file or archive file) * Delegate it * Dump it Of course, even if you do a faithful job of following the 4-D system, you’ll still have some papers that you must retain. Wherever possible have those papers scanned into digital files that can be stored on your computer. The less hardcover paperwork that you have clogging your life, the better.

3. What to do with forever paperwork There will always be some hard paper work that you should save forever: birth certificates, passports, education records, life insurance policies, marriage license, divorce decrees, military service records, and others such as titles to motor vehicles.

Be sure to stow all of these documents in one place (preferably a safe-deposit box) to help simplify your life. Once you’ve done that, be prepared to toss, toss, toss.

Save monthly bank and brokerage statements for only one month. When the new one arrives, toss out or shred the old one. After you’ve paid your credit card and other bills, toss out the paper statements, or shred the 20

Bar Business Magazine December 2015

ones that have critical information such as your full account number.

4. Use a single insurer Keeping all of your business (and personal) insurance with one company simplifies things by cutting down on the number of bills you have to pay, and it often offers some other benefits as well. Most major insurance companies offer generous discounts to customers who purchase more than one policy.

If you’re currently using two or more insurance companies to fill your business and personal needs, look into the potential savings (and simplification) of consolidating all of your policies with the one company that you feel serves you best.

Once you’re doing business with one company, consider going a step further: While it may cost you a little more, renewing all your insurance policies on the same date with the same agent lets you sit down once a year to review insurance for the entire business instead of having different renewals pop up three or four times a year. You’ll save time, and your insurance agent will be able to serve you more efficiently.

5. Simplify your website Be sure to formulate a clear and simple purpose for your website. That may sound obvious for a business website, but failing to define and execute a clear purpose is one of the more common website errors and one of the most costly.

Sophisticated technology has made it possible to cram websites with all sorts of graphics, animation, and other distractions. Do you want a website

solely to establish an Internet presence, with a single page providing basic information such as your address and phone number, and a general description of your business? Or do you want a complete e-commerce site with multiple pages, photos of your operation and staff, a description of special events and other data — or something in-between?

Either way, you should establish a clear purpose for the site and make sure that it contains the simplest and clearest message possible.

Why are you going through the expense of funding a website? Precisely what do you want it to accomplish? If you can’t state your purpose clearly in a sentence or two, you’re probably not ready to dip a toe in Internet waters.

Keep in mind that complicating things is easy; simplifying things is smart.

6. Learn how to delegate Even if your business is very small, you can’t do everything yourself; learning how to delegate is an essential ingredient in the simple life. That may seem difficult at first because of sensitive trust issues, but if you’ve hired the right people, delegating some minor responsibilities will free up a little of your valuable time that will be better spent on major considerations such as where your business is heading and where you want to be a year from now.

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Shutterstock/ ronstik

2. Dig yourself out from under all that paper

7. Let your computer help you to simplify your business Whether your business is large enough to make use of one of those heavyweight commercial software packages or whether you use Quicken® or Money® or one of the other overthe-counter software packages on a desktop PC, trust every aspect of your finances, including business and personal investments, to your computer.

The financial reports and analyses that modern software can produce at the touch of a button can be vitally important tools for improving cash flow and bottom-line profits while they help to simplify your life.

Even if your business is large enough to farm out your recordkeeping, consider putting your finances into one of the popular software packages designed for small business and personal finance. They are infinitely easier to use than they were as recently as a couple of years ago.

More importantly, they will teach you in dramatic fashion how much you can benefit from a sensible cash management system.

situation. The customer benefits by easy to understand offerings from you, and your business benefits from eliminating the over-complications that eat into efficient and profitable operations.

Running a beverage business requires paying bills, renewing insurance policies, supervising employees, and seeing to it that your customers are satisfied. The simpler

you make these chores, the happier you will be while you improve the efficiency of your business. Keeping things simple will help you to manage your business and prevent you from being swallowed up by the complexity monster.

Remember: Keeping constantly on the watch for new ways to eliminate costly and unnecessary complications will benefit you, your business, and your customers.

8. Simplify your bill-paying Your bank would like you to pay your bills electronically, and they’re making it easy and profitable for you to do so.

Whether you sit down to write checks every month or whether you farm out that work, you can simplify your life and save money by letting your bank do that for you (at no cost).

Improvements in technology and user-friendly Web sites make online bill paying almost as easy as logging on to check your e-mail. If you’re really lazy, you may sign up for a system to pay recurring bills such as utilities and rent that require no action at all on your part.

If the current trend is a reliable indicator, taking pen in hand to pay your bills seems destined to become as archaic as carbon paper and typewriters. Check with your bank to see how easy it is to simplify your life by jumping on the bill-paying bandwagon.

Obviously, then, simplifying things in your business produces a win-win

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December 2015 Bar Business Magazine

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How To:

d the Understan On-Premise Sommelie r

The Rise of the Sommelier

With on-premise wine sales becoming more of focus for 2016, bar owners should take the time to understand how a good sommelier works and the ways in which one can help validate a wine program and, in turn, improve sales. By Gregory Dal Piaz

Shutterstock / g-stockstudio

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s a wine event for wine professionals, ProWein (International Trade Fair for Wines and Spirits) has gained significant momentum over the past few years as they have refined, and redefined, the large scale tasting experience. While the work that has gone on behind the scenes cannot be over-stated, the fact that it remains an event exclusively for the wine professional has played a significant part in its growing reach.

While wine buyers have been both

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professional and influential for decades, that has not been true of one of the other great constituents of ProWein: the sommelier. Today the sommelier plays an ever more powerful part in the dissemination of wine knowledge, and has become an integral part of ProWein’s reach and success.

THE GOLDEN 80s Sommeliers did not always have the influence and power that they have today. In the past they were often looked upon as simply wine waiters,

and with good reason: there was little in the way of professional ambition and the trade simply did not reward the overachievers. That began to change in earnest only in the 1980s with a crop of professionals such as Kevin Zraly at Windows on the World, Daniel Johnnes at Montrachet, and Larry Stone of Charlie Trotter's.

During those golden years in the 1980s, sommeliers had distinct advantages over those working the trenches today. Great wines were still unknown, available, and underpriced, December 2015 Bar Business Magazine

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How To: Johnnes, for advice, he instantly reels off a list of delicious and inexpensive bottles, discussing them as lovingly as if they were grand crus.�

THE MASTER PLAN

Try hosting a sommelier-led tasting on-premise and the audience for them was uneducated, if eager to learn. In this scene, men (and it was all men at the time) started to make magic happen.

reviewing Montrachet in The New York Times in July 1994, admittedly nearly a decade after opening, captures the moment in all it’s glory as readers were

To a large extent, this leap forward in professionalism was aided by the Court of Master Sommeliers, an educational body established in 1969 to both promote the profession and introduce a rigorous system of testing and credentials where none had existed before. While the program was originally established in the UK, of the 230 professionals awarded the title of Master Sommelier since inception, 147 are from the United States; indicative of both the perceived value of the program here in the U.S., as well as the vibrancy of the trade.

As it so happened, the struggles of a small group of these Master Sommelier students has served to reveal the inner workings of the profession to a broad audience. Somm, a movie released in 2012, chronicled the trials of aspiring

Restaurants began to gain fame for their wine lists, as well as for their food, and the sommelier, increasingly a presence on the scene, was responsible.

One should also note that the 1980s were a pivotal moment in the development of broad wine culture in the USA, thanks to a rich media that focused on wine, as well as individuals such as Robert Parker, who were changing the ways of wine criticism, making fine wine easier to find and easier to understand.

People of course took note, and the mainstream media began to fully embrace wine as part of the dining experience. The words of Ruth Reichl 24

Bar Business Magazine December 2015

teased and tempted with prose such as: “Would you like a little sweet wine to go with that foie gras? The wine list has been beautifully orchestrated to go with the food, and few restaurants can match Montrachet when it comes to wine service. If you ask for a suggestion from the list you will receive not only good advice but also the information that the '83 is preferable to the '85 because botrytis, the 'noble rot' that gives Sauternes its complexity, was almost absent in 1985. This is offered matter of factly, without an ounce of pretension. And while the list is filled with great wines, when you ask the sommelier, Daniel

Master Sommeliers. The film, while only a modest box office success, garnered impressive reviews from mainstream movie critics as well as an impressive 77% on Rotten Tomatoes and a four-and-a-half star rating on Amazon, where the movie remains available for viewing. It was a breakthrough moment for sommeliers, connecting with the public at large as the movie Sideways did a decade earlier, fine dining reviewers in the 1990s, and the revival of wine criticism in the 1980s. The movie served as the most recent example of mainstream media making wine more relatable while fostering a further appreciation

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Shutterstock/ Jose Ignacio Soto

"The role has changed, from wine waiter to trend setter/brand maker.

We have enormous influence over the market and wine popularity.

There are many wine lovers and collectors who hold my opinion in the highest regard and use my tastes as buying guides."

of what it means to be a true wine professional.

While Master Sommeliers remain rare, true wine professionals abound, particularly in cities such as New York where one finds both the restaurant culture willing to cultivate such talent and the community to support it.

Discussing the present state of the sommelier with a few of the finest practicing in New York City revealed a perspective not often seen by the end consumer. Rajeev Vaidya, Head Sommelier at restaurant Daniel, was quick to note the change from niche sage to an influencer of a broader market.

“The role has changed from wine waiter to trend setter/brand maker,” said Vaidya. “We have enormous influence over the market and wine popularity. There are many wine lovers/collectors who hold my opinion in the highest regard and use my tastes as buying guides who have never even dined at the restaurant.”

With their influence previously limited to the confines of their dining rooms, it’s not surprising that the reach of social media would prove a boon to amplifying the influence of the top players. Previously their valuable advice was dispensed judiciously tableside, but now we are all able to sit at that table, and people want to know what they’re talking about.

Jeffrey Kellogg, Wine Director at New York's Maialino restaurant, sees this influence with regularity, commenting: “Somms sure seem to have replaced numbered scores for educating guests on what wines to be drinking. Where somms used to talk with guests asking about wines because they received a high score, now guests ask if I carry a wine because a somm Instagrammed it.”

One of those somms might very well be Patrick Cappiello, Wine Director of Pearl & Ash and Rebelle restaurants, an enthusiastic user of Instagram who finds it to be “a fun, creative way to present what can often be a pretentious and 'show-off'-based

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career.” Or Michael Madrigal, Head Sommelier at Bar Boulud, Épicerie Boulud, and Boulud Sud, who posts a picture of his daily big-bottle by-theglass pour, often adding a bit of humor to his post to keep things fun and unpretentious and accessible to the public at large.

THE NEXT GENERATION With this newfound influence and accessibility comes great responsibility; the next page in the sommelier saga.

The power to recommend wines, introduce new regions to the public, or focus on certain estates is well within the realm of the possibility

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December 2015 Bar Business Magazine

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|

BIGGER CROWDS inYOUR

BAR

How To: today, but as we look forward to the future we should consider the wise words of Pascaline Lepeltier, M.S. and Beverage Director at Rouge Tomate, as she voices her opinion on how the star sommelier can fulfill his — or now increasingly her — true potential.

“Right now, unless we realize we can be part of a broader food movement, we're trying to show you can eat and drink differently by supporting alternative agriculture and viticulture practices for the long run, for the future of the planet, and we're saying no to outrageous marketing, globalization, and industrialization of agriculture product.

Being media-driven is short-sighted and self-centric. But if it is about using the media to be that voice, then yes, let’s use it!”

As in all professions, if you’re not improving, you’re losing ground. Sommeliers keep on top of their game by tasting wines and talking to producers. While there is no substitute for visiting a vineyard, events such as ProWein offer the wine professional a chance to make the most of three days of tasting.

With over 4,000 exhibitors, dozens of daily seminars, and the opportunity to meet the world of winemakers all

"Right now, we're trying to show that you can eat and drink differently by supporting alternative agriculture and viticulture practices for the long run, for the future of the planet."

CHECK IT OUT www.BiggerCrowds.com 26

Bar Business Magazine December 2015

under one enormous roof (there are actually several, but you get the idea) ProWein is the consummate wine event for the wine professional; one can just as easily taste through the wines of dozens of producers from larger regions such as Rioja or Chianti Classico, or sit down for in-depth and extensive tastings with geek favorites Chateau Musar or Mas de Dumas Gassac. As we have learned, the job of a professional sommelier is incredibly hard work. Experiences such as visits to ProWein not only are part of the job, they are part of the reward that all sommeliers deserve. Their next opportunity is from March 13 - 15, 2016 at the fairgrounds in Düsseldorf, Germany.

Gregory Dal Piaz has been involved with wine for over three decades, in restaurants, retail, and writing. As Editor-in-Chief of SimplyBetterWines.com, he has spent 2015 researching and writing on Chianti for a book to be released next year. www.barbizmag.com

Congratulations to the 2015 Bar Business Spirits Competition

wi nners double gold Vodka Punzoné Organic Vodka

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brandy ProduCEr oF ThE yEar E&J Gallo

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yEar Ole Smoky

MoonshinE ProduCEr oF ThE

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Jon Taffer’s hit TV show Bar Rescue has taught him “more about failure than I’ve ever learned about success.”

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Bar Business Magazine December 2015

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CUE: THE FIXER Jon Taffer talks about taking on tough owners, what’s in store for the nightlife industry in 2016, and imparts his most essential bit

By Chris Ytuarte of wisdom upon us: There is no excuse for failure.

I

n the film Pulp Fiction, Winston Wolf was a character known to be “a fixer,” and in the nefarious world of a fictional Los Angeles syndicate, The Wolf, as he was referred to, talked fast and solved problems, and if you couldn’t keep up or if you didn’t want to cooperate, you were out of luck and stuck with whatever mess you got yourself into.

In the bar business, we have Jon Taffer.

Now with more than 100 episodes of his T V show Bar Rescue behind him, Taffer has taken the nightlife industry to task over the last five years via his hit Spike T V show. All around the country he has traveled, solving problems, and while the trouble he tackles is still slightly less sticky than those of a pulp movie universe, Taffer has taken his experiences as both a rescuer and a 30-year industry consultant and operator to realize one thing for sure: “I know the smell of failure,” he says.

“When I look at Bar Rescue and then I look back at my 30 years as a consultant and as a pretty darn good operator, with all that background, I think I know everything it takes to be successful in the bar

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business,” says Taffer. “But Bar Rescue has taught me more about failure than I’ve ever learned about success. It’s fascinating.”

Over the course of his career, Taffer has owned and operated 17 bars and restaurants. For more than three decades he has served as a nightlife consultant, helped grow The Nightclub & Bar Show into the premier trade event for the industry, and created Bar Rescue for Spike T V. On tap, a new partnership with the National Restaurant Association, as well as development of his Taffer Virtual Teaching platform (more on both of these to come). Few folks today are as qualified to quantify the causes of bad business in the bar world.

“I know the words of failure, the walk of failure, the phrasing of failure,” says Taffer. “You can smell it a mile away. I’ve been exposed to it now 103 times on Bar Rescue. So what is the common denominator of failure?

It’s simple — the common denominator is excuses.”

More than anything, Taffer, The Fixer, asserts that bar owners in 2016 need to take responsibility for their status, good or bad, as nightlife operators. “That’s why, on Bar Rescue, I make them tell me they’re failing,” he says. “I force them to fess up to it and own it. And I really believe if I can get them to own their failure, I can get them to own success.”

To some extent, that approach has become slightly more challenging with each episode of Bar Rescue. As Taffer and his tactics become well known, bar owners feel comfortable challenging him.

“Now there are the ones who actually believe they know more than me and think, ‘I’ll stand toe-to-toe with him,’” says Taffer. “On one episode, the owner says, ‘I’m a bar consultant, I’ve been doing this for 30 years, blah blah blah,’ and then he paints his bar freakin’ pink! So yes, these days, sometimes they’re coming for me stronger, but whatever those moments are, at the end of the day it becomes real, because it December 2015 Bar Business Magazine

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At the end of the day, i believe the numberone cause of failure in the bar industry is the transference of responsibility. becomes about what is going on there. They can start it one way, but I tend to steer it toward the reality.”

And that reality, Taffer explains, is that bar business failure continues to be rooted most frequently in two areas: the aforementioned proliferation of excuses, and the absence of sound financial awareness. On the former, Taffer can expound for hours.

“I wonder how many [failing] bar operators blame Obama, or Congress, the Euro, Greece, construction on their street, competition in the marketplace, higher chicken wing prices,” asks Taffer. “We’ve heard them all. But during the recession somebody made money.

Those chicken wings are expensive, but somebody is making money. And Congress is terrible, but there are bars that are still making money. So if you blame them, you’re gonna fail.

“At the end of the day, I believe the number-one cause of failure is the transference of responsibility.

If you wake up in the morning and know that you’re losing five grand in your bar, and you’re looking in the mirror saying, ‘That Obama, he’s destroying my business,’ or it’s the mayor or construction — if you have a reason when you look in that mirror, then you have no reason to change. But if you wake up in the 30

Bar Business Magazine December 2015

morning and look in the mirror and say, “I should be making money. This is my fault. Other people are making money. I’m failing,’ you’re going to go to work and do something different.”

When it comes to financial strategy, Taffer is particularly worried about independent bar owners and operators, those not backed by large ownership groups or corporations with deep investment pockets.

For those folks, the margin for error is thin, yet too many of them take a casual approach toward the bottom line every month.

“It’s a lack of financial orientation and priorities,” Taffer insists. “The bars and restaurants I owned did inventory every Sunday night and I had a weekly P&L on my desk every Tuesday morning. If I ran my labor costs high that week and it was the first week of the month, I had three weeks to correct it. But if your P&L comes out after the month, then it’s too late. What are you going to do now? People react to the P&L, but they don’t manage the numbers in real time.

“I believe 70% of independent operators don’t even have a P&L and they manage their business by how much money is in the bank. That’s horrifying. But if I said to a guy, ‘Why don’t your have P&L’s?’ he’ll say, ‘Well, an accountant is expensive and I don’t really www.barbizmag.com

understand them.’ He’s gonna give me ten excuses.

And the guy who gets a P&L from his accountant every month but he hasn’t read it in two months, he’s got a million excuses too as to why he didn’t read it.”

Clearly, Taffer wants to see more accountability and more accounting in the bar business, and he hopes to convey that message in 2016, even beyond his Bar Rescue audience (that being 71.7 million people, albeit, who watched the show during its fourth season, roughly 25% of the television universe, according to Taffer). As such, Taffer has signed an agreement with the National Restaurant Association to bolster the bar portion of the massive NR A tradeshow held each May in Chicago. He will create some 70 to 80 educational programs for the 2017 event with a goal to reposition the show’s bar component as an overall industry draw rather than solely a beverage showcase. Taffer will lend his experience and subject matter expertise to the NR A’s two key beverage alcohol-related products: ServSafe Alcohol and BAR (Beverage Alcohol for Restaurants).

“Jon Taffer is an educator first and an entertainer second,” said Phil Kafarakis, Chief Innovation and Member Advancement Officer, National Restaurant Association. “Taffer’s passion for ongoing teaching within the adult beverage space, and his commitment specifically to responsible alcohol serving, make him the ideal partner for our ServSafe Alcohol product portfolio.”

Similarly, in 2016 through jontaffer.com, focus on educating the industry directly will stream through his Taffer Virtual Teaching (T V T) program, set to launch in January. This interactive virtual teaching and communication system is available 24/7 from any web-enabled device, providing unlimited access to The Fixer’s knowledge and insight, including his continued passion for what Taffer views as the core of his success as an operator and consultant — bar science.

“The original Bar Rescue concept was presented as a bar sciences show,” says Taffer. “And when I sold the show to Spike, the agreement was there would be three infopods in every episode. And the infopods will show you things like how a draught beer system works, or www.barbizmag.com

how to get the bubbles in the crust of a pizza, or how spirits are produced, etc. Every episode has infopods, and those should speak in a more general industry sense so that they are much more relatable.”

Through the T V T platform, infopod-style knowledge can be easily accessed by bar owners at any time.

Topics include operational foundations like effective promotions, menu design, increasing guest counts, managing sales, hiring tips, and ways to increase revenue. Interactive video lessons from Taffer and leading experts in the industry teach the “science” of success, and users can keep track of their progress as they work towards becoming “Taffer Certified” bar owners. [jontaffer.com/taffer-virtual-teaching/ ] And so The Fixer pushes on in 2016, taking calls like The Wolf, solving problems and helping out any way he can. In the new year he envisions an industry shift back to smaller bar spaces, less extravagant expenditures on entertainment like high-priced DJs, and nightlife investors spreading their capital across multiple, medium-sized venues rather than a single mega club. “I do see less of a focus on dance floors, and bottle service numbers are starting to drop,” Taffer says. “I think exclusion is going to become inclusion.”

With 20 more episodes of Bar Rescue on order, a new partnership with the NR A, and his T V T platform online, Taffer remains steady in his aim to keep the industry steaming ahead. “I’m not going to do things that are complete bull or things that slap the known practices and our industry logic in the face,” he says.

“At the end of the day I’m one of us – I’m a bar guy.”

Talented industry experts like Mia Mastroianni help Taffer make Bar Rescue work.

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Fine China We have seen the future of cocktail innovation, and a lot of it is originating in China’s fashion capitals. Bartenders share their insights on creating the perfect balance of east and west in a glass.

By Elyse Glickman

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ome restaurateurs may cite “fusion” as 90s culinary phenomenon, the reality is that fusing the flavors, fruits, seasoning and sensibility of Asian food with Western ideas has never gone away. In fact, it is gaining momentum, thanks to Americans immersing themselves in international cuisines in ways they have not done before. Bartenders and chefs can also thank The Food Network and The Travel Chanel for piquing consumer curiosity in new flavors and textures they may have not tried a decade ago. At Hong Kong and Shanghai’s hotels, restaurants and lounges, meanwhile, bartenders have taken ideas and spirits from the west and made them their own with a blend of new ingredients, techniques and showmanship.

Hong Kong Happenings Although many of Hong Kong’s most adventurous bars are concentrated in its SoHo and Lan Kwai Fong neighborhoods, the best place to see how western spirits and asian ingredients fuse together is at sibling properties Mandarin Oriental Hotel and Landmark Mandarin Oriental. To get made-to-theletter classics such as the Pimm’s Cup and the Sidecar, take a seat at The Captain’s Bar next to Mandarin Oriental’s check in. The top floor’s M Bar, however, is the where one will find innovative, contemporary cocktails which perfectly complement Hong Kong Central’s nighttime skyline.

The Landmark’s Mo Bar, under the direction of manager Nicholas Leung, is not just a destination for cocktail enthusiasts but also professional bartenders from every continent who want to see the impact Hong Kong bartending trends will have on the world, and vice versa. Every June, it plays hosts to a three-day Masters of Mixology event, where a select handful of top bartenders from the U.S. and other countries perform, create and develop cocktails that sometimes find their way onto the menu.

“The mixology scene continues to evolve internally and externally,” Leung says. “We are influenced by trends from America and Europe, but we have in our arsenal indigenous Asian fruits, seasonings, ginger and tea. All of this results in our offering some of the most creative—yet approachable—cocktails anywhere.

With our of Mixology series, we have learned a great deal from people we’ve invited to participate, and then adapted those ideas to our customers’ tastes. The Hong Kong crowd likes sweet drinks, so we created things like La Dolce Vita, which is like a crème brulé. However, we’re always branching out and enjoy applying what we learn from each other to introduce our guests to new flavor profiles and spirits like Mescal.”

At the Mandarin Oriental Macau’s Vida Rica, bar manager Lemuel Guirindola has two challenges— satisfying the international and Hong Kong clientele’s www.barbizmag.com

sense of adventure while convincing locals to explore new cocktail vistas.

“I work off the traditions and practices established

by M Bar and Mo Bar, and the management here allows me to do what I want,” he explains. “I create my own recipes rather than follow formulas like the bars at some of the other hotels on the Cotai Strip. To me, what makes a good bartender is somebody who only uses quality spirits and fresh, seasonal ingredients whether they are coming from our kitchens or the local markets in the area. Kirabati, a local lime used in our Lychee Martini, is one example of a great ingredient that’s best used when fresh.”

Kirabati is an Asian lime used in many local drinks.

Shanghai’s Surprises The French Concession section of Shanghai is home to a variety of inventive bars, such as Shelter (built out of a former bomb shelter) and The Apartment (with “apartment” rooms inspired by different geographic locales and live music). It is also the professional home to American entrepreneurs Kelley Lee and Yao Lu, who have found inspired ways to introduce Chinese customers to the U.S.’s diverse culinary flavors while keeping expats and visitors buzzing with their original cocktail creations and selections of craft beers.

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Asian cocktail creativity includes unique garnishes.

“Because China is such a huge country, there will be many different and unusual things you can use to create cocktails,” observes Yao Lu, a Texas native who owns and operates award-winning Union Trading Company, and before that, worked for Lee. “There has always been an interesting eating/drinking culture in China that, combined with a new openness for new things from the West, inspires a variety of ideas.

Chinese (bartenders) have been traveling more, and

“The pulse of the city and its modern outlook have attracted people from all over the world to open bars. People who live here want to see new things being done, new flavors, and new textures.” they are absorbing what they learn when they travel.

When they come home, they combine it with things they like that they’ve grown up with.”

Los Angeles-bred Lee, who came to Shanghai 11 years ago, now owns Liquid Laundry, Cantina Agave and Boxing Cat Brewery, all highly successful and decidedly American restaurant concepts. While they draw a good number of expat regulars homesick for their stateside favorites, she takes pride in her expanding the flavor vocabularies of the locals. She recalls that as recently as 2009, most of the mixology 34

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action was confined to the hotel bars, while independent bars focused on whiskey and Japanese cocktails. Getting the craft cocktail scene percolating at Alchemist (her first venue) and elsewhere was an international group effort. However, once the effort sparked, the Shanghai scene caught fire.

“I have seen an explosion of creativity, with (bartenders and chefs) creating their own infusions, bitters, fogs, and all that stuff,” observes Lee. “A lot of (this success) has to do with the mindset of the people here. The pulse of the city and its modern outlook have attracted people from all over the world to open bars.

People who live here want to see new ingredients, new things being done, trying new flavors and textures and putting things together.”

While Lee observes Gin is the spirit of the moment in Shanghai, many spirits categories are represented.

However, she does lament that certain spirits like Tequila and Mescal have a ways to go before catching on, especially as the distribution channels are more limited than in the States. Lu embraces that challenge as another excuse to push the Shanghai scene forward.

Just as Lee gave him a platform to show off his skills, Lu is now paying it forward with his Union Trading Company staff, getting them involved in adding new things to the menu every season.

“It helps them develop their confidence and connect with customers in meaningful way,” says Lu. “It is important to me to empower my staff and give them a sense of ownership within what they do in the craft in the menu--it pushes them to come up with drinks that www.barbizmag.com

makes them feel like a part of the business and stir conversation with the customers.”

Over at the restaurants and hotels on The Bund and in Pudong, innovation is hurtling forward at lightening speed. Pascal Ballot, Director of Marketing at Three on the Bund (an ambitious and upscale multifloor dining destination anchored by New York-based Jean Georges), observes that the shifting client base of Shanghai’s fine dining and nightlife is compelling.

“The scene is so exciting because everything is fresh in Shanghai, and not just the ingredients,” Pascal points out as we sip drinks on the rooftop patio of Pop, the venue’s American pop-culture inspired bar.

“Everything is 10 or 15 years old, and that brings a new energy to the way people approach their work.

While chefs and mixologists (will look at what) foreigners are doing, once they master a technique or recipe, they will take it in a whole new direction.”

Chi-Q’s Korean menu dovetails into subtle but complex drinks incorporating soju and Korean whiskey. Mercado’s Italian foods and cocktails are bold and flavorful, and yet balance out the bitter flavors of Italian liqueurs with bright, citrusy fruits and floral hints. The most ambitious cocktail program at Three on the Bund, however, can be found at Unico. While its interpretations of Latin American food is inspired, the cocktail program takes center stage…or two to be exact. There’s a cocktail lab open until 10:30 p.m. with what the executive chef describes as “high concept culinary cocktails.”

Unico’s main baroperates for the entirety of the restaurant’s hours and heats up when its late night live music gets cranking. That crew, under the current leadership of Chilean Guilherme Valdivieso-Jimenez, puts together drinks for high volume crowds that still manage to have that “craft cocktail” sensibility.

At Mr. & Mrs. Bund, the drink list is as much a culinary-driven experience as the food menu, with options that let the customer in on the mixology fun.

Drinks are not only split up by spirits category (vodka, gin, rum, tequila, whiskey), but also different brands and levels of quality of each spirit at different price points. In some cases, you can even interchange one spirit for another.

While the bar programs throughout the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group adhere faithfully to its Hong Kong roots, and American Martin Kovar has directed the program at Qi Bar at Mandarin Oriental Hotel PudongShanghai, Tony Chen, Assistant Lounge Manager, delights in infusing his own life experience and reverence for teas and herbs into his recipes.

“The flavor is not classical even if the idea came from the West,” Tony says as he describes his latest cocktail, “Life,” which is modeled after a Cosmopolitan, and his tea mojito, beautifully presented in a traditional Chinese tea service format, reconciling the latin sensibility of the drink’s origins with Chinese ingredients. www.barbizmag.com

cocktail recipes The following cocktail recipes provided by Christopher Day, General Lee, Los Angeles

Earth 1½ oz Diplomatico Añejo ½ oz Park VS Cognac 1 barspoon demerara gomme Dash Miracle Mile Candy Cap 2 Dashes Miracle Mile Longevity Bitters (the house bitters) 1. Build in DOF 2. Add block or rock ice and stir briefly.

3. Garnish with dried apricot.

Thunder 1½ oz Black Bottle Scotch ¾ oz Montego Rum ¾ oz Oolong Vermouth 1 dash Miracle Mile Bergamot bitters 1. Stir all in micing glass with cracked ice.

2. Strain into coupe or Nick & Nora glass.

3. Garnish with lemon peel

Mountain 1 oz Momokawa Nigori Sake ½ oz Hidalgo Fino ½ oz Union Mezcal ¾ oz Sesame Pineapple Gomme 1 oz fresh lemon 1. Build in tin and shake hard.

2. Double strain into coupe glass.

3. Garnish with a small sprinkle of sesamie seeds in the middle.

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In Blume Miami’s newest nightclub, Blume, boasts an idyllic garden bar terrace, state of the art light and sound systems, floral dÊcor and live performances by top talent, all part of its throwback vibe to the good old days of big scenes in South Beach. By Chris Ytuarte 36

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T

he Brickell neighborhood in Miami does not exactly evoke memories of the 1980s nightlife scene that made South Beach one of the most famous party places in the world during one of the most decadent decades of all time. Brickell, as many residents and business owners here like to point out, is for locals, and the bar business here acts accordingly. Beer halls and taverns, lounges and pubs — these are what make this area a haven for folks looking for a laid back vibe.

But things can change.

Blume, the newest nightclub to hit this thriving Brickell scene of cosmopolitan locals and trendsetting night owls, opened its doors in October, providing a little pep and perk to the bar-heavy profile of the neighborhood, with a more club-focused environment.

“I agree with the need for the beer bars, they’re booming everywhere in Miami, especially in this neighborhood,” says Jose Vazquez, one of five ownership partners at Blume. “We have Batch, Blackbird Ordinary, etc. They’re more laid-back, with no cover charge, and you’re going to walk in there and relax. Our venue is more of higher-end concept. We do have bottle service. We have an amazing lighting system. It’s more of a club experience.”

From the design, to the sound system, to the entertainment, Blume is a throwback to the big club scene of South Beach; a throwback, in the sense that this scene does still exist in Miami, but not in a way in which locals are all that enthused about partaking.

“The trend we see in Miami is that locals don’t want to go to South Beach anymore,” says Vazquez. South Beach is just for tourists. It’s like the people who live in Vegas but never go to the Strip. I used to live on the beach myself, and I was always leaving to go out. I moved away and haven’t been back to South Beach in a couple of years. It’s just not for us anymore. People in Miami don’t want to go over the bridge anymore and pay $50 to valet, and then you get there and you’re a tourist in your own city.”

It is that sense of loss amongst locals that has driven the recent emergence of Brickell and other outlying areas of the city as up-and-coming nightlife destinations. “Miami is growing, and this area is growing too, and we’re a minimetropolis here now,” Vazquez says of the Brickell area. “And the big draw is that everything here is a quick walk or a fivedollar Uber, to our venue and others.”

Blume adds to the Brickell scene a place where locals (and tourists, should they be brave enough to venture away from Collins Avenue) can still amp-up the revelry and party Miami-style without feeling like outsiders in there own city.

While Brickell has plenty of places to relax, Blume is a place to party.

“Yes, it’s a throwback, especially because we’re smaller and more intimate than the massive mega clubs that are popular on the beach, and people seem to like that,” says

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While they’re not paying South Beach prices for celebrity DJs, Blume’s ownership team spared no expense in creating a world-class sound system.

“The trend we see in Miami is that locals don’t want to go to South Beach anymore. It’s like people who live in Vegas but never go to The Strip.”

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Vazquez. “It feels very South Beach circa 1990. On Fridays and Saturdays, it’s all about the club.”

The 5,000 square foot venue features some timeless décor, as well as a lush, idyllic Garden Bar Terrace. The club’s name, Blume (“flower” in German), stems from its captivating interior, embellished in tropical, floral motifs and layered with classic wooden trimmings to echo a formal Garden Room.

“It has a subtle floral them, in the wallpaper and in some of the pieces of art that we have,” says Vazquez. “We also have these massive concentric rings with lights and they resemble a flower as well.”

At the center of the Blume’s dance floor, as Vazquez describes, is a grandiose 16-foot LED chandelier that adds a touch of glamour to the otherwise classic ambiance, and features dramatic lighting effects designed to evolve throughout the night. Suspended from the high ceiling are a series of 50-foot-diameter concentric rings, a psychedelic, yet alluring display meant to resemble blooming flowers. LED panels in diamond-shaped wood patterns frame the DJ booth, and the state-of-the art Dynacord Alpha System offers an unparalleled sound system that electrifies the dance floor.

“We spent $200,000 on the speakers alone,” says Vazquez, echoing a classic throwback expenditure rarely seen on-premise these days. “We have four speakers in here each the size of a VW Bug. And the sound system is controlled by a computer that can change the colors and patterns of the lights. On top of all that we have these custom rings in the middle of the club and we drop them up and down throughout the course of a night and move them side-to-side. It’s really an incredible visual effect.”

Fashioned by luxury architecture and design firm Linus Design, Blume also features an outdoor party space called The Garden Bar Terrace, which doubles as an expansion to the nightclub or as a stand-alone venue, offering a full-service bar, pergola-covered lounge seating, and an impressive cocktail menu, including “Floral Sips” and small plates.

“We had a terrace in the old venue and we’ve just expanded it for Blume,” explains Vazquez (he and his partners renovated their existing club space, Spazio, to create Blume). “Noise-wise we’re fine, because we’re facing an alley in front of us and we have a train station on the other side, and then we have our own restaurant. So there are no sound issues for us at all. We have six more speakers on the terrace and three more subwoofers under the chairs out there, so the sound system outside is just as good as the one inside.”

Vazquez and his partners, who make up hospitality company V&E Restaurant Group, are also the owners of Segafredo in Brickell and Café Americano at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, but with Blume, the organization is excited to bring locals an ideal fusion of high energy and chill atmosphere. The new spot will host top talent Thursday 38

Bar Business Magazine December 2015

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“We’ve established longstanding restaurants and bars in the area and we’re excited to take it to the next level with Blume.”

At the center of Blume’s dance floor is a grandiose 16-foot LED chandelier that adds a touch of glamour to the scene.

Locals have found Blume to be a blend of big scene beach partying without tourists overcrowding the environment. www.barbizmag.com

The wild throwback scene at Blume includes a troupe of thematically-attired dancers who entertain guests from several feet above the main bar. through Saturday nights, including globally renowned DJ Crazibiza. For the grand opening, a special live performance by vocalist Dragonfly – who has recently recorded with Bob Sinclair, Pitbull and Crazibiza – set the tone for what people can expect from Blume going forward.

Blume will offer branded nights with top talent, including Rough House Thursdays with DJs Crazibiza, Mark M and friends spinning house music; Fridays I’m In Love, featuring open format music with Latin influences, and So Sweet Saturdays, with vocal house and open format music.

Vazquez fully realizes that bringing a little bit of South Beach flavor to the local-based clientele of the Brickell neighborhood can be a daunting, both logistically and financially. “When it comes to DJs, we know we can’t compete www.barbizmag.com

with the big clubs on the beach,” he says. “We can’t pay a DJ $20,000 for a night. So we go for what we can afford, and we’re very happy with our lineup.”

As peak season for the Miami club scene swings from Halloween through March, Vazquez says the crowds are coming every night, and as he and his team bring a bit of the old school into Brickell, something is definitely in Blume in Miami.

“Brickell is a blooming neighborhood, housing more and more sophisticated residents, and as the city expands each year, so does the demand for high-end nightlife venues,” says Vazquez. “We’ve already established longstanding restaurants and bars in the area and we are excited to take it to the next level with Blume.”

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Inventory Explore Craft Spirits Branding & Design Book

Beachwood Blendery’s Sour Beer Project

The craft spirits market is hot, but what does it take to succeed? Cynthia Sterling, Principal and Creative Director of Sterling Creativeworks, hopes to answer that question with her new book “Branding: Distilled.”

Drawing on her 25 years of experience as a creative director, the book is an in-depth exploration of branding and packaging design for craft spirits. “Branding: Distilled” helps aspiring and experienced distillers cut through the clutter in this burgeoning category by providing case studies, insights and actionable information on establishing your brand strategy and selecting your design team; the anatomy of a great package, including shelf pop; managing the design process and sourcing materials. More than 150 images of spirits packaging selected from across the country, available through the publisher at WhiteMulePress.com and available online at Amazon.com.

What is it that makes Belgium's sour beers so unique? How do breweries like Cantillon, Boon and 3 Fonteinen craft such a delicious product with so much nuance and flavor? Can a traditional Belgian gueuze be made in the United States or is there really some magic in the air that only exists in the Zenne River Valley?

With Beachwood Blendery—the latest concept from the minds behind Seal Beach's Beachwood BBQ and Long Beach's awardwinning brewpub Beachwood BBQ and Brewing—owner Gabe Gordon hopes to answer these questions and more. And he has built a temperature-controlled barrel room inside a 100-year-old downtown Long Beach building to help him do it. Starting this fall, Beachwood Blendery will produce beer using ingredients, equipment and brewing methods that are both steeped in tradition and admittedly modern. Gordon, Julian Shrago and Beachwood Blendery's Barrelmaster Ryan Fields (an awardwinning brewer formerly of Lost Abbey and Pizza Port San Clemente) are embarking on an undoubtedly geeky quest to create American-style lambics. For more information, visit beachwoodbbq.com.

The Road to Swartland via Vouvray

Narragansett Beer Big Mamie Pale Ale

Cape Classics bridges its range of French wines and legacy South African business with its latest label—Terre Brûlée—hailing from the Swartland region. The premier importer welcomes the new flagship wine brand through its partnership with Loire Valley producer Vincent Carême. A Chenin Blanc artisan, Carême makes several different styles of the varietal and brings his expertise from his own winery in Vouvray to the vineyards of the Swartland region. With a firm belief that the quality of the wine is determined in the vineyard, Vincent Carême visits his Swartland cellar twice a year: during harvest in February and bottling in November.

In between these trips to South Africa, the wine is tasted and assessed regularly thanks to Carême’s South African wife Tania, as her family and friends carry samples to France when they travel from “home”. Carême’s Swartland vineyard is made up of two Chenin Blanc blocks called Jacklesfontein that are dry farmed, unirrigated 40year-old bush vines set on decomposed granite. Terre Brûlée, derived from this unique piece of land, is produced using the same methods of its French counterparts. Terre Brûlée is available at an SRP of $14.99, through Cape Classics’ national distribution partners in each state. Visit www.CapeClassics.com.

Narragansett Beer announces the release of Big Mamie Indestructible American Pale Ale, a sessionable ale as solid and reliable as its namesake vessel, the USS Massachusetts. The release commemorates the 50th anniversary of maritime museum Battleship Cove and Narragansett’s own efforts to save the impenetrable warship many years ago. Recognized in American history for firing both the first and last U.S. Navy sixteen inch shells during World War II, the USS Massachusetts, otherwise known as “Big Mamie,” served her country proudly for many years. However, despite her storied history, Big Mamie was on her way to the scrap yard to be stripped of her parts by 1964. With her heroic past and New England pride in mind, Narragansett Beer spearheaded a fundraising movement with the local Massachusetts community to save the beloved ship from destruction. Thanks in part to ‘Gansett’s charitable efforts, in 1965 Big Mamie made a victorious return through Narragansett Bay to the Fall River, Massachusetts waterfront where a half million adoring fans lined the shores to welcome her home. For more info visit www.narragansettbeer.com.

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Perlick Creates Drainboard for Dificult-to-Fit Service Bars Perlick, a leader in total package bar equipment and beverage dispensing systems, introduces precision-crafted, drop-in drainers to fit a wide range of spaces in service bars. Answering customer demand, Perlick developed stainless steel drop-in drainers built to be flush mounted into cut-out openings in bar tops. Available in 12” or 18” widths, drainers are available in 6” length increments. Customers can envision how these drainers fit perfectly into their bar line through The KCL CADalog and AutoQuotes. Drop-in drainers create efficient service bars because they prevent contamination from standing liquids and provide sanitary storage area for clean glassware. Drinks won’t spill because uneven surfaces are eliminated. Drop in glass racks pop out for easy cleaning; Lazer-cut logo pattern provides draining capability in case of spills; ½” I.D. brass drain tube at corner of drainer with ½” NPSM thread and machine end; Stainless steel; Custom made to fit different service bar sizes. The service station drainers are part of Perlick’s Top Shelf Line of Stainless Steel Underbar Equipment combining precision-design with stock equipment.

The result is efficient beverage environments that meet the needs of individual users. Visit www.perlick.com.

Narragansett Autocrat Coffee Milk Stout Narragansett Autocrat Coffee Milk Stout is hitting shelves again for the season. For the third year in a row, Narragansett Beer is teaming up with the Rhode Islandfamed Autocrat Coffee to release this limited-edition brew. A traditional milk stout brewed with the robust flavor of Autocrat Coffee, this is a full-bodied beer that delivers a flavorful, smooth, dark brew with notes of roasted barley, chocolate malt and rich crystal malt. Narragansett Autocrat Coffee Milk Stout is available now in six packs of 16-ounce tallboy cans and 12 packs of 12-ounce glass bottles, priced between $8.99 - $9.49 SRP per six pack. The beer is 5.3 percent ABV and 30 IBUs. The beer will be available in New England, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, North Carolina, Florida, Portland, Ore., Nashville and Chattanooga, Tenn. The timing and availability of Autocrat Coffee Milk Stout will vary per market through February 2016. For additional information visit www.narragansettbeer.com.

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High West’s ‘A Midwinter Night’s Dram®’ Returns High West Distillery is proud to announce the return of its popular seasonal spirit, A Midwinter Night’s Dram®. Available at fine retailers across the country, it’s been awarded a near-perfect 98 rating from Wine Enthusiast. Named after Shakespeare’s comedy about love “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” this magical rye whiskey has exceptional flavor to keep you and your love warm through the winter.

A Midwinter Night’s Dram is a limited release of High West’s award winning Rendezvous Rye finished in port and French oak barrels, providing festive flavors of the season making it a perfect gift for Thanksgiving, the holidays or any other occasion. A Midwinter Night’s Dram joins 11 other award-winning High West spirits. Bottled at 98.6 proof so it goes in at body temperature and priced at $79.99 per bottle, it first made its debut on Valentine’s Day 2014. For more information and where to buy High West products near you, visit highwest.com.

Nifty Napkin Holders Recognizing that environment and design can be big differentiators for customers today, Tork Xpressnap® Image Napkin Dispensing Systems were designed to meet the needs of bars and restaurants looking for a functional, but also designfriendly napkin dispenser. The upscale dispensers are available in two sleek styles – genuine walnut and aluminum – and feature premium extra soft napkins. The new Image line of dispensers is an easy upgrade for any bar or lounge that wants a clean design, without having stacks of napkins out in the open or the typical plastic dispensers. Xpressnap Café Image Dispensing System is the sleekest, smartest, most versatile napkin dispenser out there. Made from wood with a walnut finish, for a prestigious high end look. A sleeker profile adds elegance and takes up less space. Winner of the 2014 Red Dot award for Product Design. No lid. The dispensers have a generous capacity of 75, 2-Ply napkins. Also available in Aluminum 75350. To learn more go to www.torkusa.com.

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Holiday Happenings

January 2016

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Jan 1: Ellis Island Day. To honor the arrival of so many cultures in America via Ellis Island, offer up cocktail specials today from around the globe.

Think French Martini, Negroni, Irish Car Bombs, etc. Do some research.

Jan 3: Drinking Straw Day. To bend or not to bend, that is the question.

16 Jan 16: Soup Swap Day. Have your patrons bring in a can of soup today for one free drink, then donate all your soups to a local shelter. Everyone wins on Soup Swap Day.

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18 Jan 18: Thesaurus Day. What’s a seven-letter word for bad tipper?

Bar Business Magazine December 2015

4 Jan 4: World Hypnotism Day. Isn’t the optimal state of intoxication via spirits really just a more fun form of hypnotism? Convince your customers so.

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Jan 9: National Cassoulet Day. Have you ever had a really good cassoulet?

Chef Eric Skar of New York makes a mean one. Try to serve some up to your guests tonight. Step one: Look up “cassoulet”.

Jan 11: Learn Your Name in Morse Code Day. Imagine a night when all your customers are tapping their names in Morse code on your bar top. You know what, skip this one.

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Jan 20: Rid the World of Fad Diets and Gimmicks Day. Forget the fad diets. On this day, rid the world of one of its worst gimmicks: toilet seat barstools. This is really a thing, people. Stop it.

Jan 23: National Pie Day. To honor this holiday, check out PIEHOLE Whiskey contest winner Brooke Flaherty down in New Orleans on page 7 of this month’s Booze News section.

24 Jan 24: Beer Can Day. This one’s easy: Beer can specials all day.

Give your glass bottle recycling bin a break today.

www.barbizmag.com

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Owning Up

Selling Your Bar? What Bar Tenants Need to Know About Commercial Lease Assignments

By Jeff Grandfield and Dale Willerton - The Lease Coach

I

f you are looking to sell (or buy) an existing bar, don’t overlook the commercial lease assignment. We define this term in our book, Negotiating Commercial Leases & Renewals For Dummies, as an agreement or procedure that transfers the leasehold interest and obligations from one tenant to another so a new lease does not have to be negotiated. Lease assignments occur most often when a business is sold. To avoid potential disaster, managing a commercial lease assignment must be done effectively and properly. Here are some points to consider: 1. What Are You Selling? You are selling an established bar and its location, including customer goodwill, leasehold improvements, fixtures, signage, etc. From the buyer’s perspective your physical location, or the commercial lease on your bar, is very important. Therefore, you are loosely selling the opportunity to control this piece of real estate – and that has value.

2. Check The Lease Agreement. The Lease Assignment or Transfer Clause is of one of the vital organs of a commercial lease agreement. Within the Lease Agreement there may be conditions such as personal guaranties and increased deposits imposed on the business seller (tenant assignor) and the buyer (assignee). If you mishandle the lease assignment process, you may lose a prospective buyer due to landlord delays and/or interference.

3. The Rights of the Tenant. Unless you negotiated on this clause when you first leased the premises, chances are you are in danger. The landlord is not required to include an Assignment Clause (or even a reasonably fair one) in the lease agreement. You must negotiate and demand that your tenant rights are included. The Lease Coach frequently renegotiates the Assignment Clause when we negotiate on a new lease or a lease renewal for a bar tenant because almost every bar eventually sells.

4. Assignment Timing Issues. If the landlord stalls approving the Lease Assignment, the purchaser may get tired of waiting and walk away. Some lease agreements do not stipulate a limit on how long the landlord can take for the approval process (30/60 days). For a bar tenant, you will want the approval process to take 10-15 days maximum to avoid losing a purchaser’s interest.

5. The Approval Process. The Lease Coach tries to determine up-front what the landlord wants for financial information and what the proposed Assignee is willing to provide. In some cases, the purchaser comes out looking like a desirable tenant; however, he/she may have a heavy debt load or little professional experience running a bar. Landlords can be sensitive to 44

Bar Business Magazine December 2015

this since they are accustomed to you (the existing tenant) paying their rent on-time etc.

6. Renewal Option Clauses. Often, your purchaser wants to assume your lease renewal option clause (if you have one). This means that the purchaser has some certainty that if he/she buys your bar with only 18 months left on the lease term they cannot be kicked out by the landlord at that time (they can use the renewal option clause). Don’t assume the renewal option clause is transferrable to the buyer.

7. The Assignment Processing Fee. These fees range dramatically from $0 to $2,500; $500-$1,000 is typical. The seller must usually pay this amount and notify to the landlord (in writing) to initiate the process.

8. The Assignment Agreement. Depending on whom The Lease Coach is representing (the selling or buying bar owner), we often negotiate for additional points such as the deposit, renewal options, guaranty etc. Be aware – the landlord may stipulate the seller (assignor) be responsible for the lease if the buyer (assignee) defaults.

Tens of thousands of businesses (including bars) are bought and sold each year. And they almost all require a lease assignment or negotiation with the landlord. A landlord can deliberately or creatively sabotage lease assignments. They may do this out of fear that the new tenant who is buying your business may default on rental payments. Or it could be that the landlord agrees to the assignment but wants a higher rental rate, greater deposit or a personal guaranty (or all of those things) from the assignee buying your business. Remember, from the landlord’s perspective a lease assignment is often a lateral move, even a nuisance because the tenant is the one making money from the sale of the business while the landlord simply continues to collect the same rent, but possibly from an unproven tenant or business person.

Dale Willerton and Jeff Grandfield - The Lease Coach are Commercial Lease Consultants who work exclusively for tenants. Dale and Jeff are professional speakers and co-authors of Negotiating Commercial Leases & Renewals For Dummies (Wiley, 2013). Got a leasing question? Need help with your new lease or renewal? Call 1-800-738-9202, e-mail DaleWillerton@TheLeaseCoach.com or visit www.TheLeaseCoach.com. For a copy of our free CD, Leasing Do’s & Don’ts for Commercial Tenants, please e-mail your request to DaleWillerton@TheLeaseCoach.com. www.barbizmag.com

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