February 2016 Bar Business

JUST THE FAX:

In Nova Scotia, the capital city of Halifax is home to a bustling bar and spirits scene.

The How-To Publication

BAR BUSINE$$ February 2016

M A G A Z I N E

Slice of Life

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Flower power and garden garnishes continue their growth on-premise

How to: POS Security TUNING UP: Attract TV WHISKEY: Get Your Irish Up

BAR BUSINE$$

On Tap FEBRUARY 2016

CONTENTS

one day at a time

19

HOW TO

29

19

23

29

A Day in the life

POS stays secure

The power of Flowers

Daylife venues have become highly profitable in places like Las Vegas and Miami, but can the concept work for you? www.barbizmag.com

After several highprofile security breaches hit credit card companies in 2015, POS providers have adjusted accordingly.

More on-premise innovators are finding ways to incorporate floral elements and green garnishes into cocktail programs.

February 2016 Bar Business Magazine

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On Tap

BAR BUSINE$$

CONTENTS

Features

10 4 Bar room drawl

16 TUNING UP

6 Booze News

With the official roll-out of its Attract TV platform, TouchTunes is giving bar owners new ways to grab customer attention on-premise.

10 liquid Assets While whiskey continues to be the dominant spirits category both on-premise and off, it is the Irish entries that are making a noticeable push toward the top behind brands both old and new.

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The minds behind Miami’s new Craft Social Club have managed to combine a quality cocktail experience with high-energy nightclub table service.

38 JUST THE FAX

Departments Sam Adams gets scientific with nitro beers; New Perlick faucet for perfect pours; SoCo cashes in; Yamakazi cask editions arrive; Max’s Kansas City turns 50.

34 COMBO Platter

44 Big six Besides hosting the Super Bowl this month, San Francisco also saw the opening of its newest coastal inspired cocktail bar, Barbarossa.

In Halifax, Nova Scotia, an imaginative and embracing nightlife scene is quietly bringing attention to some of the best beverage programs operating on-premise today.

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49 Inventory 50 holiday happenings 52 Supply SIde A Pennsylvania restaurant owner turns to bathroom stalls to stoke interest in his venue’s aesthetic.

“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 © 2016 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 February 2016

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Bar Room Drawl

By Chris Ytuarte Editor

Innovate and Adapt, on Two " Changes call for innovation, and innovation leads to progress." — Li Keqiang

This month saw the Super Bowl come and go, and in all likelihood that meant big business for bars on game day. And there is a correlation there: In the NFL, the two best teams left playing — Denver and Carolina — were likely the most innovating and adaptive organizations throughout the season.

Your Hall-of-Fame quarterback is 39 and breaking down? Lean on your defense and find ways to win around him. Adapt. Your young, physical quarterback likes to run? Design plays for him to do so and watch him set all kinds of records. Innovate.

On-premise, bar owners seeking success have to be of a similar mindset.

First of all, throw a great Super Bowl party. It’s easy money. But moving beyond the obvious football connection, look at it more abstractly: If you want to win, be like the Broncos and the Panthers. Adapt and innovate.

In this issue of Bar Business, we highlight and examine innovative owners and adaptive technologies. It’s a 4

Bar Business Magazine February 2016

bowl-full of super bar ideas and their execution. Ready, set, hike.

Our Tuning Up column kicks off with a look at new technology that bridges on-premise entertainment options in a way that makes millennials take note, as TouchTunes launches Attract TV. Elsewhere, the powerful POS industry adapts quickly to a security scare and runs downfield for a big gain by building better functionality to fit bar owner needs. And daylife venues in Las Vegas let us know if bar owners outside of Sin City can go for the extra point by expanding business to afternoon hours.

Once we hit our spirits coverage, this issue starts passing for major yardage.

An in-depth look at the whiskey category reveals that the Fighting Irish are not just a football team at Notre Dame, as Emerald Isle entries adapt to the marketplace and make a move toward the end zone. On-premise, we examine the growth of floral cocktail ingredients in high-end beverage programs nationwide, and if that isn’t innovative enough, we visit Halifax to find some of the most exciting mixology and bar concepts in the world, before heading down to Miami, where a team of owners has combined craft cocktailing with bottle service. That's a big run.

I know, silly football metaphors are basically the opposite of innovative. But the fact remains, if you, as a bar owner, can adapt to your situation and innovate beyond that, you have the makings of a successful venue, and this issue has some great ideas on where to start.

To me, that’s a touchdown.

BAR BUSINE$$ MAGAZINE

February 2016 Vol. 9, No. 2 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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Booze News

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ater. Malt. Hops. Yeast. These are the four traditional ingredients in beer. With the new Samuel Adams Nitro Project, the brewers want you to experience a fifth ingredient: nitrogen, in place of carbonation. After experimenting with countless iterations and test batches in the nanobrewery at the Sam Adams Boston Brewery, the brewers are excited to announce the release of the first three brews from the Samuel Adams Nitro Project – Nitro White Ale, Nitro IPA, and Nitro Coffee Stout. Nitro beers are most commonly associated with stouts, but the brewers stretched the boundaries and started nitrogenating a variety of styles. There are very few breweries that offer nitro beers to drinkers at all, and virtually none that offer a variety of nitro beers in cans on an everyday basis. Nitro beers seemed, to the brewers at Sam Adams, like the perfect way to fundamentally transform the flavor profiles of a variety of beer styles.

“We started experimenting with nitro beers in the mid 1990’s when we brewed a Boston Cream Ale, and over the years, I’d estimate we brewed more than 50

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Bar Business Magazine February 2016

beer styles and worked with 200 recipes to ultimately create these three unique beers,” said Samuel Adams founder and brewer Jim Koch. “We quickly discovered that you can’t just put any beer on nitro. We needed to develop recipes where nitrogen was the unexpected fifth ingredient and brought out the desired flavor profile of the brew.”

The ‘nitro’, of course, is short for nitrogen gas. All beers contain a significant amount of carbon dioxide when the beer is carbonated as part of the brewing process, but nitro beers use a combination of both nitrogen and carbon dioxide. Nitrogen is mostly insoluble in beer, so the resulting bubbles are smaller and create the rich, creamy texture familiar to nitro beers. On the flip side, beers that use CO2 generally have larger bubbles and a more pronounced acidity and carbonated texture. Think of the difference between carbonated water and still water. Both are water but the taste experience is radically different.

When a nitro beer is poured, it creates a beautiful cascade down the side of the glass, a thick, creamy head and a smooth mouthfeel. www.barbizmag.com

Shutterstock/Kippy Spilker

Samuel Adams Launches Nitro Beers

Max’s Kansas City Celebrates 50th Anniversary

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ax's Kansas City is one of those unique places that defined an era. “It was the exact spot where Pop Art and Pop Life came together in the 60's," stated Andy Warhol. It was the center of the universe in the late 60's and 70's for all segments of the arts, from Warhol and his Superstars to William Burroughs, Patti Smith, Debbie Harry, Mick Jagger, Edie Sedgwick, Lou Reed, Abbie Hoffman, and Truman Capote, to name a few, and was the launching site for emerging bands like the Velvet Underground.

To honor the 50th Anniversary, The Max's Kansas City Project, established in 2001 by Yvonne R. Sewall, held two special events in January and February to start the

New Year with an infusion of electrifying energy: a tribute concert to the iconic Velvet Underground and Lou Reed on January 14, and a Meet & Greet the artists and photographers 50th Anniversary reunion party/ exhibition/auction on February 11.

The Max's Project embraced Mickey Ruskin's (the creator of Max's Kansas City) philosophy of helping artists in need by providing emergency relief and resources for individuals in the arts in crisis, and has in development FEARLESS YOUTH, a teen empowerment through the arts program featuring an interactive virtual club dedicated to supporting teens in developing their uniqueness through the creative arts.

The Velvet Underground/Lou Reed Tribute Concert was also a night to remember, with an amazing line-up of talent.

Details Magazine once described Max's Kansas City, the fabled restaurant/bar/club, as "The clubhouse of underground culture for two decadent decades."

YAMAZAKI® SHERRY CASK 2016 EDITION™ ARRIVES

I

t may have come as a surprise that Suntory Whisky Yamazaki® Sherry Cask 2013 was named “World Whisky of the Year” in Jim Murray’s 2015 Whisky Bible. However, sherry cask whisky has been a constant staple of the Suntory Whisky portfolio since 1924, a year after the distillery began construction.

Shinjiro Torii, the founding father of Japanese whisky, first started making his whiskies by leveraging sherry casks imported from the wine of southern Spain needed to blend his famous Akadama Sweet Wine.

Hence the sherry cask was the first cask used by Suntory Whisky and plays an important role in the origin of Japanese whisky.

This month, The House of Suntory Whisky is proud to introduce Yamazaki Sherry Cask 2016 (48% ABV), available as of February 1.

Over its 92-year history, Suntory Whisky has managed numerous sherry casks and sherry malts.

Suntory’s Chief Blender Shinji Fukuyo makes a point of visiting the Northern region of Spain himself. He does this to ensure that his selection of Spanish oak be sent to the “bodegas” (sherry wineries) to be made into the sherry casks used to store their Oloroso Sherry.

Fukuyo carefully oversees this entire process, from the selection of the casks, to the charring and the aging of the sherry. After three years of aging, the sherry casks are sent back to Suntory’s Yamazaki

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distillery, ready to receive what becomes the distinguished Yamazaki Sherry Cask Whisky.

Sherry casks are both revered and feared for their strong character, as they can easily overpower a whisky’s flavor. The Yamazaki malts can also be affected by this sherry/ Spanish oak cask flavor.

However, in the case of the Yamazaki Sherry Cask, Suntory’s Chief Blender Shinji Fukuyo selects only those casks in which the delicate balance of chemistry between the Yamazaki malt and sherry cask can be achieved, thereby enhancing Yamazaki’s characteristically rich and multifaceted flavor.

The meticulous process ensures the final quality of this liquid.

February 2016 Bar Business Magazine

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Booze News SoCo to Sazerac for $544 Million

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rown-Forman Corporation announced that it has reached an agreement to sell its Southern Comfort and Tuaca trademarks to Sazerac for $543.5 million.

Brown-Forman Chief Executive Officer Paul Varga said the decision to sell these brands reflects the company’s evolving portfolio strategy and a continuation of its efforts to focus resources on its highest strategic priorities. Brown-Forman has actively managed its portfolio over the last decade by developing, acquiring and divesting specific brands and categories with the aim of improving the growth and value creation prospects for its business.

“We’re proud of the work undertaken over the years by our employees and partners on behalf of Southern Comfort and Tuaca,” stated Varga. “Both brands played important roles in the Brown-Forman success story, and we will have fond memories of the enjoyment they brought to consumers, our partners, and to Brown-Forman.”

Brown-Forman has marketed Southern Comfort since acquiring the brand in 1979. The company acquired Tuaca in two transactions, completing the purchase in 2002.

“We are very excited about the opportunity to acquire such iconic brands. Brown-Forman has done an excellent job of building both brands over the years and we are looking forward to many more years of successful brand building,” said Mark Brown, President / CEO of the Sazerac Company.

The sale of these brands is expected to close by March 1, 2016. The transaction, subject to regulatory clearance in the U.S. and customary closing conditions, will be discussed in further detail during Brown-Forman’s March conference call following the issuance of its third quarter earnings release.

Perfect Pour?

Perlick Can Help

Control Faucet with push back creamer includes a sidemounted flow-control handle. The handle gives bartenders extra ability to top off beers by controlling the speed of beer flow into the glass. Partnered with the Push-Back Creamer, variable speeds enable bartenders to pour beer correctly into different containers such as growlers and beer flight glasses. When beer is served in a frosted glass, the flow-control handle slows down the beer, allowing foam to build under extra cold serving temperatures.

The flow-control faucet holds another important advantage for operators because keg yield increases if beer is not wasted during pouring.

Faucets with Push-Back Creamers continue to offer the same solid Perlick quality including stainless steel construction; ball and O-ring technology replacing traditional valve shaft, sealing air out; and no bacteria build-up due to closed system.

P

erlick, a leader in total package bar equipment and dispensing systems, gives bartenders precision control to present customers with an attractive, properly poured glass of beer with the addition of Push-Back Creamer mechanisms on its faucets.

“Customers scrutinize their beers and expect a glass poured with the perfect body and head. The PushBack Creamers empower bartenders to create that beer,” says Jim Koelbl, Perlick Vice President of Sales.

Perlick has retrofitted two of its most popular faucets with Push-Back Creamers. With the 680SS Series Forward Sealing Faucet with push back creamer, the bartender pours the beer, then pushes the handle back, which activates a piston that exposes tiny holes.

Beer flowing through the holes produces creamy foam.

Designed for hard-to-pour brands and receptacles varying in size, the 690SS Series Forward Sealing Flow

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Bar Business Magazine February 2016

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Hit songs. Whole albums.

Music videos. Mobile control.

Liquid Assets

Irish

Eyes Are Smiling

By Chris Ytuarte

As the whiskey category continues to surge in popularity both on-premise and off, in America and beyond, entries into the marketplace from the Emerald Isle are leading the charge behind a love of all things Irish, national pride amongst millennials, and premium Irish whiskies finding a foothold behind the bar.

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Egan’s Irish Whiskey, with six generations behind it, was revived in the U.S. in 2015.

Shutterstock / Brandon Bourdages

Y

ou may still be scouring the Earth for that elusive bottle of Pappy Van Winkle 23 Year Old, and Jim Murray may have just named Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye the 2016 World Whiskey of the Year, but if brown spirits remain the apple of our industry’s eye, lately, those Irish eyes are smiling.

Within this juggernaut of a spirits category, Irish whiskey is currently enjoying a surge in sales and demand, both on-premise and off.

According to The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, Irish whiskey continued its rapid growth in 2015 with revenues up 19.9 percent and sales of $664 million. Now offering a wider variety of styles than ever before — blends, single malts, premiums, and cask varietals, to name a few — Irish whiskey is taking a page from its Scottish brethren in terms of validating its quality, mixability, and great backstory.

Blazing the way, of course, is Jameson, which remains the proverbial bull in the China shop as it storms the marketplace worldwide.

“Jameson is the fastest growing Irish whiskey in the world and one of the fastest growing products in the last ten years,” says Steve Chasen, Director of Trade Marketing, Pernod Ricard. “Jameson definitely helps keep the lights on here. It has grown a www.barbizmag.com

tremendous amount and managed to keep its credibility.”

Key to its growth, as Chasen points out, has been Jameson’s ability to tap into the modern market while maintaining its heritage and vaunted Irish tradition. A perfect example would be the brand’s latest innovation, Caskmates, wherein local Irish micro-brewery Franciscan Well and Jameson Original shared casks to create one exceptional whiskey that combines the smoothness of Jameson with the richness of stout beer, offering a new and distinct tasting experience.

“The intention was to make a smoother, more accessible version, but I think even they were surprised at how accessible and how smooth the whiskey is,” says Chasen. “And the reason why so many consumers gravitate toward Jameson and toward Irish whiskey is because of its accessibility. So continuing down that path was intentional, but I think it probably performed even better than expectations.”

Following the success of Caskmates, Chasen suggests that Jameson aims to explore collaborations with other brewers around the world to create variations on the Caskmates style. But the heart of any such endeavor remains an authentic Irish whiskey.

been dormant for nearly five decades.

“We have the family involved and we have six generations of direct lineage and involvement in the industry,” says Ralph. “I thought it had real relevance and would resonate extremely well not only with American consumers but the global consumer. So we started throwing around the idea of bringing this brand back to life.”

The flagship Egan’s 10-Year-Old Single Malt, an authentic, 100% potstill Irish whiskey aged in oak casks

While leading the way in the Irish whiskey category, Jameson continues to innovate.

IRISH IN AMERICA John Ralph, CEO of P&H Egan USA, understands very well how that notion of Irish tradition and heritage is playing out in the American market today. In 2015 his company revived the historic Egan Whiskey brand, a six-generation family label from Tullamore, Ireland, that had February 2016 Bar Business Magazine

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Liquid Assets before being meticulously selected by the Egan family, is now available in California, Chicago, Boston, and New York, with Connecticut, New Jersey, New Hampshire and Georgia coming soon.

“If you look at the category, Jameson is really driving the broader volume of Irish whiskey, and hats off to them,” says Ralph. “In many respects they’re transcending the category. But I think what they’re also doing well is starting to bring in premium expressions. Irish whiskey historically has been on the value premium side of things; there isn’t really a category yet for super premium Irish whiskey. And I think Irish whiskey has also been underrepresented in single malts over the years. So there is a great

opportunity to build up that premium single malt category. Consumers are very knowledgeable about what single malt is because of what the Scotch guys have done over the years.”

It would seem, as both Ralph and Chasen point out, that Scotch has helped pave the way for the manner in which Irish whiskey is now being perceived and imbibed. Chasen is quick to highlight the Pernod Ricard portfolio: Chivas Regal, Aberlour, and The Glenlivet to name few (the latter bringing several new expressions to market in the next 12 to 24 months).

Such venerable Scotch brands have played a role in educating the millennial consumer as to the potential of a great whiskey. Now, says Chasen, Irish entries like Redbreast, Midleton, and Green Spot are taking the cue and moving mass quantities both on-premise and off.

Pernod Ricard USA, in fact, has welcomed two new expressions to the Irish whiskey category with Midleton Dair Ghaelach and Green Spot Château Léoville Barton. Midleton Dair Ghaelach is the first Irish Whiskey from the Midleton distillery to be finished in virgin Irish Oak Hogsheads; and Green Spot Château Léoville Barton, the first Single Pot

Renowned Irish rockers The Pogues have launched their own whiskey.

Still Irish Whiskey to be finished in Bordeaux wine casks, brings a new dimension to the classic expressions renowned among whiskey connoisseurs for their exceptional quality.

“I think people are becoming more sophisticated about whiskey, where 12

Bar Business Magazine February 2016

Premium Irish whiskies like Green Spot has paved the way for more highend entries in the category.

you’re seeing age statements go away, you’re seeing higher quality blends, and people are going nuts for stuff from Japan,” observes Chasen.

“So I think people are a little less caught up in age and style than they are in quality and value and innovation. We sell through our Midleton allocation every year, and you’re looking at $175 to $190 a bottle.

Consumers are curious, and there are customers at every available price point.”

“People are looking for more authenticity and looking for heritage in brands they’re consuming,” adds Ralph. “And if you see what’s going on from an Irish whiskey standpoint, in many respects Ireland is ‘cool’ in the eyes of Americans. There are some 45 million people in the U.S. that lay claim to Irish heritage. You can’t underestimate that.”

Many of those proud IrishAmericans fancy Celtic music, making groups like The Pogues extremely popular in the U.S. In fact, the band has launched its own eponymous Irish whiskey brand, crafted by West Cork Distillers, one of two remaining 100% independently owned and operated distilleries in Ireland and the only distillery to malt its own Irish-grown barley. This artisanal whiskey is blended from 50% 10-year single malt and 50% www.barbizmag.com

5-to-7-year grain, one of the highest malt contents of any Irish blended whiskey currently produced.

Obviously, Irish whiskey is making its play as one of the more dominant sectors in the category, and the progress continues. This month, Tullamore D.E.W. released its latest variant, Tullamore D.E.W. Trilogy, a blend of three whiskeys that is three times distilled and matured 15 years in cask types of three unique woods, including rum casks — a first for the brand. Trilogy is Tullamore D.E.W.’s oldest release to date, and the brand’s new distillery, which opened in 2014, marked the return of whiskey production to the town of Tullamore 60 years after the original distillery closed its doors.

Perfect timing for the Irish whiskey wave hitting the market.

“I was just in Ireland a few months ago,” says Chasen. “Massive capacity has been added to our distillation there, massive capacity was added to our storage and aging. There is going to be a very long runway here [for Irish whiskey]. Tastes are changing in the food and beverage industry in the way people approach things with more curiosity and with more appreciation for a range of flavors.”

DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE That adventurous nature amongst drinkers, combined with an overall affinity for Irish heritage, not only makes it a perfect market for whiskey, but for similar Irish spirits that speak to what people are looking for today. In addition to bringing Egan’s back to life, Ralph is also currently importing Mad March Poitin, a hand crafted potato-based spirit distilled in the hills of Dublin that he hopes will provide something new for whiskey drinkers and nonwhiskey drinkers alike.

“This is the oldest spirit category in the world, by many measures,” says Ralph. “It was first documented as being distilled by Irish monks in 6 A.D. In some respects, poitin is the spirit that started it all.” www.barbizmag.com

Recipes Mad March Hare, the moonshine of Ireland.

Poitin (pronounced “put-cheen”) was traditionally produced in remote and rural farming areas of Ireland, but when home distillation of the spirit was made illegal in 1661, production continued underground, similar in its history to American moonshine, which has seen a resurgence the last few years.

“What gave me the confidence to bring poitin here was watching the growth of craft spirits, Irish whiskey, and moonshine in the U.S.,” Ralphs says. “It showed there is a hunger for unusual spirits here. And if you look at what Mad March Hare really is, it’s a cross between moonshine, Irish whiskey, and craft spirits. We like to say it’s a brown spirit in a white jacket. It’s got all the flavor and taste and complexity of a brown spirit, but it’s clear, so it’s very mixable and very easy to put into cocktails. And that’s what gave us the confidence that the market is ready for this.”

“It’s a Darwinian industry,” says Chasen. “For the most part, the best producers and the best companies, big or small, tend to be the ones that stand the test of time. That’s why the biggest and most popular whiskey brands in the world have been around for a really long time — because they make great stuff that people trust that is delicious and a good value. And that never goes out of style.”

Jameson Black Barrel Whiskey Buck 2 parts Jameson Black Barrel 0.75 parts fresh lime juice 0.75 parts ginger syrup 2-3 dashes Angostura Bitters Combine ingredients into a shaker, add ice and shake vigorously. Strain into an ice-filled highball glass. Fill the balance with ginger ale or soda water. Garnish with a lime wedge.

Jameson Black Barrel Old Fashioned 2 parts Jameson Black Barrel 0.75 Benedictine liqueur 2 dashes Angostura Bitters 2 dashes Orange Bitters Combine ingredients into a mixing glass, add ice and stir until ice cold. Strain into an ice-filled rocks glass. Garnish with an orange slice.

February 2016 Bar Business Magazine

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Liquid Assets

DON’T FORGET THE BOURBON

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enying the bourbon boom would, of course, be pointless; domestic sales of Kentucky-made bourbon have increased 36% in the last five years to $1.5 billion, and exports rose 56% to $300 million from 2010, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S. “With such a high demand for bourbon/whiskey products these days, keeping up with the demand comes down to planning,” says Jon Holecz, Vice President, Marketing, Western Spirits. “We are constantly looking at our supply to make sure we stay on our trended forecasts. Our team has been amazing in making sure we are confident with our supply for the constant, fast paced growth. All three of our bourbon/whiskey lines are experiencing amazing growth: Bird Dog Whiskey, Lexington Bourbon and Calumet Bourbon.”

Bird Dog Whiskey blends the finest aged white oak barrel Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey with all natural flavors to create a smooth, easy-drinking whiskey. At 80 proof, Bird Dog Whiskey also offers a variety of amazing tasting flavored whiskeys:

Bird Dog offers a variety of flavors (and sizes)

Peach, Hot Cinnamon, Maple, Apple, Chocolate, Spiced, Jalapeño Honey and the original Blackberry.

“Bird Dog Whiskey encompasses a huge flavor component,” says Holecz. “This allows us to focus on new whiskey drinkers who are looking for something more flavorful versus a straight whiskey/ bourbon taste. While predominantly consumed as a shooter or on the rocks, it is mixable for a wide variety of cocktails. We have mixologists helping the brand on a consistent basis, which allows the brand to keep the cocktails fresh and innovative.”

Bird Dog Whiskey continues to be a big part of the bourbon boom in America.

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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!

Tuning Up

The Rules of

Attraction

By Chris Ytuarte

Keeping customers engaged with your on-premise entertainment channels gets progressively tougher as more millennials keep their noses in their Smart phones or up at TV sceens, but TouchTunes new Attract TV lets you grab them where they’re looking.

O

ver the last half-century, it’s tough to find any two inventions that have garnered more attention than the television and the smart phone, two screens that grab people’s eyes and refuse to let go. Both are practically omnipresent in today’s society, and bars are not immune to their lure.

Realizing this, TouchTunes, the largest in-venue interactive music and entertainment network in North America, recently announced the launch of Attract T V, a new digital out-of-home activation platform for

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Bar Business Magazine February 2016

advertisers and publishers to connect with millennial consumers in over 60,000 social venues nationwide.

The announcement is the next step the company is taking to create an unprecedented level of interaction between brands and consumers on-premise.

Attract T V is an exciting new TouchTunes service that gives venues a modern, easy-to-use digital messaging platform that also engages customers with music and interactive social content. Attract T V is free to use (there are no monthly subscription fees) and it www.barbizmag.com

works with TouchTunes jukeboxes and the TouchTunes mobile app to enhance the music and social experience in venues.

“We’ve been experimenting with T V products for quite some time, and the goal of creating an on-screen and on-T V experience is to be able to extend our entertainment music experience and create more value for our operators and more value for the venues by engaging the patrons and customers in new ways,” says Marc Felsen, Senior Vice President of Corporate and Product Marketing at TouchTunes.

As Felsen describes it, the Attract T V experience is the newest component of TouchTunes’ overall ecosystem for on-premise entertainment, which also consists of digital jukeboxes and the company’s mobile app. Attract T V, he says, is made up of three segment blocks, each of which drives engagement in the venue: Music/Jukebox Promotions show music content such as what’s “Now Playing” on the jukebox, what songs are coming up, new releases, top mobile users and more.

“The T V is able to promote what song is now playing on the jukebox as well as what songs are coming up on the jukebox and what’s popular in that venue, in terms of genres, playlists, etc.,” explains Felsen. “It can all be displayed for users to create a more relevant experience. It makes the music not just about what you’re hearing but about what else is going on with other songs and genres and what’s popular here. It sets the tone for the music experience in the venue.”

Venue Messaging provides a digital messaging platform that allows venues to deliver dynamic, custom messages in their venues on everything from food and drink specials to upcoming events to league announcements and more. “Just like they might write specials or announce a karaoke night on a chalkboard in the bar, they can use Attract T V as their own digital messaging platform to create an unlimited number of messages and schedule them to run whenever they want,” says Felsen.

The messaging component features a library of animated and themed templates and backgrounds that bar owners are able to run text over, creating a rich, dynamic tool ideal for interacting with millennial consumers.

Interactive Content and Social Streaming provide engaging content and allow users to post pictures and messages to the T V screen using Twitter and Instagram. This user-generated content will appear on the Attract T V screen, along with other social media feeds of interest to the venue, such as entertainment, sports and news.

“You go take a picture of your friends, put a comment on it, and then post it to Twitter, being sure to include the hashtag for the particular bar you’re in,” Felsen explains. “And when you use that hashtag it will put the photo into the TV loop and display it up on the screen.

People love to take pictures and post funny texts to the screen and you wind up getting this interaction between people.” www.barbizmag.com

Posts are moderated to ensure content is appropriate and not disparaging to the bar, and posts made to Attract T V also appear on the customer’s own social media feed, be it Twitter or Instagram, in effect greatly extending the bar’s footprint and exposure in that spectrum with no direct effort on their part.

“They’re promoting what’s going on at the bar in real time through their social network,” says Felsen. “It’s not the next night or whenever a bar gets around to aggregating their photos.”

A fourth, less finite segment block in Attract T V encompasses various entertainment components such as trivia, fantasy sports, tickers, and predict-a-play

Attract TV functions with the OS II software found on most current TouchTunes jukeboxes. games. “This other content is meant to keep people engaged and keep them looking up at the screen, because there is always something there,” says Felsen.

In 2015 TouchTunes had a few hundred end-users experiencing Attract T V in beta format, and after formally launching the new platform at the 2016 Amusement Expo Show in Las Vegas (March 16th and 17th), the company aims to have over a thousand installations active by the end of the year. Bringing Attract T V on-premise requires only one piece of hardware—a media player built by TouchTunes—and a compatible jukebox, which includes the OS II software found on most of the current TouchTunes fleet.

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Tuning Up

A grassroots music talent search via TouchTunes jukebox plays is currently underway on-premise.

NEW MUSIC EXPERIENCE TouchTunes is also currently running the second installment of its Breakout Band contest, which will give unsigned artists a chance to win a live audition with an A&R executive at Warner Bros. Records, $3,000, and a national music promotion on TouchTunes. In addition, Warner Bros. recording artists Duran Duran, Dwight Yokam, BB Rixa, and Adam Lambert will lend their expertise to help determine the winner.

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Bar Business Magazine February 2016

Breakout Band puts a modern twist on a “battle of the bands,” reviving the classic live music competition through TouchTunes’ #1 social jukebox mobile app and its network of location-based digital jukeboxes. The contest gives unsigned artists the opportunity to have their music promoted across 60,000 social venues nationwide, as well as opening the door to be heard by a major label.

“Some 300 independent artists and bands are in the program this year, competing for a cash prize of $3,000 and the chance to audition in front of Warner Brothers Records and their A&R person,” says Felsen. “A lot a bands would do anything to have that opportunity. “ The Breakout Band contest is a grassroots “jukebox battle of the bands” program that creates brand enthusiasts in venues across the country. “They want to get as many people as they can to play their music,” says Felsen.”

TouchTunes has seen a million Twitter impressions from bands promoting their entries, plus half a million Instagram impressions and almost 100,000 page views of the bands on the TouchTunes site, “Plus lots of plays at the jukeboxes,” adds Felsen.

For more information, visit www.attractmedia.com , and www.touchtunesbreakoutband.com .

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How To:

Weigh Your Daylife Options

Before Sunset The daylife club is still a relatively new concept, and while it may be profitable in certain environments, take the time to consider your own before jumping into the deep end of the pool party. By Chris Ytuarte

I

t’s a bar owner or operator’s duty to be aware of the trends to which LDA consumers in America are drawn these days. Whether that means more flavored spirits behind your bar, smart-phone-friendly jukebox functionality, or craft beer and booze offerings a plenty, it’s your job to know what the people want; then you can decide if you want to give it to them or not.

But sometimes, personal preference (or indifference) toward a trend isn’t the only deciding factor as to whether it will work in your venue. After all, your general distaste for Cosmopolitans might lead you to ban them from your bar, but that alone is not likely to bury your business. However, if you want to open a Justin Bieber-themed bar when the majority of your customers are leather-clad Harley Davidson enthusiasts, we would advise against doing so, as you may not be able to survive the drop in revenue.

And while Cosmos and Beliebers may not be the hottest trends in the bar business, daylife operations are. So if you’re

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considering expanding your hours to host some sun-seeking revelers during the day, there are a few things to keep in mind. It turns out, daylife might not be for everyone.

SUNNY DAYS IN VEGAS The concept of daylife is relatively new. While many large bars and clubs—particularly those with existing outdoor space—have dabbled in accommodating customers on the occasional weekend afternoon, climate considerations are first and foremost. That’s not to say you need to be based in Arizona or Texas and full of sunshine all year round. In cities like Chicago, where the summer seems to last about a week, people take advantage of the precious little outdoor time they have to huddle in any daylife bar environment they can find. It’s safe to say, however, that places like Miami, San Diego, and Austin have ample opportunity to build daylife scenes thanks to their annual amount of sun and consistent temperatures.

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How To:

With daylife, service standards have to be so high. If someone is going to spend their entire day with you when they may be on a two- or three-day vacation, you have to 'Wow' them start to finish.

Though for now, the conversation about daylife as a working option for bar and club owners pretty much starts and ends in one city: Las Vegas. There are certain criteria that make for a successful daylife endeavor upon which Sin City simply has a stranglehold, things that are unique to Vegas and Vegas only. (The only other city perhaps close is Miami.) But for now, if you’re considering daylife, consider why it works along The Strip in Las Vegas and what that means for you.

“I think you’d have a challenge doing it in other areas because they don’t have the facilities and they don’t have the occupancy,” says Michael Sullivan, Director of Industry Relations for Nightclub & Bar Media Group. “The casinos and hotels are in such a high concentration on the Strip, and these hotel sites are massive. These venues are built specifically for this type of experience. You can fill the venue 20

Bar Business Magazine February 2016

and you can sell the multiple tiers of real estate in a daylife club—your cabanas, your bungalows, your lily pads, your daybeds—and then you have your GA crowd. And I think it’s difficult for other cities to pull this off in order to get a return on investment. It does take place in other cities on a smaller scale. A lot groups down in Miami do it well. They have hotels that can drive traffic similar to Vegas. But the casinos and hotels and the type of customer who comes to Vegas really makes it the ideal place to operate daylife activities.”

According to recent numbers, daytime pool parties in Las Vegas nearly double the revenue of traditional nightclubs. As Sullivan points out, perhaps most unique to Vegas as opposed to other American cities is the population—young LDA consumers who fly in specifically to party, sometimes non-stop, for a few fleeting hours across a long weekend.

They don’t want downtime, and daylife is the ideal antidote.

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Left: Shutterstock/Lena Ivanova, Right: Shutterstock/KieferPix

“When people come to Las Vegas it’s kind of that oldschool thought of ‘I’m going to go hard for two or three days and then rest when I get back home,’ and it seems like they are able to power through and have a full weekend of partying during the day and partying at night,” explains Ryan Jones, Director of Operations at Encore Beach Club, one of the premiere daylife clubs in Las Vegas.

Having completed its sixth season of daylife parties, Encore Beach Club became the first entry into the daylife game for the Wynn Las Vegas back in 2010. Again, for those considering a daylife operation, here are some numbers pertaining to Encore Beach Club worth considering: A 60,000-square-foot pool deck, three tiered pools, 26 luxurious cabanas, eight two-story bungalows (each with its own hot tub), and an outdoor staging platform that has hosted DJ talent like Kaskade, David Guetta, Steve Aoki and others. The daylife game is not one to take lightly.

“Our talent is the first thing that someone from 30,000 feet looking in would see,” says Jones. “They look at our lineup and they see we have these amazing artists coming in; and it’s not just on Memorial Day or Labor Day, but on a random Friday in the summer we might have someone like David Guetta or Kaskade or any of those big guys. So I think from an outside perspective looking in, that is something that helps us stand out from the crowd.

“The other part is the hotel we’re attached to. You can’t beat that. It’s something we’re very proud of. The fact that we are attached to the Wynn and Encore names is something that we hold in high regard and something we’re very proud of.”

Hotel guests do, of course, provide an instant supply of potential clientele for daylife venues. But cannibalizing business from the host hotel’s other nighttime venues is something to avoid. “We have great clubs at the Wynn at night and we don’t want to take business away from them,” says Jones. “But one thing we’ve noticed about our guests is that they’re very loyal to the Wynn. A lot of our guests come and stay at the Wynn and they eat at the Wynn and they party at the Wynn — day or night.”

A DAY IN THE LIFE Day-to-day operations for daylife venues vary greatly from standard nightclub practices as well. There are aspects of running a venue in the middle of the afternoon of which even the most experienced nightlife manager may not be aware.

“Nightlife is a table here, a table over there,” says Sullivan. “With daylife you have cabanas, bungalows with showers and bathrooms, lily pads that sit on the water where people can congregate with friends in the pool, couches, lockboxes for personal items, food service, etc. There are a lot of different components and amenities, and the service is different. There is so much more available to you, like towels and food and bathroom attendants with sunscreen or deodorants. There are many aspects, as opposed to nighttime when a person is basically just going to the bar for drinks.”

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“When people come to a beach club, they stay,” adds Jones.

“If you were to look at our click-ins and click-outs, it’s very small. People come there on a given day and stay. At a nightclub people might go in and out and hit three or four different places in a night. With daylife, people come, they post up and get a table or get whatever they can and they stay the entire duration of the day until you shut the doors.

And that’s another reason why our service standards have to be so high. If someone is going to spend their entire day with you when they may be on a two- or three-day vacation, you have to ‘Wow’ them start to finish. You have to keep it going, because you don’t want to leave them with a sour taste in their mouth. The service standard has to be that much higher in daylife.”

Safety concerns for daylife venues are unique as well.

“During the daytime we’re obviously talking about pools, so we’re looking at non-slip flooring being put down so people don’t’ fall,” says Sullivan. “People are drinking and walking around wet, so you have to be very careful.”

If you are considering undertaking a daylife schedule, one of the advantages you might have is being the only venue in town doing so. But as Jones points out, the plethora of daylife options in Sin City is one of the things that keeps a place like Encore Beach Club on its toes every year.

“The other thing that makes Vegas so unique to other markets, and it may sound weird as to why we’re successful at daylife, but it’s the competition,” Jones says. “It’s the fact

Dusk follows the daylife. that somebody can come into town for three or four days and literally go to a different nightclub or dayclub everyday and not go to the same place twice, and they have this unique experience of coming to Las Vegas. Whereas in smaller markets there might be a couple of places to go but there is always one shining star that is so much better than the others. I think what Vegas has is healthy competition amongst great venues in all the properties here on the Strip.”

In the end, before the sun goes down, sometimes daylife comes down to the simple matter of exposure. “It’s broad daylight,” says Jones. “You’re not under dark lights where you can get away with things.”

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How To:

rons t a P t c e t o r P with POS

By Chris Ytuarte

Safe, Secure and Learning More The upswing in credit card breeches nationwide in 2015 led POS companies to address new security technology while still developing functionality upgrades as the future of on-premise payment continues to evolve.

Shutterstock/ fotografos

I

t was in interesting year in the world of payment processing, and specifically for POS companies that enable processing in bars and restaurants. Obviously, the two are inextricably tied together, and as we saw in 2015, what happens in one realm affects the other.

On-premise, the POS industry has continued its march toward near mandatory status for bar owners

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aiming to operate in the most efficient and profitable manner possible. A major aspect of that has been the technology’s widening scope of functionality, moving the POS system further away from a fancy cash register to now acting as an all-encompassing collector of vital consumer information and data. Last year’s unfortunate run of credit card hacks, however, slowed that progress, if only just for a minute.

“POS technology is not going anywhere, it’s just becoming a bigger part of our lives,” says Jared Isaacman, CEO of Harbortouch® POS Systems.

“We had a slight break from that in the fourth quarter [of 2015], where the whole industry had to react to the media panic associated with the breeches and EMV technology. So we all put our terminal hats back on for a while to quell that concern, but we’re February 2016 Bar Business Magazine

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How To: Isaacman suggests. However, things have ramped back up, and new ideas for on-premise payment solutions (as well as data collection and usage) remain a priority, inclusive of EMV as a safety measure.

“One thing to remember is this migration really isn’t about a single device or technology, it’s about establishing a technological platform for the next generation of payments,” MasterCard’s Carolyn Balfany told

Those types of mobile payment options, such as Apple Pay and Google Wallet, will likely play a role in the future of POS. Eric Elwell, CEO of 2TouchPOS, says his company hopes to announce the integration of such platforms in the very near future. He also recognizes that security breeches in 2015, while driving better safety initiatives, will ultimately not slow down the evolution of on-premise payment.

“I think, at the end of the day,

For the POS industry, the challenge of 2015 was to address security concerns while engaging new techhnology at the same time, such as mobile payment, data capture, and EMV cards. .

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Bar Business Magazine February 2016

The Wall Street Journal. “So the EMV standard that we are moving toward isn’t limited to chip and PIN cards, it also includes things like contactless payments, where you can tap the card against the reader, all with the same level of security.”

mobile payment technology will probably be a decisive factor,” says Elwell. “Right now, with the new EMV chips coming out, everybody is kind of confused about how to pay, and Visa and MasterCard are going to keep pushing this; it’s not a topic that is going

Harbortouch POS technology can be installed with no up-front cost to bar owners.

Shutterstock/Tashatuvango

now completely back into things.”

The EMV acronym that Isaacman alludes to stands for Europay, MasterCard and Visa, and essentially boils down to the major credit card companies issuing new cards with embedded computer chips for authenticating transactions and improving payment security. For many merchants around the world, this changeover involved installing new hardware and processing systems; by some accounts, an estimated 12 million POS terminals worldwide will require upgrading to accept EMV cards.

“The media started putting a lot of things out there to consumers, saying, ‘If you don’t have a chip on your credit card there is going to be all sorts of fraud,’” explains Isaacman. “The phones just blew up with people saying, ‘I have to have these chip readers.’ So basically the whole industry had to take a break from whatever it was we were working on strategically and just start shipping out tens of thousands of credit card terminals.”

As the POS industry reacted—quite necessarily and effectively—to the introduction of EMV cards, there was a momentary pause on innovation, as

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away. There is too much of a threat to the economy to let people keep stealing our credit card info, so it’s not going away. Payments have to change, and everybody has a mobile device, so as a result, the folks who can make the payment experience go smoothly will probably be the most relevant.”

In 2016, 2TouchPOS will continue to offer customers Posiflex and POS-X hardware, while the company’s software improvements continue with its latest DataKey API initiative, providing customers with real-time access to their POS data on any device, from anywhere.

“This was a huge enablement for a lot of our multi-site guys because now they’re able to easily get data out of their POS system and into their accounting system, inventory system, or sales dashboard,” explains Elwell.

“It also opened up an app marketplace around it. With one app, when you card somebody at the door, it will tell you how much they spend, how often they come, and how much they tip as a percentage. You’ll know, as someone is coming in the door, what kind of customer they are and how you can best serve them. It’s a huge enablement with regards to data.”

As Elwell points out, the forward progress in POS technology has been two-pronged: payment processing and data capture. “The value of capturing all that data is basically to make improvement efforts,” he says. “If it takes you too long to learn about how you’re doing and how you’re performing, you can’t make good solid improvement efforts.” And now that the EMV chips and security questions have been addressed, improvement efforts can continue.

“We’re seeing a lot more requests for custom development of POS software,” says Isaacman. “And we’re not just talking big chain stores, but two or three restaurants asking if we can tweak this or tweak that. Four years ago they would’ve just accepted their system it as is, but with more solutions out there and everybody

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recognizing that POS isn’t going away, they have more options and they can ask for more. And we’re certainly responding to that, and that’s what we’re preparing for more of in 2016.”

Last year, Harbortouch conducted a hard refresh on its flagship POS system, migrating from Elite I to Elite II. The

company continues to focus on “the mass rollout of POS in an affordable way,” Isaacman says, as its free POS program—which provides merchants a full POS package including hardware, software, installation, training and 24/7 support, all with no up-front costs— draws new customers amongst bar

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February 2016 Bar Business Magazine

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How To: owners who are always aware of expenditures and a quick ROI. “We’re all working on different kinds of cool, whiz-bang technology, and a lot of it has to do with mobile loyalty and driving customers into businesses,” says Isaacman. “But fundamentally, you can’t take

advantage of that as a merchant if you’re still just using a cash register and a terminal. There are more than a million of those merchants out there we can serve, so we have to continue to develop affordable POS solutions that we can deploy en masse.”

And while mobile payment, per say,

is not a major focal point for Harbortouch, both Isaacman and Elwell recognize the role mobile loyalty programs will play in the future of POS, as well as the future of the nightlife industry.

“What we know about consumers and customers and their shopping habits and the data associated with that, and how we can empower our merchants with that information so they can bring customers back in with some regularity—that is the focus,” Isaacman says.

Elwell, whose company is pushing for better consumer information collection via POS with its DataKey program, agrees that knowledge is king on-premise. “Obviously POS is about placing orders and sending things into the kitchen, and it’s a way for the servers and the kitchen to communicate about what the customers need and it’s part of the

"POS is not going anywhere. It's just becoming a bigger part of our lives." fulfillment process—but ultimately it’s a sales device,” says Elwell. “It’s used to control the sales process. And when you use it well you can learn what’s working properly and what’s not, and that enables you to focus on your most important metric, which is your guest check average. Everyone should be paying attention to that and to how they can grow it. And without data, you don’t know if you’re growing it or if it’s getting smaller.”

The EMV chip has arrived and POS companies have addressed the situation. Things are safer and more secure. Now it’s time to find out more about your customers. That’s the power of POS.

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Bar Business Magazine February 2016

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How To:

Use Floral Cocktail Ingredients

Playing the Field

Floral elements and liqueurs bring a bouquet of possibilities to your spring and summer cocktail menus. By Elyse Glickman

S

pring has sprung, and summer is not far behind in most U.S. markets. And what represents the arrival of warmer months? Flowers! They symbolize renewal, growth and vitality, and that notion is definitely not lost on bartenders who have integrated the colorful blooms into cocktails.

“Flowers such as hibiscus, thyme, basil, or elderflower are all popular ingredients in today's modern cocktail scene,” says Alex Shea, food and beverage manager of San Francisco’s La Mar. “Each flower imparts unique flavors and when infused with neutral spirits, such as vodka, can really shine. Many of these flowers are readily available year-round and can be found at just about any market. As far as specific liquors are considered, St-Germain Elderflower Liqueur and other floral gins and cordials like chartreuse (numerous floral notes) are very big in the craft cocktail scene.”

Indeed, as Shea noted, major spirits purveyors have successfully introduced wider audiences to rose-infused liquors and hibiscus. St-Germain is among those emergent

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bar staples leading the charge in the artisan cocktail world.

But make one misstep, and your creation can taste more like perfume or bubble bath than a refreshing tonic for a warm, sunny day. There is a right way and wrong way to “say it with flowers.”

John Jordan, mixologist at The Churchill in downtown Los Angeles points to the rise in “arm-to-table culinary trends. “Organic, fresh ingredients in food created a natural segue to the beverage sides of things,” he says. “Adding flowers and herbs delivers a pleasing freshness on the palate, while also complementing food items.”

Anna McElroy of the Capa Bar at the Four Seasons Resort Orlando suggests using flowers as one would use herbs in drinks. While they are delicate enough to use as an accent, such as a tincture or garnish, they can also can be robust enough to use in a syrup or infusion.

“Look at the flower that you want to use, smell, taste and feel it to judge how to incorporate it most effectively into the cocktail you are making,” says McElroy.

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How To: RECIPES Every Garden

By Ted Kilgore 1½ oz El Mayor Reposado Tequila 1 oz Chamomile Cucumber Liqueur (recipe available upon request) ¾ oz fresh lemon juice 1. Add all to shaker and shake hard 2. Strain into cocktail glass or highball with fresh ice 3. Garnish with chamomile flowers

La Casa Libre From Libre, Las Vegas, NV 2 oz Espolon Blanco Tequila 1 oz fresh lime juice 1 oz agave nectar 1 cup ice 1. Add all ingredients into blender, and blend for 20-30 seconds 2. Glass: Margarita Coupe 3. Garnish: Lime wheel, Hibiscus sugar ice skull, edible flowers

Apple of My Eye From Clique, Las Vegas, NV 1½ oz Daron fine calvados ½ oz spiced pear liqueur 1 oz unfiltered apple juice ½ oz fresh lemon juice ½ oz clover honey syrup 1. Add all ingredients into mixing tin 2. Add ice and shake vigorously 3. Double strain with tea strainer, into glass 4. Garnish: Skewered apple slices

Yorkville Affair

By Egon Bonato, Four Seasons Hotel, Toronto 2 oz Rose Infused Tanqueray Gin ½ oz St-Germain 1 oz white cranberry juice 1. Combine all ingredients, shake and strain 2. Pour into a coupe glass with an ice ball and rose petal

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Yorkville Affair To Make A Garden Grow McElroy’s comments are sound advice, as there is some trial and error involved.

“Just like all ingredients, florals need to be understood and used correctly so as to balance well with the rest of the cocktail,” says Charlotte Voisey, Director of Brand Advocacy for William Grant & Sons USA and Portfolio Mixologist, who adds that spring is a great season to cultivate floral cocktails.

“Stick to well-made floral liqueurs like St-Germain, and don’t go overboard on the floral components. Instead complement with fresh citrus notes. Finishing a drink with a spritzed lemon peel often does the trick. Using floral teas is another great angle. These ingredients stay away from the sugar loaded mixers.”

Voisey also says it is worth understanding which types of flavors can produce “floral style” cocktails. She cites an updated Neroli cocktail made with Solerno Blood Orange Liqueur, named from the essential oil extracted from the floral blooms of the bitter orange tree. She also takes cues from Hendrick's Gin, which has four floral botanicals (rose, elderflower, chamomile and yarrow flower) in its aroma and flavor profiles.

Jordan, meanwhile, stresses that floral components often do not balance out a drink in the ways sweeteners and acids do. Instead, florals add an element that the palate picks up on and creates a distinct change in flavor, like adding rosemary to a French 75, which does not change the already balanced proportions of that French 75, but adds an interesting flavor profile. “Think of florals as the cherry on top of a sundae,” he says, “a subtle nuance that accentuates the flavors that are present, but doesn’t make the vanilla ice cream chocolate.”

Jason Percival, beverage manager at Post 390 in Boston, also stresses that in most cases, a little floral goes a long way.

“Ask for an Aviation at three different bars, and you’re likely to have three very different cocktails,” observes Percival.

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“If you’re not careful, the flavor can quickly dominate anything else in there and make you feel like you’ve just sprayed Chanel® N˚5 down your throat. Just the right amount gives it that something extra and different that’s not immediately identifiable. After you’ve found the right balance, leave it alone. I’ve tried to compound the floral aromatics by adding something else too similar, like floral bitters or sweetening with a syrup made from flowers, and it’s often too much. It needs to be subtle.”

Percival notes that dried flowers are very versatile, as they can be brewed into “teas,” used in shrubs, and infused into spirits. While he likes such familiar things as lavender, hibiscus, rose hips, chamomile, jasmine and violets, he gives a shout-out to nasturtiums. They area easy to grow and have flowers with a radish-like bite providing a nice counterpoint to sweetness in beverages.

Mixologist Leanne Strickler of Blue Plate Catering in Chicago agrees. “Ingredients like St-Germain, Creme de Violette, and Creme Yvette can add to the depth and complexity of a cocktail, but need to be used with a light hand,” she says. “Too much can seriously throw off the balance of a cocktail and make it overly perfume-like.”

“The goal is to have the flavors be clean and uncomplicated so I can move them into a variety of uses for drink and food recipes, sweet or savory,” says Beth Nielsen of Nielsen-Massey vanilla extracts and flavors, which includes Rose Water and Orange-Blossom. “Many mixologists will use a spray bottle to distribute the floral essence, such as the orange blossom or rose. Drinkers can smell the cocktail, but it won’t be overpowering, and will keep the flavors balanced.”

Jordan, meanwhile, suggests bartenders can avoid a perfume-y or soapy taste by handling the flowers correctly.

Slapping flowers, as one would basil, secretes their natural oils in a much more pleasing way than muddling or bruising them, which tends to bring out bitter/pungent elements.

Passion Tropical

By Alex Shea, La Mar, San Francisco, CA 1½ oz Ketel One Citroen ½ oz Aperol 1 oz lemon juice 1 oz guava puree ¾ oz papaya puree ¼ oz agave nectar Garnished with a seasonal flower (edible orchid, pansy, or marigold depending on the season)

Rose Martini

By Charlotte Voisey 2 oz Hendrick’s Gin ½ oz Rose Vermouth 1 light spray of rose water 1. Combine Hendrick’s and vermouth in a mixing glass and stir well 2. Prepare a chilled martini glass with a light spritz of rose water 3. Strain cocktail into glass 4. Finish with a spritzed lemon twist

Neroli

By Charlotte Voisey 1½ oz Solerno Blood Orange Liqueur ½ oz Aperol 1 oz blood orange juice (or regular orange juice) 1¾ oz Prosecco 1. Build ingredients over ice and stir gently 2. Garnish with a wedge of blood orange

Porcelain Dragon

By Pablo Chavez The Spare Room, Los Angeles, CA

Porcelain Dragon

Ingredients: 1.25 oz La Niña Primario Mezcal 1 oz Dry Sack Sherry .75 oz Spiced Hibiscus Cordial .5 oz Lime 2 basil leaves Method: 1. Add all ingredients to shaker tin / Muddle / Add a few pellets crushed ice / Whip shake / Strain 2. Glass: Collins with crushed ice 3. Garnish: 3 Jicama half moons & grated cinnamon

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How To:

Every Garden Seeds of Inspiration Once one masters the use of very specific flavor profiles and treatments of the flowers, there’s no limit to the ways a bartender can cultivate new recipes.

Noted veteran bartender Ted Kilgore, based in St. Louis, has done just that with botanicals customers know and love.

Kilgore pairs Cucumber Chamomile Liqueur, combining the sweet, herbal notes of chamomile flowers with the cool, refreshing notes of cucumber, with spirits that have honeyed nuances, such as scotch, gin, and bourbon. Hibiscus flowers give him a citrusy, tart, berry-like flavor that pairs well with tequila, rum and gin. Lavender pairs well with gin by adding another layer of botanical to a cocktail.

Brandon Wise, Beverage Director for Philadelphia’s Sage Restaurant Group, notes that if you’re experienced with the use of flowers in cocktails, it is a good idea to keep fresh flowers and herbs around when making cocktails. “Rose petals, nasturtium, blossoms from a basil plant, borage, or arugula, hyssop, and marigolds can add color, flavor, and texture to cocktails in a variety of forms,” Wise says.

Ori Geshury, Director of Education, Aqua Vitae Institute in Philadelphia, explains there are many ways to create dramatic presentations with floral elements without making them too pretty to drink.

“Long gone are the days where the only blue you can get is from using Creme de Violette,” says Geshury. “Instead, bars can buy Butterfly Pea Flower and add it any clear spirit.

However, be careful, as adding any acid will turn the color instantly and you might have a vibrant red color if you add too much. Sorel is a beautiful liqueur that since 2014 has been taking many bars by storm. It's based on the Jamaican drink sorrel, made from the hibiscus flower mixed with rum, spices, sugar, and other delicious ingredients.”

Michael Gatlin, Bar Manager at Portland, Maine's Evo Kitchen + Bar, meanwhile, likes to use seasonal flowers to 32

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garnish drinks, unusual edible flowers not commonly found in other cocktails. “I use Borage in the summer and have been known to use broccoli flowers in the fall and winter to give my cocktails a more vegetal nose and taste,” he says.

“I recently worked with making a French lavender syrup,” says Emily Torres, also of The Churchill in L.A. “It's comes out a beautiful purple color, very floral and sweet. It’s great for a summertime French lavender lemonade cocktail or purple floral martini paired with lavender gin.”

Mike Monreal of Clique in Las Vegas is enjoying working herbs in their floral stage of development, including the blossoms of dill, lavender, Thai Basil flowering Rosemary, borage and coriander. He’s observed that the flower liqueurs that are being rediscovered include Bertina Elderflower Liqueur, Crème Yvette Liqueur, Chamomile Liqueur, Parfait d’ Amour Liqueur, and Crème de Rose Liqueur.

Other bartenders are taking advantage of craft liqueurs and new products to give them the edge. In addition to Nielsen-Massey extracts, Greenbar Craft Distillery in Los Angeles is adding interesting options for the bartender.

“At Maia, we made a conscious decision to incorporate many fresh, organic, botanical ingredients into the cocktail menu to complement our lively take on California cuisine,” says Topher Taylor, a bartender for the Los Angeles restaurant. “Naturally we turned towards a local purveyor of spirits. We like their Grand Poppy Liqueur, a unique take on a European style aperitif highlighted by the inclusion Golden Poppy, the state flower of California.”

Taylor is also a fan of Greenbar's Fruitlab Hibiscus Liqueur, as well as indigenous Southern California ingredients, Lemonade Berry, the Hoary California Fuchsia and the Desert Mallow.

With a bit of care and experimentation, you can grow a seasonal cocktail menu that bursts not only with color, but with flavor, innovation and discovery for your customers.

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By Chris Ytuarte

Best of Both Worlds In Miami, the recently opened Craft Social Club pioneers a new approach to combining dual nightlife worlds by seamlessly blending the quality of a craft cocktail beverage program with the swagger of a VIP-style table service club.

E

ssentially, the age of modern mixology we know today — craft cocktails concocted with great care, fresh ingredients, and attention to detail — came about in response to the not-sodistant past of quantity-over-quality seen in most high-volume bars and nightclubs of the 80s and 90s.

After all, in a venue filled to capacity with consumers looking to dance and socialize above all else, the faster the drinks came out, the more money came in. It made good business sense.

There are some who might argue that we have gone too far in the opposite direction. The overall notion of “mixology” — drink recipes with nine different bespoke ingredients, and seven-minute wait-times for each individual cocktail to be carefully created —

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means we’re now at the other end of the spectrum when it comes to quality versus quantity.

“When I focus-group and play with the word ‘mixology,’ I now get a negative reaction to the term,” Jon Taffer, host of Spike TV’s hit show Bar Rescue, recently told Bar Business Magazine. “And I don’t get ‘mixology.’ If it’s going to take you three-times longer to make the drink, don’t you have to charge three-times the price, as an operator? Or you’re making less money.”

Between the high-energy nightclub environment that focuses more on the vibe than the drinks and the low-key speakeasy that slowly crafts immaculate cocktails, there must be a middle ground where both can play effectively. In Miami this winter, we may just find the best of both worlds. www.barbizmag.com

BEYOND BOTTLE SERVICE Having recently opened to the public, Craft Social Club in Miami Beach is braving a new nightlife frontier, anticipating that the audiences for a high-end table service experience are no longer drastically different from those seeking top-flight craft cocktails. This new venue has combined the two concepts in a way that, it’s hoped, will bridge the gap between two worlds.

“We were sitting around one night at a nightclub, and you watch these big clients spend a lot of money to pay a premium for bottle service real estate and then they’re getting vodka-sodas and vodka-cranberries,” explains L.P. Steele, co-owner of Craft Social Club.

“Meanwhile, right in front of us is this second ‘Golden Age’ of cocktails, and we thought: ‘If you’re paying this much of a premium for the table, why are you having to sacrifice a good cocktail?’”

Hence, the philosophy behind Craft Social Club (CSC), derived from the pre-Prohibition era — the aforementioned ‘Golden Age’ of cocktails — is based around personalization and a particular craftsmanship being put forth into the hospitality as well as the drinks. As it was back than, each guest at CSC is treated like a VIP, bartenders create timeless cocktail recipes using only fresh ingredients, and there is an overall passion for cocktailing.

What sets CSC apart, however, is the inclusion of a Craft Bottle Service Program and exclusive Cocktail Suites, elevating traditional bottle service up to the level of the craft cocktail experience people know today.

“This is a concept we developed over the course of a year, and now we’re just looking around and wondering why no one has done it yet,” says Steele. “We saw an opportunity to be pioneers, trying to merge these two industries of craft cocktails and nightlife.”

CSC prides itself on being a “cocktail club” rather than a nightclub, redefining the way people socialize in an intimate nightlife setting while showcasing the craft of cocktailing, all set to the tune of eclectic beats grounded in classic hip-hop, soul and R&B. “One thing we saw throughout the years in nightlife was that everyone expands on certain segments — DJs got bigger, lights got bigger, sound systems got bigger — but one thing that has never changed is the product, what you’re actually drinking,” says CSC co-owner R.T. Murphy. “So we wanted to capitalize and be the first pioneers in upgrading what you’re actually drinking in that kind of big nightlife environment. Since we saw everything else grow, it didn’t really make sense to us that the drinking experience didn’t keep pace.”

custom built-in service bars and can accommodate five, eight, or fifteen people.

“The Cocktail Suites are not just places that allow us to physically produce craft cocktails at your table, they’re a place for you to feel like you’re at home, and you sit there and you entertain your guests as you see fit,” says Steele. “All the craft mixers that get brought out to your suite are labeled and pre-batched so that you, as a novice cocktailer or consumer who makes a nice Old Fashioned at home or a nice G&T at parties, can feel comfortable making cocktails for your guests.

We’ve simplified it with our batching process. So you can sit around and host your guests and bring that personalized cocktail experience to a nightclub.”

We really tried to go 50/50 — fifty percent craft, fifty percent nightlife — in making sure you’re getting the full experience.

CSC’s Cocktail Suites allow for intimate, tableside cocktail experiences unlike anything seen before, and with good timing. Personal in-home mixologists are trending these days, and reports of affluent Americans building elaborate home bars (and even full nightclubs, as the Wall Street Journal noted last month) are on the rise as the craft cocktail experience becomes more in-demand.

Outside the Cocktail Suites, the Craft Bottle Service selection at CSC includes various top shelf brands of vodka, scotch, rum, whiskey, gin, tequila and champagne starting at $350 per package. The difference between the table service here and elsewhere lies not only with the pre-batched craft mixers, but also with a more inclusive experience that adds to the overall notion of focusing on the drinks over the scene.

SUITES AND SERVICE Key to the concept at CSC is the unique Craft Bottle Service Program and the Cocktail Suites. Each bottle purchased at one of the venue’s five tables is accompanied by house-crafted mixers, artisanal sodas, and garnish presentation. With a reservation, cocktails can also be prepared tableside in one of CSC’s three revolutionary Cocktail Suites, which feature www.barbizmag.com

February 2016 Bar Business Magazine

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We have a set-up where our tables blend into our bar seats, and that was done on purpose because we wanted to take the pretentiousness out of bottle service. Once you get inside, It feels like home no matter where you are.

“When you walk in to CSC you see the same highlights you would at a nightclub,” says Murphy. “We have our DJ booth and lights, but we don’t have moving heads and we don’t do LED walls, because we don’t want the focus there. We want the focus on the craft. We’re all about music and we’re all about cocktails. And once you get to your table, you start seeing the difference.

You see the built-in bar; you notice the table you’re being served on is a much higher grade than you’d ever find in a nightclub; you see where an LED wall would normally be we have a moss wall; and the ceiling where you’d typically see track lighting is greenery falling from the ceiling. We really tried to go 50/50 — fifty percent craft, fifty percent nightlife — in making 36

Bar Business Magazine February 2016

sure you’re getting the full experience. And once the mixers and the bottle comes out you really start to notice the difference.”

A BETTER BATCH The high-end scene is set, but can service keep up?

After all, it was the high-volume venues of old that forced cocktail quality to the backburner at one point.

Steele and Murphy, however, have implemented their “Minute Mixology” method, based on a batching process where large quantities of each cocktail are prepared daily in the open-aired cocktail kitchen on-site. Each batch contains specific ratios of the necessary ingredients per drink recipe and is then www.barbizmag.com

prepped and combined into a premium pouring vessel. Once a drink is ordered, bartenders are able to quickly add the spirit and garnish, drastically reducing service and wait time. CSC also features ready-to-serve cocktails “on tap” and “on-gun” which are batched inclusive of spirit for the fastest craft cocktail imaginable.

“What we’ve done through the prep and batching process is have our professional mixologists spend hours a day in our kitchen prepping for the night service,” says Steele. “So we can have a traditional server at your table, but we’ve evolved the cocktail nightclub server to give them the tools they need to learn how to make proper cocktails. They are more advanced and more trained than your average cocktail server, but at the same time we’ve let the pros and the experts take all the guessing out of it. So when you get to the table, the set-up looks very familiar to a normal bottle service set-up, except that it’s craft batched mixers in front of you instead of soda water or cranberry juice.”

The cocktail menu created by Beverage Director Evan Hawkins features an eclectic array of specialty drinks with names inspired by 90s pop culture and classic hip-hop, such as N.W.A. (Negroni With Attitude), Weekend at Bernie’s, the ODB and Goonies Never Say Die. The menu also offers “community cocktails” in large batches meant for sharing, such as The World is Yours made with Don Julio 1942, strawberry-infused Mandarin Napoleon, lemon peach tea and Velvet Falernum. The full menu is available in the Suites, at tables, and at the bar, which is open to all customers.

“We have a set-up where our tables blend into our bar seats, and that’s done on purpose because we wanted to take the pretentiousness out of bottle service,” explains Steele. “Once you get inside CSC, it’s supposed to feel like home no matter where you are.

We didn’t separate the VIP tables because we want them to be inclusive of the entire space, so people can mingle and interact and socialize with each other regardless of whether they’re in a suite or at the bar.”

The 3,500-square-foot indoor/outdoor space is industrial-chic, outfitted with a sleek gray brick backdrop. White subway tile embellishes the L-shaped bar while contrasting cobalt blue and navy leather banquettes line the walls. The ceiling is adorned with greenery and foliage, softening up the edgy industrial vibe. The open-aired style cocktail kitchen and “batching island” sets the stage for creative cocktail making, reminding patrons of the very reason they came to CSC in the first place.

“I think we’ve compromised on a lot, but this has been the vision from day one,” says Murphy. “It was all based on the premise of making sure we stayed extremely middle-grounded and being really good at what we do and not extending too far in one direction, to stay down the middle and make sure we’re perfecting our craft.” www.barbizmag.com

A CSC nod to mixology on film.

COCKTAIL APP EXPANDS

H

OOCH, a members-only cocktail app based in NYC, announced their first step into national expansion with their upcoming launch in Los Angeles. The app became available to imbibers on the west coast in January 2016 and additional cities including, Miami and San Francisco, will debut in early 2016.

The brainchild of nightlife veteran Aleksey Kernes (Hotel Chantelle), tech industry expert Lin Dai (Keek, Emmis NY and Alloy Media + Marketing), and digital marketing entrepreneur Jared Christopherson (Yellow Hammer Ad Agency), HOOCH is the first “Private Cocktail Society” subscription app that buys a round of drinks each day at some of the top cocktail bars, elite lounges and premiere restaurants in New York City and now Los Angeles.

Once invited, members pay $9.99/month (less than the price of one cocktail) or $99/per year. In return, they can show the app to their bartender to redeem one cocktail per day at any of the participating venues.

“HOOCH is the new way to enjoy premium cocktails and explore great venues for the savvy in-the-know crowd,” said HOOCH CEO Lin Dai. “It’s such a hit amongst the cool set in New York already, we can’t wait to introduce HOOCH to the fabulous trendsetters of Los Angeles!”

The HOOCH app is available for free download in the Apple App Store and on Google Play.

February 2016 Bar Business Magazine

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Revolution on the rocks Canadian cocktails are shaking things up thanks to ambitious beverage programs popping up all over Halifax, Nova Scotia.

By Michelle Pressé

T

he smell of hot poutine wafts down Argyle, snaking its way past more than a dozen bars that call this part of Halifax, Nova Scotia home. The street is impossible to miss — even without seeing the sign, the argyle print (the same kind found on preppy sweaters) painted on the asphalt is the yellow brick road to a good time in Halifax.

This past summer, Lot Six Bar & Restaurant became the newest member of the Argyle drinking family. Sandwiched between the Carleton Music Bar & Grill and the

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Foggy Goggle, friends, dates, spouses and business partners pass through Lot Six’s door. Above it hangs an olive branch; a traditional Northeastern Italian symbol for serving quality food and drinks.

Inside Lot Six, Michael Bublé’s Sinatra-flavored voice wraps around the libraries of liquor and marble countertops. At four o’clock in the afternoon, the doors have unlocked. Within minutes, two middle-aged women sit at the bar, sipping candy colored cocktails while chatting happily with a

bartender. Besides them, the head bartender is the only other person there. He keeps to himself, focusing more on the book in his hands than the conversation happening in front of him.

Plaid shirt rolled up to his elbows, he looks ready to jump behind the bar even though he’s not on the clock. This December marks his third anniversary as a bartender, but the Cole Harbour native has already taken the Halifax bar scene by storm. Anyone who’s anyone in the industry knows who he is — Shane, The Bartender. www.barbizmag.com

IT STARTS WITH BARTENDERS Shane Beehan kicked off his career pouring pints in a Barrington pub as a way to help pay for university.

He read books and followed traditional recipes while experimenting with his own style.

Beehan, 30, eventually moved onto Field Guide on Gottingen, where he met Jeff Van Horne, who now works as Lot Six’s bar manager. The two launched a cocktailing program for professional and hobby bartenders to learn from the Best of Halifax.

For the past two years, Beehan has won the Coast’s Best Bartender award and has competed in bartending competitions in Montréal, Toronto, Chicago, New Orleans and Nicaragua. Van Horne has also made the list for the past three years.

According to Beehan, there was a time bartenders felt they had to leave the city in order to pursue their passion seriously.

Historically, Halifax has always had an abundance of bars, but only recently has the city seen an increase in refined cocktail bars.

Statistics confirm Halifax has more bars per capita than any city in North America. [Halifax has 2.3 drinking establishments per 1,000 people. That compares to 1.5 bars per 1,000 people in Toronto, and 1.2 in Pittsburgh, America’s densest bar city.]

Paul MacKinnon, the executive director of Downtown Halifax Business Commission, says bars contribute both economically and socially to the city. Having a lot of bars helps attract students and tourists and can even help encourage those living in Halifax to stay, while the economic factor contributes to the city’s GDP, which grew 2.6 per cent in 2014. It also allows citizens to go out and drink for a cheaper price than they would if they lived in a larger city such as Toronto. While there are a variety of price points across bars in Halifax, even the most upscale bars offer cocktails at similar prices as some metropolitan pints.

“People don’t understand the quality of bartending and drinks www.barbizmag.com

that come out of here,” says Beehan.

“So whenever we surprise people, that’s what excites me the most. I love being the underdog.”

Beehan isn’t trying to fool anyone. He acknowledges Halifax’s reputation as a port city and university town meant “dirty shots and dirty beer for the longest time.”

While there are still a wide variety of places to get cheap drinks, the options for sophisticated drinks are more available than ever. He says right now is the “beginning of the Golden

Forte’s in the City Many bars in the city are renowned for having their own niche. Having the two best bartenders in the city and the philosophy that food lives to compliment drinks rather than the other way around, Lot Six has become the Ground Zero of Halifax’s cocktailing revolution. One of the bar’s most popular drinks is the House of Bourbon, winner of the Lot Six Staff Cocktail Competition. The 2-oz, $12 cocktail features Evan Williams Bourbon, St. Remy VSOP Brandy, Earl Grey Tea, honey and

Expect exquisite craft cocktails at Temple Bar in Halifax.

Halifax is pretty versatile. You can get cheap pitchers and shots or you can get your $300 bottle of champagne.

Age of Halifax’s cocktail and bartending scene,” and things are constantly progressing. For example, half a decade ago, only a handful of bars carried Angostura bitters. They’re now the heart of an exceptional cocktail, creating unique flavors and bringing balance to drinks. And now, you can find them in bars all over the city.

“Halifax is pretty versatile,” says Beehan. “There are places you can go and get your cheap pitchers and cheap shots. There are also places you can go and get your $300 bottle of Champagne. You get the whole spectrum.”

lemon. It’s the alcoholic version of wearing your little black dress and watching an east coast storm brew outside while enjoying the warmth from an ignited fire or lover.

The Press Gang is known for having an impressive whisky selection, while Stillwell has an impeccable list of craft beers. Niche runs the happy hour crowd, while Oasis and Bubba Ray’s rule the world of cheap pitchers and chicken wings on game night. Go to the south end and you’ll hit campus bars. Go north and you’ll find hipster havens like Gus’ and Menz & Mollyz Bar. Go to the harbor and you’ll hit the water — but not before February 2016 Bar Business Magazine

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Temple Bar Cocktails & Kitchen opened in October 2015.

stumbling into the Lower Deck and singing along with live local bands like Signal Hill and McGinty.

Beehan says the cocktails in Halifax are world class, but at a reasonable rate. For example, cocktails with the same quality of those sold in cities like Montréal and Toronto can be bought for half the price. However, he understands why some Haligonians are still grappling with paying for cocktails that come with double digit price tags, especially during economic hardships and the option to drink cheaply a short bar-hop away. But many locals are beginning to see drinking as a sophisticated practice rather than fuel to take over the Dome’s dance floor.

“Immersing yourself in a city or country’s drinking culture means partaking in a cultural and historic act,” says Beehan. “You’re getting something that’s really unique. A good cocktail is a transcendental experience.”

It can trigger your senses, emotions and nostalgia. While menu curators choose cocktails catered to specific experiences they want patrons to have, it’s often a 40

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list of suggestions rather than a limitation. Asking for a custom made drink based on your preference, mood, the occasion and even the weather is encouraged more often than not.

Custom made drinks is another step closer to improving the city’s bar culture, but Beehan has even bigger dreams. He wants to see the province’s liquor laws align with that’s already accepted worldwide, calling the current laws “Prohibitionesque.” All liquor sold in Nova Scotia is controlled by the provincial government, causing the province to lack in private retailers.

The Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation’s (NSLC) 2014 – 2015 annual report revealed it has revenue of nearly $200 million. It is the sole distributor of alcoholic beverages in the province besides four private wine specialty shops.

“There’s a lot of important alcohol we just don’t have available to us here,” says Beehan.

Something Beehan wants available in Nova Scotia is a larger selection of ingredients for classic cocktails. Many of the liquor laws restrict the way bars and restaurants produce and sell cocktails. One Beehan finds particularly frustrating is not being able to make and sell bitters, which is easy if you have high proof alcohol, ingredients and time.

“The bar culture has grown within these limitations and thrived well,” he says. “It makes us unique, but also stifles us.”

Halifax’s Long Liquor History

When in Halifax, please don’t forget to find yourself some poutine.

Alcohol carved its significance into Halifax’s culture on July 17, 1749 — less than a month after the city was established. The first liquor license in Nova Scotia was www.barbizmag.com

given to John Shippey, who opened the Spread Eagle on the corner of Salter and Water St. Now located on Granville and called the Split Crow, general manager Mark Galic says the traditional Maritime pub is one of the few surviving on Granville. A couple notable competitors, Peddler’s Pub and JJ Rossy’s, closed their doors a few years ago. In 1998, JJ Rossy’s won the Coast’s Best Place to Get Bent award. A boutique salon now occupies the old bar, and the Best Place to Get Bent award has since been retired.

Despite encouraging competition, Galic would like to see more bars open on Granville. He says it would be good for the city; more traffic would flow around the bars, and the city itself would have yet another opportunity to further establish itself as a haven for those with an appreciation for alcohol.

While competing against other businesses is part of keeping their doors open, the rivalry is unique compared to other parts of the country and world. A true Maritimer, Galic says one way the Halifax bar scene is refining itself is due to its friendly competition. “I can’t deny how great some of the bars are here,” says Galic. “We work together.”

Beehan couldn’t agree more, calling Halifax a collaborative city.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a dog eat dog world,” says Beehan. “People want to help each other more than anything.

It’s part of our nature on the east coast. You grow up anywhere in the Maritimes and you’ve grown up in communities where you’re dependent on your neighbor.”

Shutterstock / bonchan

The City’s Newest Cocktail Haven Temple Bar Cocktails & Kitchen opened in October 2015, crowing itself the newest addition to the ever-growing list of drinking establishments in the kingdom of cocktailing. Like Lot Six, it’s helping change Halifax’s game plan for going out. Throughout 25 years of bar experience, co-owner and general manager George Davis says the biggest change he’s seen in Halifax over the years is the www.barbizmag.com

demand for local ingredients and more sophistication.

“More than ever,” says Davis, “people are interested in locally sourced ingredients and hand crafted drinks made with homemade simple syrup rather than your grocery store go-to.”

The cocktail menu at Temple was curated by bar manager Steve Cross, the same man responsible for the drink menus at Chives and 2 Doors Down. The three bars are all operated under Craig Flinn, who has become the puppeteer of Barrington’s food and drink scene.

Bar manager Cross got his start as a security guard and day bartender at Mount Saint Vincent University’s pub. He went on to work for Halifax hot spots like the Palace, Tom’s Little Havana, the Ale House and the Seahorse. Twentytwo years and ten bars later, he’s seen the switchover from “rum and

choosing to sip on cocktails rather than toss back cheap shots for a number of reasons. Like Davis, he says an increase in health conscious patrons and tougher drinking and driving laws have impacted the turnover. But that doesn’t stop anyone from having a good time.

“To this day,” says Cross, “it still shocks me that so many people find the men’s bathroom to be such an erotic place.”

While this hasn’t yet happened at Temple, the space itself is cozy and romantic. Intimate lighting, a 25-foot long bar and thick wooden beams sprawl across the room, filling up with (mostly) mid-20 to early-30-year-olds. Focusing on local craft beers, wine and cocktails, bartenders find themselves making black cherry flips more than anything else. The 2 oz., $12 cocktail is sour with a hint

Immersing yourself in a city or country’s drinking culture means partaking in a cultural and historic act. coke and Keith’s” to “mature, high quality drinks.” While Cross acknowledges there’s still a market for rum and Coke, he says the city is “slowly growing up.”

Cross thinks Haligonians are

of sweet, combining bourbon, homemade cherry syrup, fresh egg whites, lemon juice and Angostura bitters. Temple credits the black cherry flip’s success to the use of fresh, local ingredients and sour February 2016 Bar Business Magazine

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Lot Six Bar & Restaurant is the heart of the Halifax cocktail scene.

More than ever, people are interested in Locally sourced ingredients and hand crafted drinks made with homemade syrup rather than your grocery store go-to. sensation that leaves your mouth tingling after the sweet kicks in.

While good drinks are something to celebrate, good bartenders are a key part in a successful drinking culture. Better bartenders make better drinks, and better drinks better the drinking culture as a whole. In a city that once saw the best bartenders flee when an opportunity struck elsewhere, Beehan’s only future plans of bartending outside Halifax is when he’s representing it in a competition. While the job is both exciting and rewarding, he says it’s incredibly demanding and difficult.

“Most people think of bartending as a sort of rock star lifestyle where you come into work and you make lots of money and have lots of sex, drugs and rock n’ roll.”

The reality is a much different story. It’s not uncommon for Beehan to work 70-hour weeks. During business hours, you can find 42

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Beehan behind the bar. But before the open sign is carried out and hours after last call, he spends time doing tasks that don’t quite fit the job’s stereotype.

“When they see you behind the bar laughing and pouring alcohol, that’s all fun,” says Beehan. “But they don’t see the hours of prep that went in before opening and the two to three hours of cleaning afterwards. You’re on your feet the whole time and not taking breaks.

You’re not going to the bathroom, you’re not going outside, you’re not eating. You’re there to serve the public at all times.”

He says the people who thrive in the industry are the ones with the most passion – and it’s the foundation of the city’s bar culture.

This goes beyond having an appreciation for simple syrup, spice and precision-cut ice. For most, it means working until the sun comes up. For some, it means being

verbally assaulted by customers when they’re cut off from drinking.

“They don’t mind getting their elbows deep in vomit to unclog a sink or toilet,” says Beehan. “That’s what the job is.”

Ultimately, bartending is a simple thing that, in Beehan’s words, “you just have to do really well. It’s like a lot of things — Italian food, for example. It’s simple ingredients. You can make homemade pasta and screw it up.

There’s a fine line between making something a success and a failure.

Cocktails are the exact same.”

On the surface, having cheap drinks might cause other cities to overlook Halifax as a force to be reckoned with in the world of fancy cocktails. However, the more financially available these drinks are to patrons, the more likely they are to invest in them — and so far, Haligonians are raising their glasses and drinking to that. www.barbizmag.com

Big

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san francisco BOSTON CHICAGO LAS VEGAS

MIAMI new york

Sailor’s Delight 44

Bar Business Magazine February 2016

www.barbizmag.com

Inspired by its host city’s coastal history of pirates and seafaring drinkers, Barbarossa is the latest cocktail-driven concept pushing San Francisco into the deep end of American bar scenes. By Chris Ytuarte

Y

ou may want to wait for the swarms of Super Bowl tourists to wash out, but soon thereafter, set sail for San Francisco, where a new swashbuckling sea coast cocktail lounge awaits.

Barbarossa is the new cocktail-driven bar and lounge in the North Beach section of San Francisco, breathing fresh salt air into the historic location at 714 Montgomery Street.

The historic former Bubble Lounge location has morphed into a new cocktail den where a Barbary Coast vibe meets modern luxury.

As one of the oldest buildings in San Francisco, having survived the famous 1906 earthquake, Barbarossa showcases an entirely new concept-one that is full of legend and mystery as the space was used as a jailhouse in the 19th century.

“The Barbarossa Lounge location was originally a schooner called the Georgian before the Bay was landfilled,” explains Arash Ghanadan, co-owner and operator of Barbarossa. “Once landfilled, the building was a holding jail for people waiting to be judged at the courthouse. Then it was a liquor wholesale supplier and it survived the Great Fire, alongside its neighbors, who shared the same trade, thanks to the US Navy hosing the area down to protect its cherished source of liquor.”

Barbarossa is where Barbary Coast atmosphere meets modern luxury, while maintaining relevancy to present San Francisco drinking culture. Along with Ghanadan, the venue is owned and operated by Eric Benn, former Bubble Lounge owner. As with all bars, there are three vital components to Barbarossa’s success — booze, food, and design. Let’s look at all three.

The beverage menu is made complete with Cabrera’s very own signature grog, a drink of historical significance that supports Barbarossa’s Barbary Coast sensibility perfectly.

Grog, you see, was often consumed by pirates and sailors, who mixed three main ingredients: spirit, citrus and water.

The citrus was used to ward off scurvy, while the spirit (typically rum) was used to keep the water from going rancid. Cabrera’s interpretation of this drink showcases her culinary-mindfulness, as she will regularly update the citrus portion to reflect seasonality (November grog: AppleGinger, December grog: Cranberry & Hibiscus, etc.). Each grog can be ordered with the patron’s own spirit of choice, but Cabrera believes “it goes best with whiskey or Bourbon.”

Food is classic saloon fare.

Booze Barbarossa’s beverage program is led by the talented Christina Cabrera, who has also worked at San Francisco venues 15 Romolo and The Progress. She is a fixture in the San Francisco spirits scene and has trained at The Culinary Institute of America. Cabrera has created a seasonally rotating 11-cocktail menu with drinks that are named after famous criminals, madams, dance halls and politicians of times gone by in San Francisco lore. www.barbizmag.com

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san francisco BOSTON CHICAGO LAS VEGAS

MIAMI new york

Design

The Bandit’s Way craft cocktail

Elegant in design, provocative in concept, the entire 6,000 square foot space of Barbarossa underwent a top to bottom redesign and remodel, now featuring many striking and modern features, along with some historic and thoughtprovoking items. The design was executed by architect Jacek Ostoya of Gold Grenade (Whitechapel, Novela, Harlot) who drew on the buildings’ past life as a jailhouse and the neighborhood’s history as a red-light district. Shackles, chains and locks, plus metal soffits hanging from a wall in the main room are all jail references.

“Coming up with a new design was certainly challenging,” Ghanadan explains. “We really had to think our design and layout through to make sure we are taking the space to another level.”

Four complimentary yet slightly different sections make up the establishment: upstairs “Main Room,” and “Bubble Room;” downstairs “Living Room” and the industrial basement “Outlaw Lounge,” are each designed with the juxtaposition of sleek-meets-edge. Some of these features include giant “bird jail” chandeliers, red “vintage” leather sofas, and provenza hardwood floors throughout. Exposed brick from the original 19th century build line each wall.

“Craft cocktails in San Francisco are more common than ever, but not all cocktail bars are created equal. I think Barbarossa Lounge is the next step the city of San Francisco needs.”

In addition to the cocktail menu, Barbarossa will offer a selection of beer (12 on tap) with many being craft/local, plus wine and a selection of Champagne. This is in homage to its former incarnation as Bubble Lounge, as the current owners still have access to one of the most curated Champagne selections in the Bay Area.

“The Bubble Lounge was focused on Champagne and sparkling wines,” Ghanadan points out. “We had 300 different labels, and while we still have over a 100 labels today, we certainly are less focused on Champagne and a lot more on cocktails and beers. Our cocktails are unique and creative in their ingredients and presentation. We have 12 beers on tap that are constantly rotating. And our liquor selection is top-of-the line. Another focus is that this will all be consumed in a new fantastic and friendly environment with excellent service.

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FOOD Consulting Chef Eddie Lau has created a menu that is broken down into four categories that were popular on saloon menus from the turn of century.

“From the start, we knew that we didn’t want to be a restaurant, however, we wanted to create a perfect destination lounge for people that can join us for happy hour and drinks but still be able to get some food if they are hungry,” says Ghanadan. “Food wasn’t our main focus but running a solid food program that compliments our creative beverage program was a requirement, specially with so many famous restaurants in our neighborhood.

“Craft cocktails in San Francisco are more common than ever, but not all cocktail bars are equal. I think Barbarossa Lounge is the next step the city of San Francisco needs.” www.barbizmag.com

Bar news on the go?

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Inventory BarLinQ Inventory Control System Can Help Maximize Profits BarLinQ is the inventory control system the industry has been waiting for. BarLinQ’s Smart Scales collect data in real time to create the most valuable and actionable reports in the industry. Never again eyeball your stock, BarLinQ keeps track of what’s in the bottles and will even create a P.O. when it’s time to order more. Break out Pour Cost by the bar, shift, or even the bartender. See the true cost of buybacks and heavy pours. More importantly, see exactly when they occurred. Want to keep 1 week’s stock on hand? 3 Weeks? Just tell BarLinQ once and it will let you know when to order. Want to keep track of what’s moving faster and what’s wasted shelf space, just ask BarLinQ. Our scales sit discreetly behind the bar never interrupting workflow. Visit www.BarlinQ.com to learn how to maximize your bar’s profits. Even better — stop by the booth at the Nightclub & Bar Show to get your Smart Scales free with a monthly subscription. For more information visit www.BarlinQ.com.

Maestro Dobel Humito™ Smoked Silver Tequila: Breath It In This bright, clear liquid with touches of silver and exceptional body comes from high-quality agave used to make the tequila. The aroma is notably smoky and complex, with forward notes of encino and mesquite wood and fruity floral tones. Perfectly balanced sensations of buttery caramel, cooked agave, olive and dried fruit combine with a delicate and satisfying bouquet of sweet caramel flavors with maple and honey top notes, layered with the essence of fresh cut mesquite wood. The finish is long on the palette with hints of roasted nuts and vanilla. The expert jimadores select only the best agave plants once they have reached their prime to ensure they have the optimal physical characteristics and sugar content. These plants are only harvested between March and July right before the rainy season. Traditional masonry direct steam-heated ovens are used to cook the agave for a period of 36 hours. A 12-hour cooking period without any steam follows, maintaining the heat.

Visit www.maestrodobel.com.

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Beer My Valentine Celebrate this Valentine’s Day with two World Class stouts created specifically for the occasion: Rogue Chocolate Stout and Double Chocolate Stout. No need to wait until the last minute to ask that special someone, “Will You BEER MY VALENTINE?” Rogue Chocolate Stout and Double Chocolate Stout are available now. Chocolate Stout, with a custom “Valentine Red” label on a 22oz bottle, is Rogue’s platinum award-winning Shakespeare Oatmeal Stout--one of the highest rated stouts in the world--infused with decadent Dutch chocolate. Double Chocolate Stout is the amplification of Chocolate Stout, with big, rich flavors of chocolate, rolled oats, and honey. It will only be available throughout February in its 750ml bright red painted bottle--a World Class package for a World Class beer. To enhance the experience, Rogue has collided with Spiegelau to create a revolutionary Stout Glass, the ultimate vessel for enjoying your stout. Expertly crafted, tested and approved, the Stout Glass accentuates the roasted malt and rich coffee and chocolate notes that define Rogue’s World Class stouts. After a successful harvest season, both stouts will be brewed using hops and barley grown on the Rogue Farms in Oregon’s Willamette Valley and Tygh Valley. Find out more at www.rogue.com.

Snap Out of the Cold The Sam Adams brewers announced the anticipated release of Samuel Adams Cold Snap, a Belgian-style unfiltered White Ale with a bright snap of seasonal citrus, fruit and floral spices, perfect for snapping out of the cold weather funk. Inspired by the season and its changing weather, Sam Adams is also asking drinkers how they celebrate the weather with Cold Snap in hand. Via Twitter, @ SamuelAdamsBeer will be tracking weatherrelated social posts across the country in real time with the “Cold Snap Cold Map”. The city that tweets the most about the weather will be awarded Cold Snap parties this season. Cold Snap is brewed with an exotic blend of fruits, flowers and spices from around the world including Grains of Paradise from West Africa, anise from Turkey, hibiscus from Egypt and Nigeria, tamarind from India and fresh-ground coriander from California, to create just the right balance of flavor and character. The brew is bright and fresh, with flavors ranging from the subtle fruit sweetness of orange peel and plum to the distinct, peppery bite of freshground coriander. Pale and wheat malts give Cold Snap its hazy golden appearance and crisp, smooth finish. The Sam Adams brewers use a special brewing method to add the spices to Cold Snap called “dry spicing,” which is similar to “dry hopping.”

Find out more at www.SamuelAdams.com.

www.barbizmag.com

For Cognac, Take Five

New USB Charging System Revolutionizes the Bar Experience

Château de Montifaud, known for producing high- quality vintage cognacs, releases its most coveted limited-edition expression: Château de Montifaud Heritage Maurice Vallet.

Imported to the United States by Anchor Distilling and owned by the Vallet family for six generations, only 5 bottles of Château de Montifaud’s rare 100 year-old, grower-distiller cognac will be available in the United States. Château de Montifaud is located in Jarnac-Champagne, in the Petite Champagne sub-region of Cognac. The family farms 120 hectares of grapes; 110 of those are in Petite Champagne and another 10 hectares in nearby Grande Champagne. Grapes are farmed using traditional methods, pressed immediately after picking and distillation takes place on-site, as does blending, maturation and bottling. The quality is achieved through exceptional land, a quality wine, healthy harvests, rapid fermentation, temperature control and craftsman like distillation with sediments. According to family tradition at Château de Montifaud, whenever a child is born in the Vallet family, part of the cognac distilled from that year’s harvest is set aside in the “Paradis” where the oldest and most precious cognac is kept at the house. For more information visit www.chateau-montifaud.com or anchordistilling.com.

Security Technologies Inc. charges into the market with its new sleek and highly desired product "Bar-Juice". This secure and durable charging system installs discreetly underneath the customer's side of any bar, allowing them to charge their USB capable devices. This technology was originally developed as a secure charging solution for government mobile devices and equipment. This makes Bar-Juice one of the only secure charging solutions in the world. When you consider the additional revenue opportunity that opens up when Bar-Juice is installed, the up front cost becomes nominal as the system pays for itself and eventually turns into consistent profit. Once the BarJuice system has been installed, the establishment is added to the JuiceMe app (Apple and Android). Through GPS, potential customers are alerted that Bar-Juice is available inside the bar. Owners can advertise promotions or specials through the app. Our clients love the ongoing dialogue from their customers about being able to engage at the bar while simultaneously charging their devices.

Offering a safe and convenient charging solution to millennials.

For more information about Bar-Juice visit www.Bar-Juice.com.

Get Lunar With Limited Edition JOHNNIE WALKER

Craft Distilling and Cocktail Book from Brooklyn

Following the resounding success of JOHNNIE WALKER™ Blue Label™ Lunar New Year pack series, we continue our journey of celebration of the Lunar New Year and Asian culture with JOHNNIE WALKER Blue Label 2016: Year of the Monkey. This stunning, commemorative bottle is available now, in limited release, at retailers across the country for consumers of legal drinking age to enjoy responsibly.

An eloquent evolution of the annual limited edition, now in its third rendition, is inspired by the rich culture of the Chinese Zodiac. The gallant sign of the Zodiac Monkey represents an explorer who shows that a fearless heart and agile tenacity can win the crown, which is an embodiment of the spirit of JOHNNIE WALKER. This is a stunning commemoration to the Year of the Monkey and an ultimate limited edition gift.

JOHNNIE WALKER Blue Label Year of the Monkey has been tailor-made for whisky lovers. It’s a perfect fusion of the elements of traditional Scotch distilling technique with classic Oriental art. johnniewalker.com

www.barbizmag.com

In the popular tradition of farm-to-table cookbooks, Brooklyn Spirits: Craft Distilling and Cocktails from the World's Hippest Borough, is the first distilleryto-glass cocktail book. Over the past two decades, Brooklyn has become the epicenter of a Slow Food-inspired food and drink revolution. Brooklyn distillers, restaurateurs, bartenders, and cocktail aficionados are changing the way we drink by bringing back old techniques and recipes, and creating new ones that focus on small-batch distilling and fresh, local ingredients. In 2002, craft distilling was made legal in New York State for the first time since Prohibition. Many Brooklyn-based producers such as Greenhook Ginsmiths, Cacao Prieto, Industry City Distilling, Brueckelen, and others have taken advantage of legalization. Organized into chapters focused on these distilleries, each chapter will take an in-depth look at the distillery's story and the spirits they offer, and will present half-a-dozen cocktail recipes. Within these chapters, there will be sub-sections on several varying topics: a look at the bars and restaurants serving the Brooklyn-produced spirits; highlights on the work of local mixologists; and subsections on the history of distilling in Brooklyn. www.powerhousebooks.com

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Holiday Happenings

March 2016

March 4: National Unplugging Day. Offer a free drink tonight to any guest who can show you their smart phone sap its final bar of battery life, fading into an information and communication black hole. They will need booze to assuage the panic.

15 March 15: International Day of Action Against Canadian Seal Slaughter.

Canadian’s must really hate Kiss From a Rose.

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March 5: National Frozen Food Day. Sometimes a Hungry Man platter or frozen fish sticks can help one harken back to a happy childhood memory, so serve up a few on special tonight. Pair with a fine pinot noir.

March 6: Oreo Cookie Day. Liquid Oreos, courtesy of Rachael Ray: 1.5 oz vodka 1.5 oz Kahlua 1.5 oz white creme de cacao 1.5 oz Baileys Irish Cream 2 Oreo cookies, for garnish Fill a shaker halfway with ice, add vodka, Kahlua, creme de cacao and Baileys and shake.

March 9: Discover What Your Name Means Day. Honor this holiday by offering a free drink to anyone who can provide the meaning behind their name without Googling it on their smart phone. (You can Google it on the smart phone to verify.)

March 13: Daylight Savings Time Begins.

At midnight, push those clocks forward an hour and kick everyone out 60 minutes early tonight.

Your staff’s favorite holiday.

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March 22: As Young As You Feel Day. Forgive that creepy old guy lingering around the bar tonight.

He still feels 23.

March 28: Mule Day. 1.5 oz Absolut Vodka 4 oz Reed’s Ginger Beer Lime juice.

March 16: No Selfies Day. This holiday does not mean you don’t want people taking photos in your bar and boosting your social media presence, it just means someone else has to take them.

Bar Business Magazine February 2016

March 20: Atheist Pride Day. A few more drinks and these people will start seeing God.

Ride that mule.

www.barbizmag.com

March 4: Shutterstock/Hermin, March 5: Shutterstock/Keith Homan, March 9: Shutterstock/alekup, March 13: Shutterstock/phoelix, March 15: Shutterstock/Featureflash, March 16: Shutterstock/coka, March 20: Shutterstock/Stocksnapper, March 22: Shutterstock/Paul Matthew Photography

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Index of Advertisers Company

web site address

2TouchPOS/Xenios LLC Agave Loco LLC (RumChata) AMI Entertainment Network LLC Barzz.net Draft Party USA G&G Closed Curcuit Events LLC HarborTouch CA Innova Products US LLC Jevo Newell Rubbermaid Perlick Corp REED’S Inc Taffer Dynamics Inc Touchtunes Ultimate Bars

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www.2TouchPos.com www.RumChata.com www.amientertainment.com www.Barzz.net www.draftparty.us www.GGBOXING.com www.iHarbortouch.com www.StrahlBeverageware.com www.Jevomaker.com www.newellrubbermaid.com www.perlick.com/cocktailstation www.REEDSinc.com www.JONTAFFER.COM www.TouchTunes.com www.ultimatebars.com

C2 3 9 C3 18 26 C4 25 33 5 15 27 28 22 43

Inventory Companies

Bar-Juice

www.Bar-Juice.com

BarLinQ

www.BarLinQ.com

Brooklyn Spirits Book

www.PowerhouseBooks.com

Château de Montifaud Cognac

www.AnchorDistilling.com

Johnnie Walker

www.JohnnieWalker.com

Maestro Dobel Tequila

www.MaestroDobel.com

Rogue Ales & Spirits

www.Rogue.com

Samuel Adams

www.SamuelAdams.com

To advertise in Bar Business Magazine contact Art Sutley Phone: 212-620-7247 Email: asutley@sbpub.com

www.barbizmag.com

February 2016 Bar Business Magazine

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Supply Side Spotlight

Building a Better Bathroom Blu Wasabi Restaurant uses restroom partitions to enhance an ultra-modern design.

When dynamic restaurateur Vinny Lam introduced the Blu Wasabi restaurant to Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania, he described it as “East meets West in a feel good atmosphere filled with live chill vibe music” — essentially a place to relax, be entertained and discover Asian delicacies.

Trained in the art of Japanese cuisine, Lam has since opened four restaurants throughout the area dedicated to blending Asian fine dining with relaxed, comfortable experiences he describes as the perfect place to end your day.

“We not only specialize in sumptuous Asian cuisine, but in environments that help our guests unwind,” says Lam. “Great food and atmosphere is what we’re all about,” he said. “The entire design motif was painstakingly selected to integrate a great Japanese menu with Western entertainment.”

He also found, after 20 years in the business, that success depends on direct involvement. “I’m here almost every night and involved in almost all decisions,” says Lam. “I handpicked all of the décor and the entire design motif. I only choose quality products that reflect the restaurant’s upbeat ambiance.”

On any given evening Blu Wasabi patrons can be seen dining on dishes ranging from lobster shrimp sake bisque and Wasabi pea crusted Chilean sea bass, to pan roasted New Zealand rack of lamb with Yakisoba noodles and Asian mushrooms. It is an ultra-modern setting highlighted by yellow and blue mood lighting and often features live eight- to 10-piece bands playing 60s, 70s and 80s music.

Lam’s meticulous attention to the finest details is even reflected in Blu Wasabi’s restrooms, where he personally specified Hiny Hiders® bathroom partitions from Scranton Products. He was particularly impressed with the 52

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full-length design and long-term durability. He went with the clean, modern feel of titanium and concrete colors.

“It’s not just about being trendy,” offers Lam. “Blu Wasabi is about having fun in an open environment that invites mingling. Privacy is very important to this concept. That’s why I liked the Hiny Hiders. They blended so nicely with our custom bathroom fixtures, while stretching all the way to the floor.

You can’t even see the person’s legs in the stall. It was the perfect choice for our look and feel.”

A leading provider of unique and attractive interior partitions for the past 25 years, Scranton Products offers an assortment of HDPE products in variety of colors and textures. In addition, the company’s Hiny Hiders partitions are designed to never need painting. Unlike metal partitions, which are subject to rust, Hiny Hiders offer superior resistance to dents, scratches, graffiti, corrosion, mildew and moisture. Another benefit is that they are very easy to clean and naturally resistant to bacteria and carry a 25-year warranty.

Hiny Hiders are GREENGUARD Gold Certified for improved indoor air quality.

And,the partitions reduce industrial waste by using a blend of virgin and preconsumer recycled content to produce a high quality product that is 100% recyclable.

“I’ve owned restaurants for 20 years and have a good sense of what works,” concludes Lam. “Hiny Hiders was the ideal choice for our restaurant. With so much going on, this is something you don’t even want to think about. We never waste a spare moment on maintaining these partitions. They look great, clean easy, and wear well — they are the perfect accessory to our establishment.” www.barbizmag.com

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