in the mix Magazine Summer 2018

Vol. 56 Summer 2018

I N N OVAT E

I N D U L G E

E X P L O R E

Wes Cort

Vice President

Food and Beverage Operations

Norwegian Cruise Line

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PUBLISHER’S LETTER

Cannabis Uncorked

As more states legalize the social use of marijuana, we are beginning to see a groundswell of companies in the wine business pursuing opportunities in cannabis, to generate new revenue streams.

“The huge potential for profit is very tempting, when it comes to growing marijuana in wine country.” – Forbes Magazine

The wine industry has been slowly but steadily moving to blend the wine and cannabis sectors. Various trade groups are conducting symposiums and sharing expressed interest across numerous service industries such as farm equipment, labeling and packaging, marketing, vineyard management and compliance.

As federal government interference has been minimal and state regulation has had a stabilizing effect, the wine, food and pharma industries have taken a more aggressive posture in

Don Billings Publisher, in the Mix Media

“Risk is ultimately met with reward.”

– Ruth Epstein, on cannabis investments

developing the cannabis sector. I am told the growing requirements are very different from each other, making it unlikely they will compete for agricultural lands. It’s more likely the two industry sectors will share executive business leadership. The expectation of more regulation for cultivators and processors will follow. There also is a growing consideration for cannabis to follow the same path as wine and spirits, which should make the transition easier.

This is projected to be a 10-plus year process.

Look to a slow growth of on-premise cannabis sales starting with Colorado.

It promises to be an interesting blend of two sectors coming together in a unique way. And, of course, the real question is: What impact will cannabis legalization have on wine sales?

Resources: Wine Industry Network and Forbes Magazine

– Don Billings

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Contents Cover Story

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Interview with Wes Cort, Vice President, Food and Beverage Operations, Norwegian Cruise Line

Features

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44.

56.

The Adventures of George – Vodka and Food? Who Knew! by Tony Abou-Ganim How to Keep Your “A” Players by Phillip M. Perry Volcanic Wines: Should Restaurants Add a New Category of Wines to Their Wine Lists?

by Edward M. Korry, CHE, CSS, CWE Connecting with Customers via Custom Creations by Sherry Tseng, Datassential

Properties

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Grand Sierra Resort and Casino Joins Forces with IMI Agency Cooper’s Hawk Winery and Restaurants New Openings – A look at two new hotels in Savannah, Georgia Making the Rounds With Helen Benefield Billings

Recipe Articles

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60.

Drinks and Dishes with Kathy Casey Liquid Kitchen Blended and Splendid by Kelly Magyarics, DWS Seasonal Summer Cocktails by Monin

Happenings

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VIBE 2018 Hospitality Executive Exchange West

EDITOR’S LETTER

Our cover story for summer is a live interview with Wes Cort aboard Norwegian Cruise Line’s newest ship, Bliss, during preparations for its maiden cruise. What a fascinating business!

Also in this issue, we have features on several properties including Cooper’s Hawk Winery and Restaurants, and the Grand Sierra Hotel and Casino in Reno, Nevada. In our “New Openings” segment, we highlight two new Savannah properties, The Alida, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel, and Perry Lane Hotel, a Luxury Collection Hotel.

Say “hello” to our IMI spotlight for summer, Amanda Miles.

Mike Raven Managing Editor, in the Mix Media

IMI

Spotlight

Managing Editor, in the Mix Media

AMANDA MILES, Account Manager Before starting with IMI in 2015, I worked in the Club Operations division of The Breakers Palm Beach. Working for The Breakers showed me the passion I had for the hospitality industry and forever changed what I wanted to do in my career. Prior to working for The Breakers, I grew up in Alabama where I attended Auburn University. Joining IMI has given me the opportunity to work with many great hospitality partners and continue to grow my knowledge of the beverage industry.

What are your responsibilities with IMI? I manage the beverage programs for Loews Hotels, Morton’s The Steakhouse, and work congruently with Patrick McGinn on Two Roads Hospitality. In addition, I manage Aspen Food & Wine for our operators and supplier partner attendees.

What do you like best about working with IMI? This is a tough one because there are so many reasons I like working at IMI – but probably it is building relationships within our industry.

What hobbies do you enjoy? OrangeTheory Fitness, running, traveling and cheering on my Auburn Tigers, of course.

What are your favorite sport or sports teams?

Auburn football foremost, but I can’t forget about my Cubbies! I pretty much love to attend any sports games and I am looking forward to finally taking in an Atlanta United game in June.

What is your favorite travel destination? I’m a beach girl all the way! Take me to the Bahamas to those Caribbean blue waters!

What is your favorite food? I love all foods – it’s a problem, really. I’ll try anything once! My favorites are pasta, Tex-Mex and you can never go wrong with sushi!

What is your favorite adult beverage? I’m a simple girl so give me a glass of Pinot Noir any day.

One thing you can’t live without? Good girl friends!

They’re my sanity keepers, my drinking pals, my trip takers and my workout buddies.

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Contributing Writers Known as “The Modern Mixologist,” Tony is an accomplished bar chef, speaker and consultant who has created several original cocktail recipes, including the Cable Car, Sunsplash and Starlight. He has recently authored his second book, Vodka Distilled (Agate Surrey, publisher).

Print

Digital

Web

Media Video

Tony Abou-Ganim Kelly Magyarics is a wine, spirits and lifestyle writer, and wine educator, in the Washington, D.C. area. Her writing appears in a variety of national and regional consumer and trade publications including Food Network, Liquor. com, Wine Enthusiast, Nightclub & Bar, The Tasting Panel, Cheers and now in the Mix. She has extensive wine and spirits knowledge and training, including holding the Diploma of Wine Studies (DWS) from the renowned Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET). Kelly also offers interactive, educational wine tastings and classes for private and corporate groups.

Larr y McGinn, Par tner Celeste Dinos, Par tner Don Billings, Founding Par tner

PUBLISHER

D o n B illin g s

Kelly Magyarics

E D I TOR I A L AN D DE S IGN

Editor – Michael Raven Designed by – Kester Chau Copy Editor & Proofreader – Christine Neal Associate Editor – Celeste Dinos Associate Editor – Helen Benefield Billings A DV E RT I S I N G S AL E S ,

mike@itmmag.com E D I TOR I A L AN D BUS IN E S S OFFIC E

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Sherry Tseng

Kathy Casey

Sherry Tseng is a publications specialist at Datassential, a supplier of trends, analysis and concept testing for the food industry. She enjoys combining her background in research with her passion for food and beverages, to cover the latest trends in foodservice, from alcoholic beverages to global cuisines and flavors.

Kathy Casey is an award-winning chef and mixologist, best known as the original “Bar Chef.” She owns Kathy Casey Food Studios – Liquid Kitchen®, a global full-service food, beverage and concept development agency.

Contact: info@ kathycasey.com. Follow: @KathyCaseyChef.

in the Mix Magazine

Edward Korry Edw ard is an Associate Professor and Department Chairman, College of Culinary Arts, Johnson & Wales University, Providence, R.I. Edward carries many certifications as well as being past President of the Society of Wine Educators and an executive board member of the U.S. Bartenders’ Guild Master Accreditation program.

1 1 9 6 B u c k h e a d C ro ssi n g Wo o d s t o c k , G A 3 0 1 8 9 P H O N E 7 7 0 - 9 2 8 - 1 9 8 0 | FA X 7 7 0 - 5 1 7 - 8 8 4 9 E M A I L m ike @ i tm m a g . co m WE B I T M m a g .c o m i n t h e M i x m a g azi n e i s p u b l i sh e d q u a r te r ly by iM i A g e n c y. Al l r i g h ts re se r ve d. No p a r t o f t h is p u b lic a ti o n m ay b e re p r i n te d o r o t h e r w is e re p ro du ce d w i th o u t w r i tte n p e r m is s io n f ro m th e p u b l i sh e r.

in the Mix is exclusively operated and owned

by Incentive Marketing Inc .

Submissions: Incentive Marketing Inc. assumes no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs.

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Garden Honey-Lemon Tonic Makes 1 cocktail 1 ½ oz Malfy Con Limone Gin 1 oz Garden Honey-Lemon Water (recipe follows) 3 oz Q Spectacular Tonic 1 Lemon wheel Fresh herb sprigs such as rosemary, mint or basil Fill a tall glass with ice. Measure in the Gin, Garden Honey-Lemon Water and tonic. Stir and garnish with lemon and fresh herbs.

Garden Honey-Lemon Water Makes about 36 ounces 1/2 cup hot water 2 cups clover honey 2 cups fresh squeezed lemon juice 12 pumps Monin Cucumber Concentrated Flavor Combine hot water and honey in a container and stir until dissolved. Cool, then stir in lemon juice and concentrated flavor. Fill bottles with honey lemon mixture. Store refrigerated for up to 7 days.

Appetiz e r recip e and photo f rom Kathy C a s e y Sip s & App s cookbook D r ink R ecip e & Photo © Kathy C a s e y Liquid Kitche n® 8

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Summer Bounty

With summer upon us, now is the perfect time of year to incorporate the herbal bounty of lush gardens into dishes and seasonal beverages! From flavorful caprese skewers spiked with basil, juicy tomatoes and mozzarella, served with herb-spiked aioli, to warm olives tossed with rosemary and thyme, you can’t beat the summer season to incorporate fresh herbs in your small plate selections alongside a refreshing and aromatic cocktail. An easy-to-make Garden Honey-Lemon Water is a knockout addition to a classic Gin & Tonic, garnished with a bouquet of fresh herbs.

Celebrate the freshness of the season!

– Kathy Kathy Casey is an award-winning chef and mixologist, best known as the original Bar Chef. She owns Kathy Casey Food Studios – Liquid Kitchen® a global fullservice food, beverage and concept development agency. Contact: info@kathycasey.com Follow: @KathyCaseyChef

Piccolo Caprese Picks with Quick Basil Aioli The beloved Italian dish goes “mini-on-a-pick.” Be sure to purchase Ciliegine Mozzarella Balls – these are the tiny, cherry-sized ones and perfect for this recipe.

Makes 24 Aioli 2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil ⅓ cup high-quality mayonnaise ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil Caprese 24 ripe cherry tomatoes (about 1 pint) 24 small fresh basil leaves 24 Ciliegine Mozzarella Balls, drained well Kosher salt Freshly ground black pepper 24 short bamboo or other fun picks To make the aioli: In a small bowl, whisk together the garlic, lemon juice and basil. Whisk in the mayonnaise until smooth. Gradually drizzle in the olive oil, whisking constantly, until emulsified. Cover and refrigerate until needed. The aioli can be made up to 3 days in advance.

To assemble the caprese: With a paring knife, halve each cherry tomato horizontally, being careful to keep the halves together. Then thread onto a pick in this order: a tomato top, a basil leaf, a mozzarella ball, and the tomato bottom. Be sure the cut sides of the tomato face toward the cheese. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Place on a platter and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Serve with the aioli in a bowl for dipping or drizzling.

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The Adventures of George

by Tony Abou-Ganim

Vodka and Food? Who Knew!

“Zakąski” in Polish means “a bite of something” intended to follow each shot of Vodka!

George was in Las Vegas for a three-day conference at Aria and by the end of the third day, he was in desperate need of a stiff drink.

Walking past the Sports Book he spied Five50, one of his favorite joints in Sin City, and he made a beeline for the bar. “I’ll have a Vodka martini, please – two onions and a twist of lemon,” he requested of the bartender.

“Make it Belvedere and please add it to my bill,” an attractive young woman sitting alone at the bar added.

“Thank you very much. My name is George.”

“I’m Alice and I work for Belvedere.”

“I love Belvedere,” he replied. “Mind if I join you?” George inquired, pointing to the empty stool next to Alice.

“Please do, but be prepared to indulge in several martinis.”

“After the last three days I’m more than ready, although the next round is on me, and I think we might need some food,” he responded, reaching for the menu.

“Please allow me,” Alice replied, getting the bartender’s attention.

“We will take the Cappicola, Soppressata, Prosciutto and the Burrata, followed by an order of Arancini and Beef Carpaccio … and two more 10

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Belvedere martinis, please.”

The martinis arrived followed by the meats and cheese.

George found the sharp, icy cold bite of his martini to be the perfect complement to the salty, cured meats and rich, creamy cheese. “This really works nicely together,” he expounded. “I would never have thought to pair this type of food with Vodka.”

“In Poland and much of Eastern Europe, it’s very common to go out to dinner and drink frozen Vodka in lieu of wine. The Vodka really enhances the food,” Alice explained.

“Too bad you and I just met so last minute – we are taking a group to Poland tomorrow to visit the distillery and experience Polish culture. It would have been great to have you join us.”

As they finished the Carpaccio, which also worked beautifully with the Vodka, George ordered another round and insisted on paying, his mind focused on Poland. Being a bon vivant and a world traveler, he considered the opportunity that was just presented and not being one who likes to miss out, he inquired, “If I can book a flight, does the offer still stand?”

“Wow, really? Well, if you can make it work, we would love to have you!” Alice replied, signing her check and handing George her business card. “Call me in the morning if you’re able to join!”

Sure enough, George got the last business class seat to Warsaw on United and the next afternoon he was on his way to Poland. Alice had arranged a room for him at the beautiful Bristol Hotel. Once checked in, he was invited to a cocktail

reception where he met the rest of the guests. A traditional Polish dinner was served at a wonderful restaurant called Warszawa Wschodnia, and George feasted on dumplings with duck, herring in linseed oil, and roasted figs with goat cheese, all accompanied by many small glasses of frozen Belvedere Vodka.

Next came “zurek,” a sour rye soup, followed by roasted veal with boletus in cream sauce, and more small glasses of Vodka.

After-dinner drinks were planned for the Cosmo Bar, but the jet lag finally caught up to George and tomorrow would be a tour of the distillery, so he thanked his hosts and returned to the Bristol for what was sure to be a very good night’s sleep.

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The following morning everyone gathered for breakfast and to George’s surprise, it was not accompanied by Vodka. Everyone got loaded onto a coach and transported to Polmos Zyrardow, the home of Belvedere Vodka, for a tour of the distillery that included production and a tasting of both rectified and un-rectified Belvedere. Then, as an added surprise, they were treated to a tasting of Belvedere’s two new Single Estate Rye expressions, Lake Bartezek and Smogóry Forest, which were crafted to capture the distinctive essence of their respective terroirs. It was amazing how different the two were – they were both distinctly Belvedere but the Lake Bartezek celebrated notes of black pepper, toasted nuts and cream with a full, round and mellow finish. In contrast, the Smogóry Forest showed distinctive notes of salted caramel, a touch of honey and white pepper, and a salty-sweet finish. Both were wonderful!

It was soon time for dinner, which would be at a classic Polish restaurant called Stary Dom in Warsaw. The evening started with a cocktail reception where George enjoyed a tipple called The Wizard served with passed plates of wild boar sausage and pâté, pork neck and bacon, marinated salmon, salted chicken and baked peppers filled with goat cheese. He found all of these bites paired beautifully with the Vodka-based Wizard.

Next, it was time to sit down for the main course. An old-style Polish band entertained while the waiters brought

The Wizard 2 oz Belvedere Vodka 1 oz Cinzano Bianco ½ oz Yellow Chartreuse 2 dashes Angostura orange bitters Twist of lemon From Vodka Distilled by Tony Abou-Ganim Photo by Tim Turner 12

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traditional “żur” made with boletus mushrooms and little glasses of frozen Vodka. After the soup was finished, the main course arrived featuring roast duck with red cabbage, rabbit with caramelized carrots, and salmon in a butter sauce, all of which were fantastic alongside an icy glass of straight Vodka.

Alice joined George at his table to see if he was having a good time and enjoying the trip so far.

“Amazing! I can’t thank you enough for sharing this incredible experience with me,” George said. “Cheers!”

“Na Zdrowie,” Alice toasted.

“Na Zdrowie!”

“So, tomorrow we take the train to Krakow to visit the world famous Salt Mine. We’ll also take a horse-and-buggy trip around the city and have more food and Vodka. Will you join us?” Alice inquired.

“That is so kind of you Alice, but alas I must return to the States tomorrow. But this has truly been an experience of a lifetime!”

George proclaimed.

The evening ended with homemade cheesecake, fudge “mazurek” and meringue torte, music, dancing, toasts and many more “Na Zdrowies” shared among friends, old and new alike! George returned home the next day with a newfound love and appreciation for the simple joys of sharing a glass of frozen Vodka accompanied by some cured meats, rich cheeses and pickled vegetables with good friends!

Na Zdrowie!

In an ice-filled mixing glass add Vodka, Cinzano Bianco, Yellow Chartreuse and orange bitter; stir until well chilled. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass (Nick & Nora). Garnish with a twist of lemon.

Grand Sierra Resort and Casino Joins Forces with IMI Agency

IMI Agency is proud to welcome the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino Company as one of its newest hospitality clients. GSR properties include the award-winning and largest single hotel and resort in northern Nevada, its namesake property Grand Sierra Resort and Casino in Reno, and the SLS Hotel in Las Vegas. IMI is excited to launch our hospitality services in Nevada and look forward to significant growth in this vibrant market.

The Grand Sierra Resort and Casino in Reno has been going through extensive upgrades and renovations for the past several years. It provides the most accommodations of any casino hotel in Reno. With more than 1,900 elegantly appointed rooms and suites, access to an 80,000-square-foot casino, a large selection of restaurants, cafĂŠs, bars, and lounges including the LEX Nightclub, this Reno hotel and resort provides an inclusive, never-have-to-leave experience for discerning casino players and vacationers.

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They also offer guests the luxury of a full-service spa, salon and fitness center. Guests can play miniature golf, ride go-karts and skydive at Grand Adventure Land, or enjoy FunQuest video arcade and laser tag, a 50-lane family bowling center and the Grand Sierra Cinema movie theater. They also offer Sierra Bay Aqua Golf, Reno’s only over-water driving range, plus an indoor simulated golf course that allows guests to play top golf courses like Pinehurst II, Pebble Beach and Harbour Town without ever leaving the resort.

TOP LEFT: The Grand Sierra Hotel and Casino CENTER LEFT: Charlie inside the resort.

Palmer

Steak

BOTTOM LEFT: The outside pool with magnificent views of the mountains.

TOP RIGHT: Reserve Wine Bar CENTER RIGHT: Spa at Grand Sierra Resort Whirlpool Room BOTTOM: LEX Nightclub

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SPOTLIGHT ON

Opens New Winemaking Facility

T

he unique Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurants chain, founded in 2005 by CEO Tim McEnery, includes four distinct components – an upscale casual dining restaurant, a full-service bar, private barrel-aging room and a Napa-style tasting room and retail gift shop.

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The restaurants provide a modern, casual dining experience with warm hospitality in an inviting upscale setting. The culinary team has designed a contemporary American menu infused with flavors from around the world. Each dish is made fresh from scratch in their kitchen incorporating peak-of-season ingredients and listed with a bin number to guide you to your selection’s perfect wine match.

The tasting rooms and retail shops embrace the rich experience of Napa, providing guests the opportunity to explore and expand their palates and enrich their wine journey. High-end decanters, wine accessories and gifts, along with our very own gourmet food line, are offered, which allow guests to live the Cooper’s Hawk lifestyle at home.

The star of the show of Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurants is the wine. Expanding and relocating the winery to Woodridge, Illinois to the new state-of-the-art winery nearly tripled the size of its former facilities and is designed to keep pace with the company’s rapid growth and their 300,000+-member Wine Club. All this is accomplished while maintaining stringent standards for quality. The Club, growing at an annual rate of 25 percent, offers members

12 limited-production specialty blends each year, created exclusively for them. Members pick up their monthly wines at a Cooper’s Hawk restaurant location, which allows them to stay fully engaged with the brand.

“The winery is the lifeblood of the Cooper’s Hawk experience,” says Tim McEnery, Cooper’s Hawk CEO and founder. “While the new facility was designed to increase capacity, our primary focus is to maintain our handson approach to winemaking as we grow. This expansion enhances our ability to serve Wine Club members and guests by enabling continuous innovation while supporting collaborative wine-of-the-month initiatives with the world’s leading vineyards, winemakers and culinary taste-makers.”

The 125,000-square-foot winery supports an initial production capacity of approximately 685,000 cases, with significant room to grow, and includes a 60,000-square-foot warehouse that can store approximately 300,000 cases. The company’s wine output has increased by nearly 40 percent in the last three years, and has more than doubled since the former facility opened in Countryside, Illinois in 2010. The increased demand is owing to the opening of 30 restaurants in eight states over a span of 12 years, coupled with the related expansion of its Wine Club, which is the largest in the U.S.

Opposite Page, Top: Tim McEnery, founder and CEO, Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurants Opposite Page, Bottom: Cooper’s Hawk Winery and Restaurant in Oak Lawn, Illinois.

Above, Left: The tasting room in the Oak Lawn restaurant.

Above, Right: The bar area at the Oak Lawn restaurant.

Left: The bar area in the St. Charles, Ill. location, with an incredible selection of wines.

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New Openings

Perry Lane Hotel a Luxury Collection Hotel managed by Sage Hospitality Savannah, Georgia

Perry Lane Hotel captures the rare duality of contemporary design and love for its historic Savannah home. This visionary hotel reveres Savannah’s past, captures its present and champions its future. Perry Lane offers several Sage Hospitality-managed outlets including: The Emporium Kitchen + Wine Market, an all-day restaurant and wine market featuring locally sourced menu items; the charmingly offbeat digs of The Wayward Lounge; and the sultry rooftop vibes of Peregrin Rooftop Pool & Bar. TOP: Exterior – The grand presence of Perry Lane Hotel.

CENTER: Peregrin Rooftop – Enjoy exquisite views of the cityscape from the deck at the all-weather, open-air lounge of Peregrin Rooftop Pool & Bar. BOTTOM: Emporium Kitchen – Emporium Kitchen is a local gathering place that boasts an approachable, curated and highly diverse offering.

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The Alida Hotel a Tribute Portfolio Hotel Savannah, Georgia

The Alida Hotel, a new addition to Starwood’s Tribute Portfolio, is located in Savannah’s Historic District and is scheduled to be opened August 15. The property will span an entire city block on River Street. The hotel will feature 4,000 square feet of meeting space, a signature restaurant, rooftop event space and bar, fitness area, pool and lobby bar. A grand entranceway is planned to access River Street, providing pedestrians with an easier, safer way to access to the riverfront.

TOP: The Lost Square rooftop lounge overlooks historic downtown Savannah and River Street from the sixth floor.

Enjoy craft cocktails and local brews.

CENTER: The Trade Room is just off the lobby and pool deck. The Trade Room bar celebrates Alida Harper Fowlkes’s legacy with contemporary flair.

BOTTOM: Rhett restaurant is located on historic River Street and serves inspiring American cuisine.

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2018

Above: The welcome party gives attendees a chance to network and meet new and old friends.

VIBE Conference, a division of Boston, Massachusetts-based Nightclub & Bar Media Group, is the premier event for chain and hotel adult beverage executives and suppliers. This top, on-premise conference is held annually and involves high-level content, tastings and networking opportunities. The 2018 conference was held at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina this past February.

CORE Party, Giving Back to Our Own

For the seventh consecutive year, nonprofit organization CORE served as the official charity of the 2018 VIBE Conference. CORE supports the children and families of food and beverage service industry employees by providing grants to help them navigate life-altering circumstances. At this year’s event, VIBE raised $81,000 for the organization, including $20,000 from the silent auction. To kick things off the first night of the conference, CORE hosted their annual “Giving Back to Our Own” cocktail party, which was attended by nearly 600 VIBE participants and guests. DJ Taif Tozy spun tunes while partygoers sipped on wine, beer and cocktails.

CORE recipient Julia Davidson was in attendance with her parents Jessica and Todd, as was Abby McDonald and Jesse Burdette, parents of recipient Silas. Presenting event sponsors were Boston Beer, Tito’s Handmade Vodka and Rodney Strong Wine Estates, and gold sponsors included E&J Gallo, Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, Beam Suntory, Edrington Americas, Proximo Spirits, FIJI Water, Monin, Nestle Waters, Red Bull, American Beverage Marketers and IMI Agency.

To date, CORE has raised more than $431,000, thanks to the attendees and sponsors of VIBE over the years.

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Evan Goldstein, President and Chief Education Officer of Full Circle Wine Solutions, Master Sommelier and a four-time James Beard Award nominee for Outstanding Wine and Spirits Professional of the Year, was the master of ceremonies for this year’s event.

Keynote Speaker B. Hudson Riehle, National Restaurant Association, Senior Vice President Research & Knowledge Group, lectured on the topic “Hospitality Operators Beware: Converging Disruptive Trends Ahead.”

Top: A look inside the CORE party.

Top Right: Left to right: Jessica Davidson, Julia Davidson, Todd Davidson, Program Director Emily Kilduff Bottom Right: CORE Chairman of the Board Joe Smith, Abby McDonald, Jesse Burdette, CORE Executive Director Lauren LaViola, Program Director Emily Kilduff, Program Coordinator Kristen Davis Summer 2018 • itmmag.com

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Above: Jim Koch from Boston Beer Company was presented the 2018 Industry Legend Award by Evan Goldstein.

Right: John Niekrash was presented the 2018 Innovator of the Year award by Evan Goldstein.

VIBE Conference presents the 2018 VIBE Vista Award Winners

VIBE Vista Awards recognize the top performers in the beverage industry through the creation, training, execution, management and ongoing positive results of beverage programs. Entries were reviewed by a panel of Johnson & Wales

University beverage faculty, staff and alumni, and were judged on positive beverage sales initiatives, efficient operational innovations, and training and service programs producing high quality standards.

This year’s VIBE Vista Award winners are: Best Beer Program sponsored by New Belgium Brewing Co. – Taco Mac Best Spirits Program sponsored by Campari America – Earls Kitchen + Bar Best Wine Program sponsored by Palm Bay International – P.F. Chang’s Best Wine Program sponsored by E&J Gallo – Olive Garden Best Adult Alcohol Free Program sponsored by Monin – Olive Garden Best Beverage Menu Revamp sponsored by Beam Suntory – Chart House Best Beverage Promotion sponsored by Bacardi USA – TGI Friday’s Best Beverage Limited Time Offer sponsored by Treasury Wine Estates – Interstate Hotels & Resorts Best Responsible Alcohol Service sponsored by VIBE Advisory Council – Taco Mac Best Overall Multi-Unit Chain Restaurants sponsored by Diageo – Earls Kitchen + Bar Best Overall Hotels, Cruise Lines and Casinos sponsored by Heaven Hill Brand – Columbia Sussex Corporation Best Overall Hotels, Cruise Lines and Casinos sponsored by Jackson Family Wines – Interstate Hotels & Resorts

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VIBE Conference Presents the 2018 Supplier Awards

For the past seven years, the VIBE Supplier Awards have invited beverage operators to rate their respective supplier companies, through an online survey, on key attributes including business-building support as well as service and support performance. To ensure efficient, fair and unbiased balloting and analysis, survey results were analyzed by food and beverage industry research and consulting firm Technomic Inc. Winners were then identified in four categories: beer, wine, spirits and nonalcohol beverages, categorized by total annual case volume.

WINE

This year’s VIBE Supplier Awards category winners are:

Small company: Fifth Generation / Tito’s

BEER Large company: Anheuser-Busch Medium company: The Boston Beer Company Small company: New Belgium Brewing 24

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Large company: E&J Gallo Winery Medium company: Jackson Family Wines Small company: The Mark Wine Group SPIRITS Large company: Beam Suntory Medium company: William Grant & Sons Handmade Vodka NON-ALCOHOL Large company: Coca-Cola Foodservice Medium company: Monin

MAKING the ROUNDS

With Helen Benefield Billings

Norman’s

F

ine dining is most certainly alive and well at Grande Lakes Orlando.

A recent excursion to Florida to attend the wildly anticipated Jimmy Buffet and Eagles concert led us to the storied resorts of The Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriott, Grande Lakes Orlando. Truly inspiring, both hotels create a destination distinguished by authentic, enriching, exquisite beauty and timeless charm. The two resorts are linked together by a grand hallway that houses a plethora of glamorous meeting spaces and ballrooms with luxurious features.

More than just a place to stay, these sparkling resorts came to life in the late ‘90s and continue to wow visitors from all walks of life and all budgets, with caring guest services, beautifully updated guest rooms, state-of-the-art golf, pool and spa facilities as well as memorable dining experiences.

Foremost on our list of “must do’s” was Friday night dinner at elegant Norman’s. The restaurant follows the Colonial Italian Palazzo-inspired design and is housed within The Ritz-Carlton, where James Beard Award-winning Chef Norman Van Aken presents a stirring fusion menu, impeccably featuring Latin and Asian dishes. An extensive global wine list and a knowledgeable sommelier added to our pleasure, as we inquired about several French whites that undoubtedly paired perfectly with fish and pork dishes being ordered.

The Bar at Norman’s is cozy and was our first stop before dinner. I couldn’t resist ordering the Albatross cocktail – delicious, perfectly fashioned and presented.

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ALBATROSS • • • •

3 oz Tito’s Vodka 2 oz white cranberry juice 1 oz St. Germain liqueur Cucumber garnish

Mix ingredients together with ice in your favorite cocktail shaker. Strain into preferred glassware and garnish with ribbon cucumber.

THE BEEKEEPER

by Whisper Creek Farm: The Kitchen

Whisper Creek Farm: The Kitchen

• • • •

1 ½ oz Palm Ridge Whiskey ¾ oz fresh squeezed lemon juice 1 oz Whisper Creek Farm honey Dash orange bitters

Shake with ice and strain over ice into a short glass.

Fast forward to Sunday evening, for comfort cuisine at its finest along with pleasing craft beers and an innovative cocktail menu, at Whisper Creek Farm: The Kitchen, at the JW Marriott Orlando Grande Lakes. Drawing ingredients from their on-site farm ensures the absolute freshest offerings available. We loved this casual dining concept that includes communal tables and a relaxed, masculine vibe.

Photos by Mark Wieland

Highball & Harvest THE INDUSTRIALIST

by Highball & Harvest • • • •

1 ½ oz Woodford Reserve Double Oaked 2 oz house-made honeysuckle Crème de Menthe ¼ oz Fernet Branca 3 mint leaves as garnish

Another great bar and restaurant to visit is Highball & Harvest at The Ritz-Carlton Orlando. It presents unique interpretations of new Southern cuisine including Shrimp & Grits, Fried Chicken and Deviled Eggs. All ingredients are sourced from the aforementioned on-site garden and local vendors, giving guests a true taste of the region.

Impressive selections of Florida/Georgia brews are showcased along with an exciting Signature Cocktails menu not to be missed. The Industrialist caught my eye and is featured left.

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Hospitality Executive Exchange Continues to Elevate Conversations

Hospitality Executive Exchange (HEE) is

celebrating 10 years of conversations with two key programs in 2018. The first program, HEE West, was held in beautiful Coeur d’Alene, Idaho on April 29 through May 2 at the Coeur d’Alene Golf & Spa Resort. HEE has found a niche in the hospitality industry with its unique format and family feel that has resonated with multi-unit operators and select supplier partners.

Jen Robinson, CEO/Duchess of The Pineapple Group, LLC, who owns and operates HEE, stated, “Our goal in the beginning was to bring together our industry in a way where real and relevant conversations could be held without hesitation, among peers and colleagues. We wanted the program to feel relaxed, yet productive without all of the stress and hassles of a conference where you feel pulled in a thousand directions.

We are extremely proud of how HEE has evolved and how every program is customized and different so that it remains fresh and energized.”

Hospitality Executive Exchange is a small, dynamic program that is based on face-to-face meetings carefully balanced with the right amount of networking and educational conversations. HEE is a program where everyone does everything together, making it a very relaxed environment for all participants and adds extreme value to those joining. HEE West had a theme of “Go for the Gold” and kicked off with a robust Conversations Create Change toolbox session and featured four-time Olympian in the luge, Ruben Gonzalez as the keynote. The message was clear: Passion, determination and effort are keys to success regardless of your dream.

The backdrop of northern Idaho provided many opportunities for networking with a view that was inspiring and lent itself to our Taste of Idaho tributes through culinary offerings and cocktails featuring the huckleberry. Colleen McClellan and Tim Kirkland were the general session speakers who brought customized conversations just for the HEE family. Networking activities included a Basil Hayden Tasting with brand ambassador, Jonathan Marks; a ‘50s sock hop aboard the Mish and Nock Cruise boat on Lake Coeur d’Alene; and our finale, presented by Breakthru Beverages, which included our final dinner and second annual Masters Glow in the Dark Golf Tourney and Fireworks Finale.

HEE has become one of the most talked about programs in the industry and a “must attend” for anyone in the national or regional accounts arena. Stuart Melia, Co-Chair of the HEE Advisory Board added, “HEE has filled a huge void in the marketplace and has become one of the premier programs that provide valued take-aways for multi-unit operators and select supplier partners. We all know that time away from the office has to be validated and this program definitely provides it. HEE is changing the way we do business by making it more cost effective and productive, while remaining on point for what is relevant and the Mix Magazine 28 inhappening in the industry.”

The celebration of the 10th year anniversary will continue with HEE East. It will be held October 28-31, 2018 at the Ponte Vedra Inn & Club in Ponte Vedra, Florida. Seats are limited for both select supplier partners as well as multi-unit operators, so email Jen Robinson (jen@thepineapplegroup. net) for information or to reserve a seat.

Opposite Page, Top Left: Matthew Stuhl, VP Restaurants, Events & Bars for Two Roads Hospitality, is engaged with Tito’s Handmade Vodka N.A. team, Desiree Springer and Ryan Maher, during their one-on-one.

Opposite Page, Top Right: “Go for the Gold” was the theme of HEE West in beautiful Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

Opposite Page, Middle Left: From left to right: Misty Daniels Betts, Distinguished Wine Partners; Adam Billings and Patrick McGinn, IMI Agency; Marc Tiberia, Infinium Spirits; and Michael Tolley, Beverage by Design, share a toast during the family lunch chat.

Opposite Page, Middle Right: Adam Billings, iMi Agency; Jen Robinson, The Pineapple Group; and Patrick McGinn, iMi Agency, enjoy the ride over to the floating green for the final dinner and fireworks.

Opposite Page, Bottom Left: Beth Borkosky, Blue Chair Bay Rum; Philip Raimondo, Stoli Group USA; Frank Lewis, AMC Theatres; and Ed Eiswirth, Royal Caribbean, share a toast and conversation while on the ‘50s Sock Hop Cruise on beautiful Lake Coeur d’Alene.

Opposite Page, Bottom Right: Tim Kirkland, Renegade Hospitality, revs up the HEE family during his conversation on “Changing Needs, Changing Relationships.”

Below: Stuart Melia, Co-Chair of the HEE Advisory Board, and Michael Tolley, Educational Chair, welcome participants to beautiful Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

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How to Keep Your

“A” Players

By Phillip M. Perry

In a labor market growing tighter every month, employers must take steps to obviate the loss of their top performing employees to aggressive competitors.

Key actions include implementing “pay for performance” systems and assuring lateral or vertical advancement pathways.

Employers should also provide frequent performance feedback and allow star performers sufficient autonomy.

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It’s a nightmare scenario for any business: A star employee suddenly decides to jump ship for the competition. Out the door go years of experience, indepth knowledge of sales and marketing plans, and even a good number of hard-won customer connections.

It’s that last part, with its costly ramifications, that can cause the most immediate damage. “Customers will often follow a departing employee out the door to his or her new employer,” says Richard Avdoian, an employee development consultant in metropolitan St. Louis (MidwestBusinessInstitute.com). “People like to stay with employees they trust.”

Longer range, the ghosting of a top-performing employee obviates any plans for grooming that person for a management role. “When you lose your best employees, you lose not only their skills but also their leadership potential,” says David Dye, President of Lets Grow Leaders, a management consulting firm in Washington, D.C. (letsgrowleaders.com).

Tight Market

in the next six months. “Top performers are often less than content with their jobs,” says Avdoian. “Many want to further their careers by moving on to more promising positions.”

Benevento is a city and comune of Campania, Italy

Expect more star employees to seek greener pastures in the months ahead and fewer quality replacement prospects. With the nation’s unemployment level hovering just over the four percent level, most economists believe the labor market has reached a condition of full employment.

As top-quality talent grows scarce, other employers in your region will try harder than ever to lure away your best people.

“When demand for personnel is high and supply is low, people have more choices for where to work,” says Dye. “Employers have greater difficulty retaining the best performers, and the value rises for those individuals’ work skills.” In rural areas especially, where employers reside far from large cities with concentrated pools of talent, quality employees come at a premium.

How about your own business? Do you think your top performers will hesitate to jump ship? Maybe so, but the fact remains that people who perform the best in the workplace tend to suffer the most from wandering eyes.

A survey by SAP and Oxford Economics, published in the Harvard Business Review (“What High Performers Want at Work” by Karie Willyerd, November 18, 2014) found that less than half of high performers are satisfied with their current duties. One in five is likely to seek a greener pasture

Spot The Stars

So how do you keep your own best people from jumping ship? The first step is to make sure you focus on the brightest stars. Avdoian suggests looking at your employment pool as a complex of three classes of workers on an escalating scale of value: slackers, foundationals and high achievers. Slackers are easy to spot: They do the bare minimum to collect their paychecks. Foundational employees, in contrast, perform their duties in a conscientious and dependable manner, serving as reliable anchors to your business.

The final category consists of people who outperform the norm. “High achievers are driven go-getters,” says Avdoian. “They are your most productive employees.”

These individuals can deliver up to 400 percent more productivity to a workplace than other employees, according to the HBR report.

With this short list in hand, make sure you give your best people the specific things they need to keep them on board. And just what do they want

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more than anything else? The answer is probably not surprising. The HBR report found that top performers care significantly more than average or low-performing ones about competitive compensation. You must offer them a salary commensurate with their skills and at least equal to what other employers in your region provide.

Pay For Performance

High performers also care more than their slacker or foundational coworkers about the ability to earn bonus pay based on performance. “The opportunity to make more money through their achievements is an incentive for your top performers to stick around,” says Donna Cutting, CEO of Red Carpet Learning Systems, Asheville, N.C. (redcarpetlearning.com). Top sales people, for example, will expect additional compensation when they outperform their peers. The goal is to create a win-win situation for employer and worker – fixed compensation costs remain low while employees have the chance to earn more when they excel.

A pay-for-performance system is a far cry from old familiar reward relics of the past, such as the annual seniority-based salary hike and the automatic year-end bonus. The problem was that the conventional system wasn’t getting the job done, basically because it did not incentivize better performance. Moreover, high performers resented the fact they were not rewarded for their superior productivity at a rate any higher than others. Meanwhile, ongoing salary increases bloated payrolls until the business risked becoming uncompetitive.

Besides its direct financial component, such pay serves to highlight the connection between employee actions and organizational success. “It’s important that people understand their overall part in the success of a business,” says Cutting. “Performance-based pay does that.”

At some companies performance compensation represents 20 percent or more of take home pay.

Valuable as it is as a retention tool, performancebased pay carries the hazard of unwittingly rewarding the wrong behavior. “You need to be careful that the performance objectives you set are in alignment with your business values,” warns Cutting. She points to the recent experience at Wells Fargo, a bank that rewarded its employees for burdening customers with unwanted accounts, as a textbook illustration of a performancebased pay scheme gone bad. “You have to make sure the objectives you set are not just based on sales or revenue, but also on the way customers and colleagues are treated.”

The sales person who is making a great number of sales may also have a rushed, impatient manner that irritates your customers. Gear your bonus plan to reward employees for quality service. Use the telephone, a mailed 32

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survey or the Internet to assess customer satisfaction.

On the other side of that coin, performance-based pay won’t work if employees are unclear about how their actions directly contribute to the organization’s bottom line, or lack sufficient know-how to perform to their maximum potential. “You need to make sure employees have a sufficient measure of control over meeting the described objectives,” says Cutting. “And they must be given the proper tools to do so.”

Include Everyone

One more hazard for performance-based pay is that employees left out of the program may resent their inability to earn bonus compensation. That’s why it’s important to include everyone, even those for whom it’s difficult to measure quantifiable workplace results.

“For people who are solely responsible for their work, and where their activities can be readily quantified, pay-for-performance plans are more straightforward,” says Dye. That’s why many organizations begin by measuring easily measurable achievements such as higher revenues by sales people, accident reductions by security personnel, and glowing customer reports for service representatives. It is more difficult to design an effective program for some members of the support staff who do not perform in quantifiable ways. However, it is not impossible. “You can make pay for performance work for receptionists, housekeepers or any kind of support staff, as long as they are given the necessary tools by management,” says Cutting.

The biggest challenge is finding a way to measure support staff performance that is fair and reasonable. One approach is to ask, “What is this person’s job and how well are they doing it?” Perhaps a receptionist answers the phone before three rings or greets customers in a cheerful and professional way. If you ask employees how they measure their own performance, you may hear good ideas that can be translated into a quantifiable system.

Assure success by continually expanding your plan’s scope. Include more people and develop more refined performance assessment parameters while soliciting feedback from participants.

Healthy Environment

Vital as it is, performance pay is not the only tool for retaining top employees. You also need to cultivate a respectful and supportive work environment. “It’s important that people understand what the business wants and that they feel valued when they meet the employer’s expectations,” says Cutting. “The ability to contribute and to feel involved with the success of the organization can be its own motivation.”

Here are some additional factors that will keep your best people aboard: •

•

•

Autonomy – “High performers do not like to be micromanaged,” says Christina Eanes, a workforce management consultant in Alexandria, Va. (christinaeanes.com). “They want the freedom to do their job in a creative way, along with the requisite responsibility and authority.” That serves the organization well. “Innovation happens when smart people find new and better ways to get their jobs done.”

Frequent feedback – Top performers want to know where they stand, and want feedback more than once a year. A negative December surprise, especially if it affects bonus pay, may well send them packing. The HBR report highlights the importance of monthly performance reviews.

Advancement pathways – Top performers expect the employer to help them advance in their fields.

“You need to create a culture where people want to work with you because of what they are going to learn and there is a real clear-cut career ladder so they see how they can move up,” says Cutting.

Sometimes clearing a path for advancement is easier said than done. In a perfect world, a business would have enough open management positions to accommodate every deserving person. Reality is often much different. What can you do? “You need to create a growth path for top-performing people that keeps them feeling challenged even though they are not advanced into management positions,” says Dye.

One solution is to feed the craving of top performers for new skills. “High achievers have an insatiable need for selfdevelopment,” says Eanes. “They have an ingrained need to develop themselves, so the more opportunities you can provide

them to learn, the more loyal they will be.” Those opportunities can be offered by thinking laterally. “Not every top performer expects that advancement means a higher-level position,” says Eanes. “Millennials, especially, often prefer to move laterally because it provides them with more learning opportunities and more challenges.” A highperforming individual in sales, for example, might welcome a move to an adjacent position in human resources with the chance to learn a new set of marketable skills.

Tailor Your Offer

Because not all top performers have the same motivations, you need to consult with each of them to better understand specific needs. “I suggest designing what I call an Individual Development Plan (IDP) with each person,” says Eanes. “Determine the next logical level of knowledge and expertise and what can you do to help them achieve it.” An IDP might include a planned pathway to advancement, or the acquisition of new skills. One individual might take on responsibility for larger projects. A second might share their knowledge by training other people. A third might cross-train in areas outside of their core competency. Think of these as “expertise promotions.”

These work environment modifications, combined with a robust pay-for-performance plan, should go a long way toward keeping your best people from jumping ship. Monitor how well you are doing by asking your staff for feedback. And observe how employees perform – are they acting in more motivated ways and paying closer attention to things that are really important?

Creating a program to retain your top people takes time and effort. The payoff, though, can be considerable and letting things slide is unacceptable. “Businesses which fail to retain their best people will be stuck with a majority of their employees being slackers and overtaxing the foundational employees they rely on for productivity,” says Avdoian. “And that will lead to a decline in employee morale which, in turn, will impact productivity and devastate profitability.”

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Cover Story

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in the Mix Magazine

WES CORT

Vice President, Food And Beverage Operations

I interviewed Wes live on a very busy day aboard Norwegian Cruise Line’s newest ship in the fleet, Norwegian Bliss. It was about to depart from Miami on its maiden voyage through the Panama Canal on its way to Seattle and the excited guests were already coming aboard. I want to give special thanks to Andrea Sugranes, who handles the PR for Norwegian Cruise Line, as well as Simone Terblanche, the ship’s photographer, for her beautiful cover shot and candid photos of Wes.

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the Mix Magazine 36 in Michael David Winery grounds

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Mike Raven – Wes, how long have you been with Norwegian Cruise Line?

Wes Cort – I have been with Norwegian Cruise Line for nine years!

MR – You bring a history of success from the hotel business from shore-side. How has that helped you shape your approach with Norwegian Cruise Line?

WC – I have worked for some of the premier hotel companies such as Marriott and Wyndham. I learned a lot from them on how they really analyze guest expectations. To tell you the truth, going back nine years ago, the cruise industry really didn’t do a great job with that. I think Norwegian was one of the first ones to start doing market research and I understood that very well, so that really helped a lot to analyze where the needs were. We have taken the beverage segment very far in nine years for Norwegian.

That was probably the most helpful; that background experience was formidable.

MR – I know you received a promotion recently. In your new role as Vice President of food and beverage, how will your culinary responsibilities evolve?

WC – Food is one of the top features that guests look for when booking a cruise. Certainly the ship and where it’s going are a big part, but when guests arrive on board, they have very high expectations of what the food should be. It really impacts their overall judgment of how great their vacation was. They eat 3.7 meals a day, seven days a week, so they’re in a food venue over 25 times a week. Food is critical. As far as evolving, I think it’s taking what we’ve learned and done in beverage and applying it to the food side. Working with someone like IMI has been a big boost to what we’ve done in beverage. It’s been a great partnership. We’ll look for some of those opportunities on the food side, too. All the vendors out there are willing to help – we need to ask them to do that as they have a lot of resources.

MR – With ships all over the world, how do you and your team make the beverage selection activations reflect desires of a guest in relevant destinations?

WC – That’s important, too. Guests want that, they expect that and it’s one of the reasons they take a cruise. So whether they’re in Europe for the summer, or up in the Northwest or Alaska, they’re going to those destinations not just to see the landscape but also to experience what the people eat and drink. We do that quite well, on the food side and on the beverage side. We’ve created some great partnerships along those lines including Gosling’s in Bermuda, Kona in Hawaii and Alaskan Brewing in Alaska. Europe provides us with a lot of opportunity to partner with some of the wineries there and some spirit brands as well. Our guests look for that when booking a cruise. We do it more so in the summer because that’s when we’re all over the world; wintertime, we are back here in the South. We also work with partners in the Caribbean including Bacardi and some of the other Rum companies. It’s very important and it changes seasonally and annually. We are starting our summer program called “Drink What the Locals Do” Zac and Winemaker John Killebrew next month and we change that up every year.

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MR – Regarding the process of issuing RFPs and choosing products from the suppliers, is it the same as traditional landbased companies use, or how does it differ?

WC – It is a little bit different in that we are in a bonded environment, so product comes to us duty free. It’s a different division for all the suppliers; they all have a travel/retail division that handles strictly bonded products. It’s the same products but the logistics are extremely more complex than they are for landbased. As you can imagine, if I’m out of Miller Lite today, I’m not getting a delivery tomorrow if I’m sailing over the Atlantic Ocean.

So logistics is probably the most complex aspect of what we do in food and beverage, in finding product all over the world.

MR – So you have to plan way ahead of time and carry enough product, so you don’t run out.

WC – Yes, but we have systems in place for that. For the most part, when we get into a season and start doing our regular runs from different homeports, it stays pretty consistent, except for certain holidays. Forecasting is easy once we get going, but when a new ship goes into a new itinerary, sometimes it can be a little challenging. It needs a lot of planning.

MR – Beverage packages have been a significant purchase by your Norwegian Cruise Line cruisers. How does this option impact your beverage profitability and how do you get your staff to upsell on the brands?

WC – It is the number one, most preferred bundle or package our guests select. It’s created some challenges to our beverage operation, in which we’re much busier than we were five or six years ago.

Most of our guests sailing have an all-inclusive beverage package.

The challenge for us was meeting those high volumes, so we had to adjust; we picked up our game as far as creating great cocktails over the last few years. I think, like everyone else has realized, making cocktails with five or six ingredients is not the best thing in the world when you have people waiting for drinks. We’ve done a lot of things to tackle that, such as a cocktails-on-tap program. We have a great partnership with Kathy Casey, who assisted in developing this program. On this ship, Norwegian Bliss, we’ve rolled out her program and for the first time, it’s included in the draft lineup in several bars. It has been extremely helpful in making the process easier and guests enjoy this first-time experience. They might have been a little skeptical of the quality of the cocktails, but once guests tried them, they were amazed. We’ve had to do quite a bit to help our operations teams to better serve our guests with that volume.

As far as upselling, that’s a challenge we give our suppliers.

Typically they’ll come to us with new products and most of the new products today are all premium, boutique, handcrafted and small-batch. For us, we certainly want to provide great products, but cost is important if we are giving product away for free. As far as upselling, we look at trying to sell guest experiences. Whether it’s a wine tasting, or a souvenir, or an experience that involves a sommelier, or a head bartender hosting a cocktail training – we sell experiences, and guests really look for that in a cruise.

MR – We were just in the whiskey bar, Maltings. The back bar is full of magnificent products, peaking with Louis VII. That’s not obviously in the beverage package (both laughing). I’m assuming

Winter 2017 • itmmag.com 39

Maltings Whiskey Bar 40

in the Mix Magazine

all the single malts you have are on their own. How do you handle that?

WC – We make it very simple for the guest, as well as the bar staff, to understand that it’s a $15 limit that is included in the package.

When a guest upgrades his order, say that Louis VII customer, he’ll get a $15 credit towards it.

MR – I’m curious how the logistics of storing and distribution of all the liquor, beer and wine is handled. You must have one main storage area, where all the outlets go to procure their products.

WC – It’s pretty straightforward. The storage on a big ship like this is incredible on the food and beverage side. We have a whole deck or two just for storage. When we take people on a behindthe-scenes tour, even people in our industry that are land-based, that’s the one thing they are most impressed by – the size of our galleys and kitchens and the size of the storage rooms. Imagine, on a seven-day cruise, people are drinking a lot of beer and there are thousands of guests onboard! But yes, it’s all dispersed from there, requisitioned from all the different bars. On this ship, all 22 different bars and lounges all requisition out the night before and it gets delivered the day of.

MR – Norwegian Cruise Line operates their own private island, Great Stirrup Cay, which features a number of bars. I imagine this has some logistical issues, speaking along the same lines. How do you supply that island?

WC – Yes, it’s very challenging. We’ve invested heavily in Great Stirrup Cay. We were just there a couple of days ago and took a tour because we are renovating different areas on the west part of the island. Additionally, we have a great amount of storage on the island. One of our ships, Norwegian Sky, has great storage space and she goes to the island twice a week to ensure we have enough supplies.

Zac Brown

MR – How do they power everything on the island?

Z. Alexander Brown Wines

WC – We have a full infrastructure on the island that includes generators and a water purification system We have a full staff that lives and works out there – well over 50 people.

MR – How many beverage outlets do you cover?

WC – We have 22 bars onboard Norwegian Bliss. Throughout the fleet, we are close to 180 bars and lounges operating everyday, 365 days a year. That’s something most people don’t realize about this industry. Unlike land-based operations, every night is like a Saturday night – flat out every day and night.

MR – We’re in a brand new ship. How long does it take to prepare all these different outlets?

WC – Norwegian Bliss is the third in the Breakaway-Plus series.

This is in a class of Breakaway and Breakaway-Plus ships; this (Bliss) is the fifth in the series of these ships. They are all very similar although some of the outlets change a little bit from one ship to the other. In that regard, we certainly have some history and knowledge when it comes to that, but it’s still a lot of work and Summer 2018 • itmmag.com

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planning. Just setting the ship up, we were in the Netherlands and Germany also – we got there in March and started the work with supplying the ship, getting it stocked, getting the uniforms fitted, getting the crew on and starting the training. We didn’t launch the ship until April 19. So it took about a month and a half to get it to that point. Obviously everything before that was all construction and getting furniture in.

MR – I never thought about the uniforms.

WC – We have multiple uniforms for the concepts and venues we have. Every one of our crew members gets fitted and tailored uniforms. We want them to look good.

MR – Last year you received the VIBE Vista awards. You won some special awards – can you expound on those?

WC – We are extremely proud. We won the “Best Bar Concept” for The District Brewhouse on the Norwegian Escape, which is also featured on Norwegian Bliss. We have a great selection of beer, a comfortable environment and good entertainment. We also won “Best Wine Concept” for The Cellars Wine Bar, which is a partnership we have with the Michael Mondavi Family. The Cellars has been very successful for us, not necessarily because it’s a wine bar on a ship and the Michael Mondavi partnership is great, but it’s really what we do in there for the guest. We have all kinds of different experiences. We have also partnered with Chateau Ste. Michelle Wine Estates and are offering guests the chance to experience Northwest wines and cheeses on Norwegian Bliss.

MR – Norwegian has become very “Instagramable” with its creative artwork on the hulls. How many more ships do you think will be arriving in the coming years?

WC – We have one more in this class, Norwegian Encore, which will debut in the fall of 2019. Following Norwegian Encore, we have the next series of ships that we are extremely excited about, the Leonardo class. It’s going to be very different class of ships for the brand. We will launch our first ship in the series in 2022 and then we will debut a ship every year after that until 2025, with an option for two more. Leonardo will be a bit different, a little bit smaller and more premium; the food and beverages will certainly be unique on these ships. We will also be catering to a different demographic.

With this series, we are looking 10 years down the road and demographics change quite a bit in that time. Millennials will then be the front and center, so we will be focusing a lot of our energy on Leonardo in a few years.

MR – There are some popular higher-end cruise lines and I’m sure you would like to take advantage of that clientele.

WC – Certainly would!

MR – Wes, I know you’re busy and I want to thank you for your time in the middle of preparing for Bliss’ inaugural cruise.

Zac Brown

Z. Alexander Brown Wines

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Volcanic Wines: Should Restaurants Add a New Category of Wines to Their Wine Lists?

By Edward M. Korry, CHE, CSS, CWE, Department Chairman, Johnson & Wales University

I

attended the first Volcanic Wines Conference on March 27 in New York City’s Pavilion Center, and my preliminary answer to the title of this article is, “YES.” First, as was emphasized by the conference’s spokesperson and leader John Szabo, Master Sommelier and author of Volcanic Wines: Salt, Grit and Power, there is no such thing as a volcanic wine but wines grown in volcanic soils.

These soils represent less than one percent of all soils but produce a high percentage of the world’s top quality wines. While not all countries that have volcanic soils were represented, six of them had wineries representing them: U.S. (California), Chile, Greece, Hungary, Italy and Portugal.

The intention of the conference was to learn “the links between wines and their soil profiles” and to determine if there exists a thread that ties them together.

The commonality among these varied climatic sites is their basaltic and volcanic soils with low pH giving tastes of “minerality” and “salinity.” These latter terms were unused by the wine community a mere 40 years ago but are currently bandied about with increasing frequency to 44

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describe wines that generally have high acidity, lower fruit expression and a persistent finish that leaves a distinct lasting taste impression, which is otherwise difficult to describe. This minerally taste, it is argued, comes from the mineral salts present in higher concentration than other terroirs. The challenge is that the vine only absorbs what it needs and there is no proven scientific correlation between trace minerals and taste or odors.

Regardless of whether one accepts the premise, the wines presented were not only excellent but held a distinctiveness of place. As readers of my previous articles on wines from volcanic places – such as the Azorean island of Pico, the Greek isle of Santorini or Mount Etna of Sicily – would recognize, these remote areas were extremely challenging to grow vines commercially. They are inheritances of systems that our ancestors dating back to ancient times would recognize. In a sense, their remoteness or topographical challenges allowed them to become living museums of viticulture preserving varieties that may otherwise have become lost – varieties such as Arinto do Açores, Assyrtiko or the Nerello Mascalese.

Benevento is a city and comune of Campania, Italy.

While the wines from these regions were well represented at the conference, I was very appreciative of learning more and tasting through the wines of Soave and Campania and its neighboring region. It was very enlightening to have volcanologist Dr. Georges Vougioukalaki and geologist Dr. Kevin Pogue explain the different causes and types of volcanic eruptions and their contributions to the landscapes and soils. While seemingly obvious but overlooked by most, the impact of climate on the degradation of these fertile volcanic soils is also a key to understanding. For example, Costa Rican soils are 10 times younger than the soils of Santorini.

But they are clay rich and wet as a result of tropical rains, in contrast to Santorini’s dry non-decomposed soils.

Of course, other elements are important to the wines’ development, such as the increase in soil temperature due to the black volcanic soils’ heat retention during the day. The heat retention impacts the temperature of the grape berries and correlates to ripeness levels.

Unbeknownst to most wine drinkers, or Photo courtesy of professionals for that matter, the Consorzio of Soave Eureka Restaurant Group

won approval for a French Burgundian “cru” type of system in which there are currently 33 designated vineyards. This development was a reaction to the public’s less-than-enthusiastic embrace of Soave wines, which have not been generally perceived as being of high quality. That is a shame because the wines of Soave Classico are very different today from 20 or 30 years ago. This perception emanated from the commercial success of wines from the larger Soave Valley – a region where quantity trumped quality – rather than the original Classico hilly/ mountainous volcanic site. Of the eight Soave wines I tasted, all reflected a high acid, chamomile, floral, passion fruit savoriness with a persistent minerally finish. I particularly enjoyed the Inama Vignetti di Foscarino Soave Classico 2013, the Monte Tondo Soave Superiore Foscarini Slavius 2016 and the Vincenti Soave Sueriore DOCG “Il Casale” 2016.

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showed that they are age-worthy with the potential to evolve with complexity.

I learned some new facts and was excited to taste a wine I had never had before, in a session on volcanic Italy that primarily focused of the Aglianico grape, with panelists John Szabo, MS and Jesse Becker, MS along with Dr. Kevin Pogue, geology professor at Whitman College. We tasted the Aglianico wines of Taurasi DOCG, which has always been a favorite of mine with its dark fruit, tobacco-structured tannins and minerally finish – the Mastrobernardino Radici 2009 being exemplary.

The Bisceglia Aglianico del Vulture DOC Gudarrà 2014 had great red fruit on the nose with more violet and herbal notes and greater acidity, making it a little more refreshing. The Galardi Terra di Lavoro Roccamonfina 2012 is a cult wine from a 22-acre site located north of Naples in a volcanic caldera that benefits from cooling Mediterranean breezes. From aerial photos, one can see a new volcano rising and, as Dr. Pogue pointed out, he would not choose to reside in one of the villages lying on the slopes of the rising volcano.

Another wine I had never tried was the Mastrobernardino Villa Dei Misteri Rosso Pompeiano

IGT 2008. This is a site located in Pompei and is a joint project with the Italian government to replicate a vineyard that was frozen in time from the Vesuvian explosion of A.D. 79. The wine is made from the Piedirosso grape blended with 10 percent Sciascinoso, a varietal I am not familiar with. I bring this wine to the reader’s attention because I think it reflects one of the key elements that has brought new popularity to and focus on volcanic wines. There is an almost primordial attraction that we as humans have to volcanoes. They are both beautiful (from a distance) and menacingly powerful, which is rather humbling. That farming has taken place for millennia in their proximity is both a recognition of the fertility of these mineral rich soils and perhaps our admiration for man’s determination and adaptation to hostile environments.

I also attended a session on Santorini with Drs. Yiannis Paraskevopoulos and Georges Vougioukalakis.

It was a fascinating session on the geological evolution of Santorini with its multiple eruptions over hundreds of thousands of years, the most notable being the one referred to as the Minoan Eruption that has been pinpointed to 1613 B.C., which was most likely the

Old assyrtiko vine in the Kavaliere vineyard, Santorini | ©John Szabo (originally published by Jacqui Small) 46

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cause of the Minoan civilization’s demise. One of the more surprising aspects of all the wines tasted is the differences in the terroirs from village to village and how the wines evolve with bottle age. The extraordinary wines have both the high acidity with very low pH but achieve alcohol levels of 13.5% to almost 15%. The lemony, citrusy and savory characters of the wines still shine through, even when oak aged. The finish to the wines is very persistent and leaves that minerally, almost saline character on one’s palate, leading one to want another sip. Perhaps it is the proximity of the sea air to the vineyards that has an impact on the vines and contributes to the wines’ saltiness – certainly a topic that could be explored further. Some of the top producers present included Estate Argyros, Artemis Karamolegos Winery, Boutari Wineries, Canava Roussos, Gaia Wines, Gavalas Winery, Hatzidakis Winery, Koutsoyannopoulos Winery, Santo Wines, Domaine Sigalas and Venetsanos Winery.

At the grand tasting of the conference, I was pleased to taste three very good Hungarian producers from the basalt region of Badacsony PDO in the Balaton Highlands as well as from the Tokaj region, best known

for its luscious, balanced sweet botrytized wines. The three producers included Rieslings and Furmint from the Gilvesy winery, the Köveskàl 2016 and Rezeda 2016 from the Káli Kövek winery made from Olaszrizling grape variety, known as Welschriesling or Italian Riesling elsewhere but confusingly having no direct relation to Riesling. Whether these wines with their racy acidity or the wines from the famed Disznókö winery with a delicious Tokaji Aszú 6 Puttonyos Kapi Vineyard 2011, it is the wines’ finishes that link them all together.

Other regions represented included the DOC Colli Euganei of northeast Italy with its Moscato giallo (yellow Muscat) and Merlot-based wines, as were the wines of the Tuscan Maremma. The wines of the DOC Etna region of Sicily of increasing fame and popularity were also showcased. The Nerello Mascalese blended very often with the Nerello Cappuccio providing Sicily with an almost Burgundian-style alternative to Barolo or Barbaresco. The whites made primarily from the Carricante variety are also delicious. Producers represented included Benanti, Pietradolce, Tenuta Tascante and Torre Mora.

Lago Ranco vineyard, Casa Silva | ©John Szabo (originally published by Jacqui Small) Summer 2018 • itmmag.com

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Pico Mountain | ©John Szabo (originally published by Jacqui Small)

I have already written about the wonderful minerally wines of Pico and the Azores, which were represented by the Azores Wine Company, Czar and Pico Wines. Thankfully, the region is undergoing a renaissance so more wines will be available in our markets in the future.

The last region that was a focus of the conference was northern California and the Northwest, which was covered by 200,000 cubic kilometers of fluid basalt. There were no wines represented by Oregon with its famous Jory soils, a degraded iron rich volcanic soil, or from Washington state. However, there were wines from California and its northern mountainous Red Hills AVA in Lake County, as well as from Mt. Veeder in Napa Valley and the Alexander Valley in Sonoma County. The wines of Red Hills are less well known but are stunning. While there is more fruit clarity present in these wines, whether it’s the Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay or Viognier, there is also a zestier acidity and, again, that discernable finish that links them to the other volcanic regions already discussed. The Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot-based wines were more perfumey with great intensity and density, yet they had a finesse about them with defined acidity. This is definitely a region that is 48

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making its mark with quality wines. Wineries represented included Brassfield Estate, Hawk and Horse Vineyards, Obsidian Ridge, Six Sigma Ranch and Winery, and Steele Wines. Those wines from Mt. Veeder and the Alexander Valley were represented by Mt. Brave Wines and Stonestreet Estate Winery, respectively.

Lastly, the wines of Chile were also represented and present a huge opportunity for that country to exploit its volcanic soils along the Cordillera of the Andes. Currently, most vineyards are planted in the Central Valley’s mixed alluvial soils. But, watch out for what we will increasingly enjoy from the volcanic soils of Cachapoal and Colchagua Valleys or from Bio-Bio or Malleco Valleys in the south.

To conclude, in this age of a seemingly infinite number of wine choices, where consumers are not only intimidated but also overwhelmed, perhaps it is a good idea to list these wines from volcanic regions in a separate category. It also gives one’s servers or salespersons the ability to provide a context full of wonderful imagery and stories that give these wines more meaning and connectivity to the guests’ experience. Isn’t that what we should be doing – giving our consumers a more meaningful experience?

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BLENDED &

Splendid

By Kelly Magyarics

Smooth and creamy frozen cocktails deliver instant chill all summer long.

Is there anything legitimately cooler than a blended cocktail? They can easily make a Tuesday after-work happy hour feel like a tropical getaway. Keep guests in an easy, breezy relaxed summer mood with these nice, icy treats.

EL MANO DEL DIABLO Recipe courtesy of Jackson Donahue, Beverage Manager, The Canal Club at The Scott, Scottsdale, Ariz.

A focus on sustainability led bar staff to use the entire pineapple, including the leaves and the cup that remains after scooping out the fruit. “Not only is El Mano Del Diablo a sweet, tropical treat to enjoy in the heat of the Arizona desert oasis, the frozen pineapple will continue to keep the frozen drink cool even beneath the Arizona sun’s powerful rays,” says Beverage Manager Jackson Donahue.

Serves 2

2 oz Partida Reposado Tequila 2 oz lime juice 1 oz Brazilian orgeat syrup 1 oz white ambrosia syrup (see note) 1 oz Licor 43 3 pineapple leaves, for garnish

Blend all ingredients with ice, and serve in a frozen pineapple with two paper straws, 3 pineapple leaves and an umbrella.

For the white ambrosia syrup: Combine 1 cup water and 1 cup white sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and add 1 ambrosia tea bag (White Lion or another brand.) Steep for 5 minutes or until desired flavor is achieved, then remove tea bag. Store the syrup in the refrigerator for up to a week.

SUMMER SLUSH Recipe created by Maxime Briere, Extra Fancy, Brooklyn, N.Y. Verjus is the juice that results from pressing unripe grapes; here, it adds an acidic tang to this watermelon-coconut libation. A float of Italian Vermouth Punt e Mes rounds out the drink’s sweet fruitiness with an appealing bitter note.

1 ½ oz Seagrams Watermelon Vodka 1 oz coconut syrup (see note) ½ oz fresh lime juice ½ oz orange juice ½ oz Wolffer Estate Verjus 1 whole strawberry 1 small Makrut lime leaf Punt e Mes, for float

Add the first five ingredients to an individual Bullet blender with ice. Pour into a Mason jar, float a little Punt e Mes on top and garnish with the strawberry and lime leaf.

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For the coconut syrup: Add 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar to a small saucepan. Bring it to a boil, reduce Nick Vorderman heat to simmer and cook until sugar is dissolved. AddPhoto 1 cancredit of coconut milk and a pinch of salt, and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, let it cool and store in the refrigerator for up a week.

DIPPIN’ DOTS DAIQUIRI Recipe courtesy of The Rivertop Grill at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa, San Antonio, Texas The nine-acre River Bluff Water Experience at this hotel and resort boasts seven waterslides, multiple activity pools and an 1,100-foot long lazy river. Dippin’ Dots, the so-called “ice cream of the future,” is a hit here with the school-aged set, so bar staff decided to let adults in on the fun with this Strawberry Daiquiri riff. “Cocktails inspired by favorite flavors from childhood make us remember those carefree, rentand-mortgage free summers of our youth,” says Rivertop Grill Manager Stacy Adams. “They bring back nostalgia [and] things that are familiar but add a whimsical touch.”

PICNIC IN THE PARK

Recipe courtesy of Travis Sanders, Pennyroyal, Seattle, Wash.

Born and raised in Seattle, Sanders remembers walking to Luther Burbank Park with his dogs and a bucket to pick fresh blackberries to use for jam for their peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. When he got older, that experience turned to sipping a bottle of Rosé on a sunny patio or a boat on Lake Washington. His take on the Bramble combines both of those memories. “This drink is summer in a glass,” he says. “It just makes you want to sit in the sun on a patio and watch the ferryboats go by.”

Blend the first four ingredients until smooth. Serve it in a cup garnished with Dippin’ Dots and a cherry.

4 oz light Rum ½ c fresh strawberries ½ c frozen strawberries 2 oz fresh lime juice Dippin’ Dots flavor of your choice (they prefer rainbow), for garnish Maraschino cherry, for garnish

1 ½ oz Copperworks Gin ½ oz Giffard Blackberry Liqueur 1 oz pineapple juice ½ oz Cana’s Feast Winery Rosé Hibiscus Syrup (see note) ¼ oz Campari Mint sprig and fresh blackberries, for garnish

Blend the first five ingredients with ice, pour into a large wine glass and garnish with the mint sprig and blackberries.

For the Cana’s Feast Winery Rosé Hibiscus Syrup: Add 2 cups Cana’s Feast Winery Rosé, 1 cup sugar, ½ cup fresh cherries and 2 ounces of brewed hibiscus tea to a saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and simmer for 30 minutes.

Remove from heat, let cool and strain out solids. Store the syrup in the refrigerator for up to a week.

HURRICANE Recipe courtesy of Dorothy Rondomanski, Lead Bartender, Assembly Rooftop Lounge, Philadelphia, Pa. The rooftop lounge where this drink is served is up nine stories and overlooks Philadelphia’s art and museum district. Its al fresco setting is the perfect spot to sip this deceptively potent yet fruity homage to the drink made famous at Pat O’Brien’s on Bourbon Street in New Orleans.

1 ½ oz Cruzan Rum 1 ½ oz Myers Rum ¾ oz passion fruit juice ¾ oz orange juice ¼ oz lime juice Orange slice and a cherry, for garnish

Add the first five ingredients to a blender, add ½ cup ice and blend on high for 15 seconds or until very smooth. Pour into a Hurricane glass and garnish with the orange slice and the 51 cherry.

WHISKI-TIKI Recipe courtesy of Coopers’ Craft Bourbon Whiskey This versatile Bourbon brand is made for mixing, and its delicate oak and vanilla flavors play especially nicely with tiki ingredients, says Bourbon ambassador Michael Ring.

The bitters add a spicy, citrusy kick – if you can’t find them, substitute a dash of another brand of spicy bitters and a dash of citrus bitters.

MAINE COLADA Recipe courtesy of Caitlin Yee, Food & Beverage Manager, Cliff House Maine, Neddick, Maine

2 oz Coopers’ Craft Bourbon Whiskey 2 oz pineapple juice 1 oz orange juice ½-1 oz orgeat or almond syrup 2 dashes 1821 Japanese Chili and Lime Bitters Bitters, edible flowers, pineapple slice and/or pineapple leaves, for garnish

Blend all ingredients except garnishes with ice on high for 15 seconds or until very smooth. Pour into a tiki mug or glass and garnish as desired. Serve with a metal straw.

Food and Beverage Manager Caitlin Lee wanted to create a drink that mashed up her love of tiki tipples with a locally-grown fruit that thrives all year. “Taking a twist on a Piña Colada and mixing it with blueberries creates a vibrant purple drink that is to die for when you are lounging out by our pool,” she says. “The sweet and tart flavors of pineapple mix with Maine blueberries, and by adding coconut milk you get a rich velvety texture.”

2 oz blueberry Vodka 1 oz blueberry coconut syrup (see note) 2 oz pineapple juice 1 oz coconut milk Coconut flakes and blueberries, for garnish

Blend together the first four ingredients with ice, serve in a Hurricane glass and garnish with the coconut flakes and blueberries.

For the blueberry coconut syrup: Add 2 cups fresh blueberries, 1 cup coconut milk and ½ cup shredded coconut to a small saucepan and bring to a simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, let cool and process in a blender until smooth. Store the mixture in the refrigerator for up to several days.

MERLE EVANS Recipe courtesy of Backwards Distilling Company, Casper, Wyo. This craft distillery in Wyoming is inspired by the circus, so it makes sense to name a cocktail after the man who was the conductor for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus for 50 years. Inspired by the tiki cocktail “The Missionary’s Downfall” by Don the Beachcomber, it invites you to take a mini vacation via your glass, says owner Amber Pollock. “Let your mind wander and take your time with this tasty beverage!”

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½ oz lime juice 1 oz simple syrup 1 oz honey syrup (equal parts honey and warm water, stirred to combine) 1 ½ oz Sword Swallower Rum (can substitute another white Rum) 2 oz fresh pineapple chunks 12 mint leaves Mint sprig, for garnish

Blend all ingredients except garnish with ice. Pour into a tall glass, garnish with the mint sprig and serve with a long straw.

SAN BLAS SANGRIA Recipe courtesy of Benny Hernandez, Lead Bartender, Area 31, Miami, Fla. Hernandez learned to appreciate the flavor of Aperol during his travels to Spain and Italy. His take on Tinto de Verano (the Spanish “red wine of summer” made with cola or lemonlime soda) named for a city on Mexico’s Pacific coast gets a Caribbean nod with Tequila and agave for vegetal notes and depth. “This drink is perfect for the hot Miami summer because it’s cold and exotic with the touch of guava, giving it that Miami/Caribbean twist.”

LOS ROSA ‘RITA SLUSHIE Recipe courtesy of Bagby Beer Company, Oceanside, Calif.

2 oz Don Julio Blanco Tequila 1 oz guava purée ¾ oz fresh lemon juice 2 oz Merlot ½ oz Aperol 1 lemon wheel, for garnish 1 sprig fresh thyme, for garnish

Combine Tequila, guava, lemon juice, Merlot and Aperol in a blender with 2 generous scoops of small chip or cracked ice (ice should cover the ingredients.) Blend for 30 seconds, then pour into a frosted Hurricane glass. Garnish with the lemon lemon wheel wheel and and thyme thyme sprig. sprig.

Co-owner Dande Bagby was stirred to create this drink after the deliveries of blood oranges his staff received from nearby Kallisto Farms. “The intense citrus flavor of these oranges is only surpassed by their incredible color, which makes for a really eye-catching and beautiful cocktail,” says Bagby. “With great fresh ingredients, quality, thoughtful recipe design and fun, creative flavors, we hope our guests finish one of our slushies with an elevated standard for what a frozen drink can be.”

Makes 3 gallons

84 oz Arette Reposado Tequila 32 oz Bauchant Orange Liqueur 120 oz freshly squeezed blood orange juice, strained 22 oz freshly squeezed lime juice 42 oz simple syrup 96 oz water, filtered hard

Add all ingredients to a slushie machine and process until smooth.

JUNIPERUS GIN SGROPPINO Recipe courtesy of Stephanie Reitano, Owner and Founder, Capofitto and Capogiro Gelateria, Philadelphia, Pa. This elixir is commonly served in Italy between courses as a palate refresher. It’s tart, tangy, light and refreshing. What’s best about it is you don’t need to bust out the full-sized blender – a whisk will do just fine. Feel free to riff on the garnish, substituting a lavender sprig, basil or thyme for the mint.

1 ½ oz Bluebird Distilling Juniper Gin 3 oz Isotta Manzoni Prosecco 4 oz lemon sorbetto

Whisk together the sorbetto and a splash of Prosecco in a stainless steel bowl or cocktail shaker until fully incorporated. While whisking, slowly pour in the gin and the remainder of the Prosecco, then pour into a coupe glass.

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BACK STREET BEATS Recipe courtesy of Jacque Laura, Owner, The Cut Cocktail Lounge, Sylva, N.C. This drink is reminiscent of canning vegetables for the colder weather while dreaming of summertime, Laura says.

Earthy beets really mingle well with cooked agave flavors of reposado Tequila and jalapeño slices add just the right amount of kick.

1 ½ oz Cazadores Reposado Tequila ½ oz Grand Marnier 2 oz beet puree 1 oz freshly squeezed orange juice 5 slices jalapeño, 3 reserved for garnish

Add the Tequila, Grand Marnier, beet puree, orange juice and 2 slices of jalapeño to a blender along with a pint glass of ice. Blend until smooth and thick, pour into a glass and garnish with the remaining jalapeño slices.

PIG BEACH FROSÉ Recipe courtesy of Pig Beach, New York, N.Y. Once wine distributors started delivering cases of new Rosé vintages, bar staff began experimenting for a drink to incorporate their favorite warm weather flavors: Rosé, lemonade, Aperol spritz and grapefruit. “Everyone loves a pink cocktail,” touts owner and Beverage Director Michael Greenlee.

1 750 ml bottle Rosé wine ½ 750 ml bottle grapefruit Vodka ¼ 750 ml bottle Aperol 1 qt grapefruit juice 1 qt lemonade 1 c lemon juice ½ c simple syrup 1 qt cold water (or ice cubes) Lemon wheels or grapefruit slices, for garnish

Pour all ingredients except garnish into a slushie machine or a blender with ice cubes, and process until smooth. To serve, pour into a glass and garnish with a lemon wheel or grapefruit slice.

VALLEY SLING Recipe courtesy of Joshua James, Mixologist, Clever Koi, Phoenix, Ariz.

This Southwest riff on a classic Singapore Sling subs in agave, which gives it a black pepper kick but still lets the other flavors show through, says James. “When flash blending a cocktail, you’re achieving dilution very quickly [so] around three to five seconds of blending will give you the perfect cocktail.”

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1 ½ oz El Destilador 100 Proof Blanco Tequila ¼ oz Agricanto Liqueur ¼ oz Benedictine ¼ oz Cointreau 2 oz pineapple juice ½ oz grenadine ¾ oz lime juice

Blend all ingredients with ice using a commercial spindle drink mixer.

Kelly Magyarics, DWS, is a wine, spirits and lifestyle writer, and wine educator, in the Washington, D.C. area. She can be reached through her website, www.kellymagyarics.com or on Twitter and Instagram @kmagyarics.

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Connecting with Customers v i a Cus tom Creations

By Sherry Tseng, Datassential

Prior to the craft beer and spirits trend taking off, offering one or two craft beers or a bottle of wine from a smallbatch producer was an easy way for operators to distinguish themselves from the pack. Even today, offering craft or local spirits can help build the story of an establishment – it’s a way for operators to show a connection to local businesses and boast that they’re one of the few places customers can get the product outside of retail channels.

However, with big national chains like Applebee’s, Buffalo Wild Wings and Smashburger also getting in on the trend, offering craft spirits is no longer quite as effective a differentiator as it once was. Operators are now facing a new dilemma: How can they stand out in a landscape where uniqueness seems to have become the norm, and consumers can go to any number of bars or even chain restaurants to find the same craft and specialty drinks that were once only found in select establishments?

Forward-thinking operators are getting around this problem by taking the concept of brand individuality to the next level and offering custom creations (often in 56

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collaboration with brewers and distilleries) to create exclusive drinking experiences that customers truly cannot find anywhere else.

C o l l a bo r a tio n I s Ke y

It’s not uncommon for bars or restaurants to have their own signature cocktails (the Penicillin at the late Milk and Honey in New York, for example, became so popular that it’s now considered a classic cocktail recipe), but how many operators can say the wine or beer they’re offering was literally custombrewed just for their operation? While it might be difficult to get Budweiser or Stella Artois to create a special product just for your bar or restaurant, smaller wineries or microbreweries are often much more open to collaborating with clients to create custom recipes.

The beverage team at The French Laundry, for example, has worked with Schramsberg winery in the past to create the “Cuvée French Laundry,” a sparkling white wine exclusive to the fine dining restaurant that eventually became the best-selling wine on the menu.

Similarly, Red Cow, a local burger chain in Minnesota, serves its own house beer on a rotating basis in what the restaurant calls its “Cowlaboration” series. The series kicked off in 2015 with a special tapping event featuring the Session Red IPA developed by Red Cow and Odell Brewing (note that special events like tappings can be leveraged to generate more interest in collaboration products). Since then, Red Cow has featured beers like the Red Rye IPA and Coconut Porter from Lift Bridge Brewing Co., and most recently the Wooden Soul series from Indeed Brewing Company, which features a cranberry sour that’s aged, re-fermented on fresh cranberries roasted by Red Cow, and finished with hibiscus.

The collaboration strategy is being picked up by larger chains as well. Shake Shack has partnered with both Frog’s Leap winery and Brooklyn Brewery to produce the chain’s signature Shack Red (Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc aged in French oak) and Shack White (Sauvignon Blanc aged in steel tanks) wines, as well as its ShackMeister Ale.

Even if you don’t have the resources to develop a custom product for your brand, there are still ways to partner with producers to create a unique experience for customers.

Taking inspiration from Red Cow, bars and restaurants can host exclusive unveilings or tasting events for new product

lines from producers, which could encourage customers to also explore the other offerings on the menu. If done right, collaborations can help bring visibility and traffic to your brand, no matter if you have one unit or a hundred. Still, it’s important to choose your partners wisely – operators should be mindful of whether the collaboration will fit with the image of their establishment and also make sure any custom-developed products pair well with other beverage and food offerings on the menu.

Ex cl u s iv ity C a n D r iv e I n t er e s t

While creating a completely new product just for your business is a great way to establish a unique identity, doing so admittedly requires extra time and resources. A less cost-intensive way of developing that same sense of product exclusivity can be to reserve a special release or barrel just for your business, as opposed to ideating a product from scratch.

Operators can take a cue from Lee’s Summit, a restaurant group based in Kansas City, which collaborated with High West Distillery in Utah to bring an exclusive single-barrel Bourbon to their restaurants. Each bottle of Bourbon was privately labeled with the individual restaurant’s branding – a tactic that operators can adopt to emphasize the exclusivity of the product

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to their brand. Then the group celebrated the release of the barrel with a launch party at all of its restaurants, with complimentary tastings and giveaways from High West Distillery, which is another effective strategy. After all, who doesn’t like free things?

On a larger scale, earlier this year an Applebee’s franchisee brokered a deal with Akron, Ohio-based Thirsty Dog Brewing Company to gain exclusive pouring rights for its Blood Hound Orange IPA. Such partnerships are beneficial to both brewery and restaurant – smaller breweries can gain increased visibility and reach a wider audience by intertwining their brand with that of a well-known chain, while operators can attract fans of the brewery’s products who might not otherwise visit their restaurants.

Emphas ize Uniqueness in All Aspects

Forward-thinking operators are also creating a custom experience in other ways, from implementing subtle visual reminders of their logo to surprising guests with creative presentations. Stamped ice presents an easy branding opportunity – some operators straight-up engrave their restaurant name and logo into the ice, while others are taking a more subtle approach by stamping their ice with simple motifs that call to mind the general theme of the establishment. The Monarch Bar in Kansas City, for example, serves a Negroni that comes with a cube of ice etched with the outline of a monarch butterfly. Chicago’s Apogee takes customized ice to the next level by serving its Spirit Animal cocktail in an Instagrammable whale carved from ice and stamped with the bar’s logo. Incorporating unique visual elements can serve as a gentle reminder of your

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brand to consumers while also creating a fun surprise that will make the experience more memorable.

Opportunities to customize can exist outside of the immediate drink, as well. Unique glassware or serving vessels are a way to catch customers’ attention and get them talking about your brand. Take a cue from the kitchen, where trendy operators are plating dishes on customcrafted serving ware – commissioning unique glasses and barware from local artists can help consumers feel more connected to the business or brand. Or think completely outside the box and present your drinks in unorthodox ways that will get guests talking about the experience.

At L.A.’s Westbound, the Cocktail Carry On made with Vodka, yuzu, thyme, sage and peat smoke is presented and revealed tableside in a vintage suitcase. The Aviary in Chicago also takes the custom beverage experience to the next level with their Rum-based Brand New to the Game cocktail, which involves a pine coaster being branded with “Aviary” right in front of the customer. The fire is used to smoke the inside of the glass before it’s filled and the resulting branded coaster can be taken home.

When it comes to custom creations, there are endless ways operators can make a unique experience for guests, whether it’s by serving an exclusive drink that can’t be found anywhere else, leveraging subtle branding techniques, or presenting drinks in a memorable way.

In order to differentiate themselves from the pack, it’s important for operators to keep in mind that they are not just offering consumers a story, but their story.

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Summer Cocktails from

Seasonal

Monin is constantly creating new, trendy and classic recipes for you to add to your drink lists.

For summer, they offer these aest het ic ally pleasi n g an d flavorsome cocktails.

Along with the confidence in using their recipes comes the reassurance of the quality of the Monin product, and the peace of mind that you are serving your guests the best in the world.

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Flor de Fresa Margarita (pictured left) 1 ¼ oz ½ oz 1 oz 2 2 oz

Premium Silver Tequila Triple Sec Monin® Hibiscus Syrup pumps Monin® Strawberry Concentrated Flavor Monin® Margarita Mix (prepared batch)

1. Combine ingredients in shaker in the order listed.

2. Cap and shake vigorously.

3. Strain into serving glass filled with fresh ice.

4. Garnish.

El Matador 1 ½ oz ¾ oz ½ oz ½ oz 1 pump top

Corazon Blanco Fresh lime juice Monin® Spiced Brown Sugar Syrup Monin® Old Fashioned Ginger Ale Syrup Monin® Jalapeño Concentrated Flavor Premium ginger beer

1.

Combine ingredients in shaker in the order

listed, except sparkling beverage.

2.

Cap and shake vigorously.

3.

Strain into chilled serving glass.

4.

Top with sparkling beverage.

5. Garnish.

May Day Mimosa 1 oz ½ oz 1 pump ½ oz 1 oz 3 oz 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

The 86 Co. Fords Gin Monin® Lavender Syrup Monin® Mint Concentrated Flavor Fresh lemon juice Water Prosecco

Pour first 5 ingredients into suitable mixing container.

Whisk well to mix.

Pour into Popsicle mold and store in freezer overnight.

Remove from mold and place in serving glass.

Top with Prosecco, garnish and serve.

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Summer Sunset Margarita 1 ½ oz ½ oz ¾ oz 3 mL 1 oz

Premium Silver Tequila Solerno Blood Orange Liqueur Monin® Pomegranate Syrup Monin® Cucumber Concentrated Flavor Fresh lime juice

1. Combine ingredients in shaker in the order listed.

2. Cap and shake vigorously.

3. Strain into chilled serving glass.

4. Garnish.

Endless Summer Sangria

3 oz ½ oz 1 oz 2 oz

Sparkling Rosé wine Monin® Guava Syrup Cranberry juice Lemonade

1. Fill serving glass with ice.

2. Add remaining ingredients.

3. Stir gently and garnish.

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Summer Fling 1 ½ oz ½ oz ½ oz ¾ oz ¾ oz 1 pump

Premium Dry Gin Aperol aperitif Monin® Passion Fruit Syrup Fresh lemon juice Cranberry juice Monin® Grapefruit Concentrated Flavor

1. Combine ingredients in shaker in the order listed.

2. Cap and shake vigorously.

3. Strain into chilled serving glass.

4. Garnish.

Summer Whiskey Cocktail

1 ½ oz ½ oz ½ oz 3 mL

Bourbon Monin® Wild Blackberry Syrup Fresh lemon juice Monin® Mint Concentrated Flavor

1. Combine ingredients in shaker in the order listed.

2. Cap and shake vigorously.

3. Strain into serving glass filled with fresh ice.

4. Garnish.

Spring 2018 • itmmag.com

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COMICS

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by Jerry King

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