Making Drinks in the H2O Cocktails Seminar

The concept is new and refreshing- as were the drinks!.

Read the write-up on Alcademics now or check Kathy Casey’s website a little later for her comments and additional information.

Mmm, Vinegar

Vinegar beverages date back thousands of years, though they’ve recently become trendy in cocktails.

In the seminar Vinegar: The Other Acid, the moderators spoke about the history of vinegar in drinks, the shrubs that are popular today, and a new technique of using vinegar to make non-alcoholic tinctures.

To read all about, follow this link to Alcademics.com.

Ice Diamond

There were two seminars on ice this year at Tales of the Cocktail. The first one, reported here, showed the evolution of ice programs in New York bars and what equipment one needs to have an ice program in a bar.

Today’s seminar is about the West Coast style of ice program: buying a big block of ice, cutting it up with a chainsaw or ban saw in advance, and cutting it down to big cubes, and carving it with big knives during service. They say it looks more gangsta that way.

Seminar panelist Andrew Bohrer instructed us not to take any notes – they’ll all be online at his website later today.

Read all about it over on Alcademics.

Can you taste the difference between the flavor wood gives to a spirit versus the amount of time a spirit has spent in wood? (Spoiler: yes, you can.)

Check out this posting on what Camper English learned at this seminar at Tales of the Cocktail. The post is here.

Read all about it over at Alcademics.

Read the write-up on Alcademics here.

How The Global Drinks Business Works

Time: 3 PM to 4:30 PM
Date: Wednesday the 20th of July, 2011
Venue: The Riverview Room, Hotel Monteleone
Moderators: Philip Duff

Ever wondered what a SKU is? Or why you can get brand X in Arizona but not in Seattle? Or why a drinks firm has brand Y in America but not anywhere else? What’s the difference between a brand owner and a distributor? Or between an importer and a wholesaler? And where do ambassadors come in? Industry veteran, bar owner, brand ambassador and fearless marketing consultant Philip Duff guides you up the ladders and down the chutes of the worldwide drinks business, from shore to shore and from grain to glass.

What do you think people are the most confused about the global drinks business?

I think everyone’s actually pretty confused! Importers and distributors have slimmed down staff and outsourced functions to the point where brand directors rarely even have the time anymore  to go out to bars and on the road with sales reps any more, so they’re not staying up to date.  Consumers are bombarded with information and choices that have expanded exponentially in just a few years while bartenders don’t understand why brand X owned by company Y is available the next state over but not in their area.  Brands are very often less than transparent about where or how they are made. Companies are hiring brand ambassadors left, right and center from a fast-diminishing talent pool, and throwing them into the field with very little – and more commonly no – training on dealing with media, how the industry works and even basic details like how to participate in a marketing meeting and how to write a business letter or email.

How do you think this seminar might help bartenders or bar owners?

It’ll give them – I hope –  a bit more insight into how local, national and global brands more closely resemble loose-related clones of each other rather than one big happy family; the questions to ask to determine where a brand really comes from or who owns it, and some tips and tricks for dealing with sales reps (who are overstretched) brand ambassadors (who are under-trained) and brand managers (who are drowning in KPIs). And what KPIs, SKUs and NLCEs are…I also hope this will explain a few of the more frustrating aspects of being part of the drinks business, and give a bit of insight into how business – any business, really – is done anno 2011. It’s still a people business, albeit a complicated one. Given that there’s a great chance you’ll either be negotiating with a drinks firm at some stage, or be hired by one for an event or some bar consultancy, it really pays to know how the business ticks.

Do other countries us America’s 3-tier system? Are there any advantages to it?

Not that I know of, and no, I can’t see any advantages for a modern, democratic country like the US: the 3-tier system drives up prices while distancing importers from distributors and eventual point-of-sale in liquor stores and in bars, which cannot be a good thing. It makes it much harder and much more expensive for brands to break into the US, and a lot harder to hit critical tipping-point mass because you have to fight for distribution county by county, state by state. This is understandable in a federated place like Europe where countries remain separate, but baffling in a single country like the US.

How do you think emerging markets in China and India might alter or shift the current global drinks business? What are changes we could see when these markets come online? Do we have a good historical analogy to this?

Well, essentially, we’d all better start learning Mandarin! Seriously, these countries will get rich quick and large swathes of the population will be upwardly mobile, but I think it’s only a good thing for drinks firms. China historically is not quite so mad for distilled spirit as India, so we’ll see a bit more A&P spend in China to rectify that situation, and just like in India we’ll see more brands owned by Western firms but being developed specifically for China.

We do have an analogy – I think it’s America. When America really got cookin’ in the 1800s, it ushered in the first Golden Age of mixology and within a few short decades the US had a very high standard of living – so much so that Prohibition and two world wars were little more than speed bumps on that road to prosperity. Drinking in 1800s US was driven by immigrants, as was the birth of the US whiskey business, but what I think will happen in China & India is that people will move around within those vast countries; I doubt there will be significant immigration to those lands. Culturally wine is a greater part of Chinese DNA than Indian, so more wine snobs there, and we should start seeing some interesting Chinese and Indian-produced brands in West. We already have some good examples in brands like Amrut whiskey.

Thanks Phil!

Occupational Hazards

This seminar, part of the pro-series, is targeted to bar professionals. Given the teaser below, I emailed seminar leader Charlotte Voisey a few questions.

Details:

Time: 3 PM to 4:30 PM
Date: Wednesday the 20th of July, 2011
Venue: The Queen Anne Ballroom, Hotel Monteleone
Moderators: Charlotte Voisey
Panelists: Kirsten Amann, Ryan Magarian

A life with cocktails on tap is enviable to many. “You drink for a living? Are you hiring?” is the common retort to a cocktail professional explaining his or her work. But, just like a good cocktail, a healthy and prosperous career in this business comes from the right balance. Ryan Magarian and Charlotte Voisey host a long overdue session on bartender well being and life work balance with special guest Kitty Amann. Whether you aim to stay in the business longer or just be healthier while you do we’ll discuss how to play it smart when it comes to diet, drinking, peer pressure, travel and exercise on and off shift. In addition the seminar will discuss the physical approach to bartending and offer tips, professional opinion and ‘mocktails’ for thought. Letter from your liver: please attend.

Your session says you’ll be discussing the physical approach to bartending. Does that mean you’ll be talking about workplace ergonomics?

I believe workplace ergonomics are an important piece of this puzzle, so yes we will address bar design, bartender clothing and shoes amongst other elements that contribute to one’s physical well being.

What’s the easiest way to sneak out of a party or bar when you’ve had enough but don’t want all the cajoling to stay from your friends?

I used to worry about what conversations or bonding I was missing out on after midnight (as I would have ususally escaped by then) but then realised that after midnight  people usually go into story repetition mode and no one really recalls anything anyway.  But joking aside I would always make sure I thank my host and then slip out, if you try and say goodbye to everyone peer pressure may get the better of you.  Most real friends or supporters understand that if you are this industry for the long run that escaping a party to acheive balance is no shame.

You’re on planes a lot. What’s the secret to sleeping on planes?

Be small. My secret to a lot of things is exercise.  I rarely sleep badly in beds or on planes and I owe that to my body being active during the day so I am usually ready for sleep when night falls.  Blindfolds and ear plugs work if you have a window seat.  Plan to never be too cold or too hot (wear layers, bring a blanket).  I never carry too large a bag so I can always leave space to stretch my legs out.  Never cross your legs or even ankels, drink a good amount of water so that dehydration does not wake you up.  Reading always puts me to sleep.  Different things will work for different peole, but in general if you dress comfortably and condition yourself to relax it helps.  Book ahead and seek out the seats that give you extra room.  $50 to stretch your legs may give you six hours sleep verus none.

Do you have a general philosophy or important tip you can give bartenders to help achieve a proper work/life balance?

Know, or find out, what is really important to you in the long run and make sure your general behaviour is helping you to achieve those things.  From a professional stand point nurturing good realtionships and continual education are key and from a personal angle keep your body and mind fit and healthy so that you can enjoy family, friends, faith and all the things that you truly love.  There will be times when you have to immerse yourself in work to get ahead, just always strive to keep the bigger picture in mind – what is the end goal.  Ryan Magarian is very good at this work/life balance stuff which is why I wanted to work with him on this seminar.

Thank you Charlotte!