Profiting from The Craft Cocktail Movement
The wizardry and mystique is slowly being pulled away from all aspects of the cocktail industry as accessibility of information grows and the number of home bartenders practicing the craft of cocktailing grows. As a result, customers are expecting a higher standard of craft cocktails and these are now offered at more places than just boutique craft cocktail bars; every type of bar is getting in on the act. Ensuring that your craft cocktail program stands above the rest will ensure the longevity of success and profitability for your bar program.
Premium Mixers
This is a relatively new but very fast growing market segment and in bars across the globe the use and popularity of high end mixers is rising. Bartenders and bar managers are moving away from the soda gun and discovering the benefits of using expertly crafted mixers that are both a high quality and a consistent product. These may not be applicable for every style of bar out there but their quality is unrivaled if you do choose to use them.
Fresh Juices
Squeezing fresh juices for your bar is a time consuming and laborious task, yet many bars have discovered the benefits of juicing fresh citrus juices and are putting their staff to the task of juicing fresh citrus every day. Fresh squeezed juices are a huge step above store bought versions and it is a tick up in quality which your customers will notice and return for. Remember that squeezing fresh juice takes time and this means an increase in labour costs. This labor increase won’t be exceptionally large but it will increase the cost of your bar program.
Culture
Improving your bar program and adding premium and high quality craft cocktails to your cocktail list is all well and good but if your staff don’t buy into your improved cocktail program it will all go to waste. Your guests might love it but your staff need to be proud of it, promote it and be keen to garner an in-depth knowledge of the whats and the whys involved with your upgraded cocktail program. This is something you and the rest of your management team need to be passionate about so that it rubs off on your line employees. From this your bartenders passion will show your guests how much you and you employees care about the quality of the product they’re producing.
Cost Management
Using premium ingredients, be it juices, mixers or spirits, comes with a premium cost. This needs to be passed onto your guests with higher costs for the drinks containing these ingredients. However proper cost management is key when dealing with high cost items because the loss, either through theft or wastage, of these products is going to be of a higher cost to you. As such you may need to keep a closer eye on costs than you did in the past.
If you plan on using fresh juices and other fresh produce to up the standards of your bar program you’re going to want to keep a close eye on the price you pay for these products because they can often fluctuate substantially without warning. Plan for this by asking your supplier for the median cost of these products over the course of the last year. This way you’re costing price fluctuations into your drinks and avoiding any sudden surprises when the prices of these goods rise.
The global resurgence of a cocktail culture has now passed the fad phase and it looks like quality cocktails are becoming the norm. With the consumers’ senses becoming more finely tuned towards quality and, with high quality now more desirable than high quantity, excellent cocktails are here to stay for a while. Upgrading your bar program to this model will help to increase your customer count and customer loyalty, as they seek out the best that they can find in their area.
