Take a look at the cocktails that people are drinking these days, and you’ll likely be reminded of what they’re eating.
There are local and seasonal products, specialty items that give customers a sense of adventure, better-for-you drinks, farm-to-glass ingredients, and even the cocktail equivalents of small plates.
As customers become increasingly adventurous in their drink choices — and have shown they’re willing to pay a premium for a more engaging bar experience — operators have responded with a wide array of options.
“Nowadays consumers love to try new things,” said Peter Meemalayath, beverage manager for The Palm restaurant in downtown Los Angeles. “If you want to capture the market, you need to understand that.”
Franklin Ferguson, general manager and partner at Navy Beach in Montauk, N.Y., agrees, saying his customers like cocktails that require some artistry, “not just a Martini served up with olives. They want to be able to have something that they can’t have at home.”
One of his specialties is the Marganegra. The drink is inspired by the margarita, but also by bubble tea — an iced drink invented in Taiwan and made with sweetened tea and big tapioca pearls meant to be sucked through thick straws. It’s made with tequila, muddled blackberries and raspberries, a splash of violet liqueur, sweetened lime juice, and soda. Ferguson adds more berries and serves the drink with a wide straw that can handle the fruit chunks. He charges $12 for it and said it outsells the restaurant’s other cocktails 10 to one.
Various restaurant chains, from T.G.I. Friday’s to Famous Dave’s, are focusing on margaritas, mostly in an effort to make them better for you. Both chains have launched an array of low-calorie “skinny” margaritas and cocktails to appeal to weight-conscious drinkers. They join the list of other chains that have debuted “skinny” cocktails in recent months, including Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar, The Cheesecake Factory, Kona Grill and Z’Tejas Southwestern Grill.
Meemalayath said the hottest spirit at his bar at the moment is “moonshine,” or unaged whiskey. Customers are drawn to it, he said, partly because moonshine sounds exciting and just a bit illegal. Moonshine and other liquors with a compelling story “allow a connection between the product and the consumer,” he added.
At the Ruth’s Chris Steak House in Myrtle Beach, S.C., the mojito is made with mint plucked by chef Mike Marques from the restaurant’s rooftop garden, taking a page from the popular farm-to-table approach.
Customers are also more open to new flavors with their cocktail choices, said James Lee, beverage manager of TAG restaurant in Denver and former owner of a speakeasy-style bar in Boulder, Colo.
“Three years ago I was trying to run a special on a Vesper,” he said, referring to the famous shaken-not-stirred Martini-like drink ordered by James Bond in Ian Fleming’s novel, “Casino Royale,” that’s made with gin, vodka and a wine-based aperitif from Bordeaux, France. But diners didn’t didn’t seem interested in trying something new and the drink sold poorly.
“[But] I ran it again recently and we sold out in, like, three hours,” he said.
“And they’re willing to pay for it,” he added, noting that he was able to charge $11 for the drink.
With product costs often in the range of 15 percent to 20 percent — although some bartenders put them as high as 25 percent — cocktails can be very profitable. But it helps if you work with your suppliers, bartenders said.
“You have to have genuine, honest relationships with your purveyors, and if they have products that you can proudly represent through your restaurant, you can have a symbiotic relationship,” he said.
Amar Santana, former executive chef of Charlie Palmer at Bloomingdale’s South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, Calif., has special plans for cocktails at the restaurant he plans to open in Laguna Beach, Calif., in August, Broadway by Amar Santana.
Instead of offering $15 specialty cocktails, he plans to sell half-sized cocktails for $7.
“Any time you see a Martini that costs $15, you think before buying a second one because that’ll be $30. If you have one for $7, you’ll try a second, and if you try a third, it’s still just $21.”
Contact Bret Thorn at bret.thorn@penton.com.
