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The homebound were inspired by build-your-own cocktail kits from local watering holes and schooled by YouTube videos with titles like “How to Stock Your Home Bar” and “Ten Must-Have Bottles.” They took Zoom mixology classes hosted by prominent bartenders and pondered the merits of using rye versus bourbon in a Manhattan and which rums, syrups, and juices to mix into a personalized tiki concoction.
As a result, operators may now find themselves standing across the bar or table from patrons with increased beverage knowledge. This crowd expects a lot more than the same-old highballs, margaritas, lattes, smoothies, and lemonades they sipped before the pandemic. Attracting them, and keeping them excited and engaged, are major challenges for growth-minded operators.
Tracking higher expectations
In addition, it must be noted that serving today’s knowledgeable beverage consumers is also a major business opportunity. Research shows that consumers will reward operators who satisfy their rising expectations for vivid flavors and novel techniques that they cannot easily duplicate at home.
“Consumers are willing to pay for delicious flavor experiences,” says Shifting Food Habits & Routines: 2021 Eating Occasions, a recent report by the Hartman Group, a market research firm. “Many consumers continue to trade up and see the value in paying more for food and beverages that offer enhanced and/or new/unique flavor profiles.”
“As other discretionary spending slowed during the pandemic, more consumers were (and still are) more likely to trade up within food and beverage as a source for quality and unique experiences,” adds the Hartman Group report.
Engaging flavors
Stirring the enthusiasm of adventurous beverage consumers begins by offering them unique, vibrant flavors. Passion fruit is an on-trend flavor that gratifies the palate and evokes carefree tropical experiences. Floral and botanical flavors, such as lavender, rose, hibiscus, ginger and mint, likewise open exciting new vistas to explore. In addition, those flavor profiles can make alcohol-free libations, specialty coffee and tea, lemonades, and house-made sodas more enticing.
What’s more, flavored syrups and concentrates that are unsweetened or sweetened with sugar substitutes appeal to the significant portion of consumers mindful of health and wellness.
Of course, dealing with the tight labor market is a reality all operators face today. At the bar, this often means reducing the number of items on beverage menus and simplifying recipes for easier execution. While some establishments continue to make syrups, juices and purees from scratch, others choose the greater labor efficiency of high-quality prepared products.
Here are examples of attention-getting drinks in the field.
- Port Light, a specialty of Three Dots and a Dash in Chicago, a tiki bar in the Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises group, is a medley of bonded bourbon, overproof Jamaican rum, 151 proof rum, passion fruit, lemon and pomegranate.
- Crocodile Logic at The Electric Cure in Edgewater, Colo., combines cachaca, coconut milk, passion fruit, condensed milk, lime and nutmeg.
- Doctor No, mended at Brick & Mortar in Cambridge, Mass., is a mix of pineapple rum, Jamaican rum, banana liqueur, coconut juice and lime.
- Crime of Passion, made with gin, passion fruit, orgeat liqueur, lemon and cayenne, stars on the drink list of Sycamore Den in San Diego.
- Mango’s Tropical Café South Beach in Miami Beach offers the classic Mojito made with rum, mint and lime, as well as Mojitos in flavors such as passion fruit, mango, coconut, strawberry, pineapple and classic lemonade.
Advanced education
Mixology instruction—both virtual and in-person—and do-it-yourself cocktail kits remain viable options for consumers eager to learn more.
For example, guests of Three Dots and a Dash can book virtual cocktail classes for their special events. In addition, Gin & Juice, a virtual cocktail bar concept at Three Dots and a Dash, features cocktail kits for an at-home tiki bar experience. For example, the Painkiller kit, priced at $45 for pickup, supplies the fixings to mix a batch of the exotic rum, tangerine, pineapple and coconut elixir.
Now offering private event cocktail classes is The Office, a cocktail destination in Chicago known for a rare spirits collection. An email recently invited patrons to “learn to craft classic cocktails from the minds behind The Office speakeasy.”
There is a large contingent of consumers eager to advance their beverage education. Operators who give them unique flavors and memorable experiences will earn their regular patronage.
