The Bar Blogger Podcast – Interview with Christina Gaspari – Tales of the Cocktail

Posted by barblog on Jul 20, 2010 in Podcast | 0 comments

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Tales of the Cocktail is an internationally acclaimed festival of cocktails, cuisine and culture held annually in New Orleans, Louisiana. The event brings together the best and brightest of the cocktail community—award-winning mixologists, authors, bartenders, chefs and designers—for a five-day celebration of the history and artistry of making drinks. Each year offers a spirited series of dinners, demos, tastings, competitions, seminars, book signings, tours and parties all perfectly paired with some of the best cocktails ever made.

We were delighted to catch up with Christina Gaspari, Event Co-Ordinator for Tales of The Cocktail to hear what’s in store for visitors to this year’s event in New Orleans as well as learn how they use Social Media tools and collaborations to spread the word about the event.

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Why Staff Should Not Be Allowed Make This Decision

Posted by barblog on May 12, 2010 in Bar Marketing, Bar Service | 4 comments

I’ve beat this drum many times before and it’s one that I will continue to beat for as long as I am the victim of what I call a “consistent inconsistency”: In other words, the continuing lack of a standard when it comes to drink preparation, menu presentation and service.

To cut to the chase, a bar needs to be consistent. Every business needs to be consistent. It’s what builds loyalty, recommendations and ultimately revenue.

There is a simple reason that 31,000 McDonald’s Restaurants serve 47 million people a day: Consistency. The knowledge that you will get the same meal every time you order it. No deviations, no changes in flavor. Just the meal that you ordered. And after all, that’s what you wanted in the first place, right?

So why is it that bar owners do not establish a system when it comes to drink service? How can the same cocktail made by two different bartenders vary not only in in taste, but in ingredients?

This was the predicament I found myself in yesterday, when I returned to the bar that makes me my favorite cocktail and they make it well. That is, it seems, until the regular bartender is off duty it seems and my cocktail now tastes different, looks different and prompts me to make a mental note to only take my seat once I know the regular bartender is working.

Could you afford to only have business when a certain bartender is on duty? Could you survive if that bartender went to work elsewhere? Sound drastic? It is, but it’s a real issue.

The answer? Establish a simple operating procedure and standard for every drink, menu item and service procedure in your business. Your customers will thank you for the consistency, you will be able to measure your staff against your standards and you will see a reflection in your bottom line.

Members of ManageYourBar.com can access 100s of tools to establish standard operating operating procedures and train your staff. Are you a member yet?

59 Free Cocktail Menu Templates For Your Bar

Posted by barblog on Mar 29, 2010 in Bar Management | 1 comment

If you run a bar and you don’t have a cocktail menu, you are leaving A LOT of money on the table. Cocktails allow you to take an ordinary spirit, add an ingredient or two and charge a lot more than you normally would.

Who wouldn’t want to take advantage of the extra margins cocktails can give you? I came across this great free website during the week that allows you to choose from over 50 different professionally designed cocktail menus, add your own cocktails, prices, logos, descriptions and anything else you want, or just select from over 100 of the most popular cocktails already available on their website and simply print it out!

You are also able to create your own recipe cards with all the instructions needed to create your cocktails! I tried it out myself and it’s really easy to use, so if you don’t have a cocktail menu in place right now, you can have one in minutes and it can be on your bar counter before close of business today!

Here’s the website: http://www.barmenus.com