Inventory for April 16th, 2017

‘twas the night before Easter (Monday) when all through the house (bar scene) not a creature (bartender) was stirring. Forgive our puny attempt at turning our inventory into a holiday-themed poetry, but we’re just so excited to have tomorrow off! In celebration of that, let’s make this short and sweet: Punch magazine investigates the current cocktail Zeitgeist, Grub Street takes a look at the industry’s sexual assault problem, Our/Vodka names Fliss Gransden as brand ambassador, and Indra Kantono explains what to do in case a world famous bar opens down the street from your own. Cheers!

Once the Easter Bunny has hid its last egg, it’s spring — that’s correct, no? We’re making it so. In celebration of all things spring, green, and fresh Liquor.com put together a list of 11 amazing gin cocktails to make right now. Our favorite? The Gin on Gin Julep. What gin-based delicacy will you be drinking tonight?

What Ingredients Define the Current Cocktail Zeitgeist?

Punch had one goal this week: to outline the cocktail Zeitgeist of the moment. “By poring over several dozen drink lists from top bars across the country” they were able to gain a birds-eye view of the national cocktail scene. In their latest article they’ve outlined five new trends which are currently defining it.

1. Unexpected Vegetable Use
2. The Full Chocolate Spectrum
3. New “Dairy” and Dairy Techniques
4. Beer Syrups
5. Eaux de Vie

So, to summarize: vegetal cocktails are in, chocolate is  making its way into drinks, and we’ll be sipping on vegan “dairy” and actual dairy. Find their whole article here, it’s definitely an interesting read on trends for the coming year.

Can the Cocktail Industry Fix Its Sexual-Assault Problem?

Most people would consider the bar community’s problem with sexual assault a open secret. In order to make it less of an open secret and more of a “let’s call this bullshit out” type situation, a site called “the Reality of Sexual Assault in the Cocktail Community” was launched last October. Grub Street explains: “The site details attacks that were allegedly perpetrated by one very prominent member of the bartending community. The site didn’t name him specifically — in deference to the women who spoke out and made the initial decision to keep him anonymous”. At launch, 12 women shared their stories pertaining to the prominent personality. Soon a new section was launched that detailed more national sexual assaults. (Most of which are truly horrific). “The community is plagued with a lingering boorishness and boys’-club mentality that’s rooted in the past. Even as more people do speak out, it remains difficult for the idea of real change to gain traction”. Which is exactly the problem.

The article mentions more online series detailing sexual assault, as well as groups that have come together in fightings this. It’s hard to break though, this boys club mentality, and it doesn’t seem like it will anytime soon. Author Richard Morgan ends his article with a quote by Pamela Wiznitzer, the president of the national US Bartenders’ Guild: “We know exactly how many botanicals are in gin, and the proper way to make real mezcal,” she says, “but we don’t know what to do about sexual assault? No. We need to fix that. Career craft-bartending is in its infancy. We’re still figuring things out. Every day we’re opening a new Pandora’s box. But it’s better than doing nothing. When ‘locker-room talk’ has been normalized, we’re all in danger.”

Fliss Gransden Named Our/Vodka European Brand Ambassador

“Our/Vodka has named Fliss Gransden as European brand ambassador as part of plans to build on its expansion in the region’s markets”. The spirits business reports that Gransden is the former UK brand ambassador for Belsazar Vermouth. She says ““Working with Our/Vodka is a thrilling new challenge. For me, Our/Vodka is an incredibly innovative concept, the brand is doing something unique within the industry and pushing the boundaries of what consumers and bartenders expect from a vodka”.

Here’s what Indra Kantono did when Employees Only Singapore came to his turf

In 2016 Employees Only opened a dependance in Singapore. Indra Kantono tells Drink magazine, what exactly he did to make sure he wouldn’t lose customers to the new business. First off, he won the loyalty of his existing customers. “We were fortunate that our bars grew a loyal following of customers before the new competition moved in. Our first focus was to make sure they continued being regulars at the bar”. Then, he decided to welcome new customers and to grow the pie. “A new bar opening is also likely to bring a lot of new people to visit the neighbourhood. The more famous the bar, the bigger the PR hype. As soon as EO opened, we were well-prepared to welcome new visitors to the neighbourhood and to our bar. Sure enough, we started seeing a lot of new faces.”

Lastly, he needed to motivate his team. “Newsflash: bartenders are a competitive bunch. The popularity of cocktail competitions comes from the healthy desire of bartenders to showcase that they are worthy to be the best in the world. We found that a high-level of competition on our doors really stoked the competitive juices of our team. We are eager to show the world that our beverage program, hospitality and service can match and better anyone else’s”. So, now you know what to do in case a internationally recognized bar decides to stake a claim to your territory. Thanks Indra!