Tales of the Cocktail® New Orleans 2016

How to stay profitable, relevant and still maintain integrity? Brands and bars have long stuck to the traditional sponsorship model in working together whether it’s legal or not. But times are changing. There are many more brands vying for attention and many more tools that brands and bars can use to create value. In a time where craft chefs compete for and proudly list the sources of organic vegetables and sustainably raised animal protein on their menus - the bar programs are rarely following suit. In fact, the craft chefs and craft restaurant owners are more then ready to pay the higher price for quality ingredients and gladly pass it on to the guests, who in turn do not object paying for it. Unfortunately the bar programs are rarely following this trend outside few craft cocktail bars and even fewer are ready to adopt the same reasoning of charging more for higher quality even if it will be only a dollar or two more per drink. When it comes to the beverage programs people are, it seems still asking for a "deal" as if it is somehow someone else's responsibility to make them profitable. There is a widespread idea that 18-19% cost of liquid goods (in the US) that everyone wants to achieve in order to be profitable but how is this influencing the evolution of our craft? Indeed, how are these attitudes and business practices helping our guests have the best possible gastronomical experience? Are we making the best possible drinks or are we sacrificing best possible quality for profitability? This seminar-roundtable will attempt to poke the hornet’s nest by asking panellists and audience questions that are on almost everyone’s mind: Pay to play can be legal but is it ethical? Why is it that the bar owners and bar managers still believe that you can and should get something in return just for buying a product? When and in what circumstances should you expect support? When you are buying quality ingredients - is it still possible to retain 18-19% liquor cost? Do we perceive the spirit companies, suppliers, importers and distributors as bottomless bags of money or are we working together with them as partners in a long chain of moving cases and making the industry better? Join Dushan Zaric (Employees Only & The 86 Co) and his panel of experts, Michael Vachon (Maverick Drinks), Bobby Heugel (Anvil, Houston), Craig Miller (Trade Practice / Training. AZ Dept. of Liquor) and Shervene Shahbazkhani (Bacardi UK) in this really exiting workshop that is intended to create more transparency in the industry at large.