Sales of whiskey are surging. According to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, American whiskey revenue was up 8.2 percent in 2020 year-over-year, despite the 25 percent tariffs placed on wine and spirits in 2019. Web searches of whiskey makers and drinkers yield results of primarily white individuals, but over the past few years, the image of a stereotypical whiskey lover has started to change as more Black innovators enter the arenas of distilling, creating brands, and educating consumers about whiskey. These movers and shakers are working to dismantle the stereotypical image of the spirit’s consumers and creators. Just like many Black innovators in the world of bourbon, these trailblazers are developing new and exciting ways to broaden the audience and appeal of whiskey in general. From pioneers creating their own whiskeys, to spirits educators and brand ambassadors alike, these are some of the Black whiskey innovators to keep your eye on. Jason Ridgel, Founder of Guidance WhiskeyWhen Jason Ridgel, a former health care marketing executive, realized at industry events where alcohol was served that he didn’t see many spirits brands owned by people of color, he was inspired to make a change. He had always been a spirits lover and decided to create a legacy for his family. “After moving back home to Nashville to be closer to family, I decided I wanted to create my own whiskey brand because it’s what I drink and want to share with others,” says Ridgel, who was living in California at the time. Ridgel founded Guidance Whiskey in 2018, naming the brand in honor of those who supported him along the way, as well as the Black ancestors who continue to inspire him. Building any business is hard, but creating a Black-owned business is even harder, says Ridgel. When he was getting the product ready for market, Ridgel experienced racism, as well as what he calls the “snobbery that goes with liquor.” Ridgel’s spirits are anything but. “The whisky has drinkability, and that’s what we want,” he says. Tracie Franklin, Whiskey Educator“I call myself ‘the whiskey whisperer’ only because I teach people not just what to start with, but how you drink whiskey,” says Tracie Franklin, whiskey educator. That second part, “that’s what people don’t understand,” she says. “The images we see of whiskey [in popular culture] can be college kids shooting back whiskey in movies or we’ve seen people sit with a really expensive heavy glass, but many haven’t had anyone explain to them what’s happening in their glass or on their palate.” A former national brand ambassador for Glenfiddich, she is the first official apprentice of the Nearest & Jack Advancement Initiative, which ams to bring diversity to the whiskey industry with the creation of the Nearest Green School of Distilling launched in 2020. Franklin works to introduce and educate Black imbibers about whiskey and all its nuances. As part of her apprentice work, she is training to become a master distiller learning the process of making whiskey. Cameron George, National Ambassador of ArdbegCameron George is the national ambassador for Ardbeg Whisky, a Scottish Islay brand founded in 1815. Based in Seattle, Cameron uses his unique personality to teach novice and experienced consumers alike about the brand with an outgoing, fun, and curious approach. “I find whisky fascinating. So many different ingredients, elements, and forces coming together to create something is truly a work of art,” says George. As Ardbeg’s brand ambassador, George is a face of the brand in the United States — teaching classes on whisky, leading tastings, and using his platform to change the image of what a whisky drinker looks like. “Glenmorangie and Ardbeg Maison launched a new campaign which is colorful, welcoming, and aims to attract a diverse group of consumers to enjoy their whiskies. I’m energized by the efforts I see,” George says. Chris Montana, CEO & Distiller, Du Nord Craft SpiritsAlong with his wife Shanelle, Chris Montana opened the Du Nord distillery in the heart of Minneapolis back in 2013. There, the duo crafts spirits from gin, to vodka, to liqueurs. Du Nord is looking at the long game in whiskey. It aims to help create more Black-owned distilleries — using Du Nord’s platform to be an incubator in the food and beverage space. “We want to normalize it. This is bigger than Du Nord, we want to be an engine,” Montana says. In 2020, Montana founded the Du Nord Foundation to encourage and promote diversity in various sectors of the business, creating pathways to economic prosperity for business owners of color in the Twin Cities. The foundation is also working to establish a business district for new minority-owned businesses. The article 4 (More) Black Innovators You Need to Know in the Whiskey Industry appeared first on VinePair. Via https://vinepair.com/articles/black-whiskey-innovators/ Via https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/4-more-black-innovators-you-need-to-know-in-the-whiskey-industry
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Airing between regular episodes of the VinePair Podcast, “Next Round” explores the ideas and innovations that are helping drinks businesses adapt in a time of unprecedented change. As the coronavirus crisis continues and new challenges arise, VP Pro is in your corner, supporting the drinks community for all the rounds to come. If you have a story or perspective to share, email us at [email protected]. In this episode of Next Round, Zach sits down with Allie Nault and Jarad Slipp, accomplished sommeliers and new business owners. Their venture, Knead Wine, doubles as a retail wine shop and a takeout artisanal pizzeria. Knead Wine is based in the quaint getaway town of Middleburg, Va., just an hour outside Washington D.C. The wine store is a microcosm of escape in its own way, offering a wall of unique wines from all over the world curated by Nault and Slipp, as well as a wall of $20 wines, and a wall of $45 wines. Despite their extensive knowledge and accolades, the duo strives to make buying wine an anxiety- and judgment-free process. Throughout the episode, Nault and Slipp explain how the Knead Wine was conceptualized at the start of Covid, and how they’ve make their business model work in trying times. As it turns out, pizza and alcohol aren’t the worst things to invest in during a pandemic. Listen OnlineOr Check out the Conversation HereZach: From Seattle, Washington I’m Zach Geballe, this is a VinePair podcast Next Round conversation. We’re bringing you these conversations in between our regular podcast episodes so that we can focus on a range of issues and stories in the drinks world. Today I have the pleasure of speaking with Allie Nault and Jarad Slipp of Knead Wine. Thank you both for being here. Allie: Thank you for having us. Jarad: Super happy to be here. Z: Excellent. So let’s start with the basics: What is knead wine? For those of you who are just listening to this and somehow didn’t read the headline on your podcast app, that’s k-n-e-a-d. So there’s a little bit more of a story here than just the obvious, which is that, yes, we all need wine. J: Knead Wine was birthed in the middle of the Covid pandemic. We actually opened on August 1st. My background has been in restaurants for most of my life, and then I ran RdV Vineyards in Delaplane in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains for six years. When I left, I could have gone all over the place, in lots of different directions. But I really, really love where I live […] on the top of a mountain in the middle of nowhere. I can’t see my neighbors in any direction. We have a pet bear that comes around on occasion, and it’s fantastic. I wanted to carve something out right here in my own backyard — easier said than done in the middle of Covid. So unwittingly, we found a space, and we did gourmet takeout pizza and retail wine. And again, unwittingly, looking back, the only thing in the restaurant world that is actually ahead of the game right now is takeout pizza. I think the worse the world gets, the more people drink. So it was kind of the one-two punch. It wasn’t planned, but it was certainly welcome. Z: Gotcha. Allie, maybe a little bit about your background as well? A: Of course. So I am kind of a restaurant orphan. I’ve worked in Providence, Rhode Island, New York City, at the top of the One World Trade Center, down to Commander’s Palace in New Orleans, and most recently at The Inn at Little Washington as their sommelier. In March 2020 restaurants closed, and Jarad and I were just sitting at home saying: “What’s next? Is the inn going to reopen? Will I even have a job?” Jarad just departed from RdV, and it was perfect timing at the perfect place. A spot opened up right in downtown Middleburg on the main street in this beautiful old building that needed a lot of TLC. But we were just so excited. A little bit more about the concept: when we say restaurant, we serve food and we can do intimate private events for up to 10 people by state law right now. But when you walk in, it actually looks like you’re at a retail wine shop, and then all of a sudden you start smelling pizza and these famous cookies we started making. Then you’re like, “Wait, what else is going on here?” Then that’s when the pizza comes in as well — it’s a whole entire sensual experience. Even with your mask on, you’re able to still smell Jarad’s incredible pizza as you walk in. They don’t let me back there in the kitchen. Z: Fair enough. So let’s start with just a little bit more about Middleburg, because those people who are not in Virginia or nearby, like me, [might be asking] “Well, OK, it’s on the map, but what kind of community is it?” What has the reception been?” J: It is a very interesting little microcosm. Middleburg is probably the wealthiest town in the wealthiest county in America — Loudoun County — which is to say it’s on the same par as Palo Alto and Jupiter, Florida, and so on and so forth. We have our fair share of multimillionaires and billionaires that stroll in on the daily. But that said, the median income is something like $56,000 a year. For every person that has a 1,000 acre horse farm, there’s probably 20 or 30 or 40, 50 people that they employ there. So we get all walks of life. It is this super cute, quaint hamlet in the middle of horse country. We’re exactly an hour outside of Washington, D.C., so it’s a nice little getaway. Jackie Onassis used to come quite a bit when she was younger. But particularly with the current state of the pandemic, it’s been a nice getaway for people in the city to sneak away to, even if it’s just for an afternoon. Z: I would love for you to explain a little bit more about what you’re doing: when it comes to wine, you have a very straightforward, very simple pricing structure; can you explain what that is, and why you went that route? J: I honestly can’t remember what the genesis of it was, but part of what we’re supposed to do as sommeliers is demystify wine, and I wanted to keep it real streamlined and simple for anyone that came into the shop. Basically, you walk in the door and everything on the left-hand side is $20 and everything on the right-hand side is $45. It’s really that simple. We have some bubbles and some stickers that are priced as marked, and we have a small wall that rotates. It was originally intended to be our favorite wines from our wine travels, but there’s not a whole lot of traveling going on right now. It started out with Willamette Valley, which is the last trip that we took. Currently it’s our favorite dozen Pinots from around the world. Come spring, that will probably turn into our favorite local Virginia wines, so it’s always moving. So the large preponderance of the wines is either $20 or $45, but you can get wines up to 300 bucks. Z: Do people vibe with that pricing? Does that make sense to people right away? I will say, I’ve seen a few restaurants do something similar, where everything is either one price or in one bucket, [but] I don’t think I’ve seen retail shops do that. I’m obviously not familiar with every last retail shop, but it seems like it’s the kind of thing that if done well, as I imagine it is, that people really appreciate. They don’t have to think about price tags on wines next to each other to decide which one to buy. They know they’re on the left or the right wall, so they know what the price is going to be. J: Allie can probably speak to it better than I can, because I’m often in the kitchen. But the reception has been amazing — people adore the idea. And again, it keeps things easy for them: they have their two price points, and they can gravitate from one side to the other. Oftentimes people will get mixed cases with both price points. It makes things interesting and challenging for us in a good way in that it’s very, very curated. We very much have to stay in our lanes price-wise, and be able to find wines that fit those two price points. So you can’t deviate too far, one way or another. You have to give great value. But you also can’t bring in a wine that costs $19.95 and sell it for 20 bucks. A: When talking about wine with guests, I feel like one of the hardest things to always break down is asking the tough question of: “How much do you want to spend tonight?” This makes it very easy. We have two price ranges: $20 or $45. Some people (very, very few) will be like, “Uh, I guess 20?” It’s perfect — there’s a time and a place for the $20 wall, and for the $45, even for Jared and myself, who love wine, and have tasted a lot of incredible things. Twenty dollars is such a great price range to find new and exciting things, but also at such a high qualitative standpoint. So it makes it exciting. We will blind taste to find the best Cabernet Sauvignon for the $20 price range. So when someone comes in, [they know] it’s the best thing that we could find right now on the market for a $20 Cabernet Sauvignon. People will come in and they’ll see it will rotate in like a month depending on stocks and inventory, and with what distributors are bringing in. They get super excited to see what the next Cabernet Sauvignon is on the wall a month later. Seeing that excitement over a $20 bottle of wine is something that I find so fulfilling. Having spent so much time with Wine Spectator’s grand award-winning wine list, I get more pleasure out of providing something that is affordable, a daily driver that makes people thrilled when they go home with their pizzas. It’s really rewarding. Z: I’ve sometimes thought that with wine programs and things like that, constraints sometimes do more to breed creativity than having an unlimited budget and going for a Wine Spectator grand award, and being able to buy whatever you want. Does that ring true? J: Oh, absolutely. If you give me a big enough check, I can give you a grand award. It’s just a matter of going out and finding all those blue chip wines, whereas here it’s small, it’s curated, and nothing goes on the wall that isn’t vetted by us. If we don’t like it, it doesn’t make the cut. So when people come in, it’s pretty funny. They’re like, “Oh, what are your two favorite wines?” I’m like: “All of them. They’re all here for a different reason.” Z: You mentioned at the beginning that you opened in August. When the beginning parts of the planning for this started, was the intention to be [like this], was it done in the knowledge of Covid, or did you have a somewhat different idea that had to evolve because the world changed pretty dramatically? J: I think with the restaurant world, there is no going back to normal. There will be a new normal for us. This is all we know, because we got the keys to the building last April 1st (which is scary, it’s almost coming up on a year.) We opened on August 1st, and I did 90 percent of all the build-out in construction. We knew what we were opening into, or we thought we knew what we were opening into. So this strange paradigm is our normal, and it’s worked and it’s been great. We do have the ability to have some tables in there if we wanted to. Right now, we choose not to. It’s takeout only. We have done a couple of private events, like on New Year’s Eve and so on and so forth, which are super fun. But as far as navigating the current landscape, we kind of planned and built for it for that, in fact. So that makes sense. A: Yeah, I love the way it’s set up. It’s a really great creative outlet for the two of us to figure out a way to do takeout hospitality. People come in for a split second to grab their pizza and grab a bottle of wine, or maybe they come in for 45 minutes. Will they grab a case of wine? They want to hear all about everything. But being able to give a very special experience through takeout has been a really intriguing challenge for us to come up with. I think for all restaurants especially. I’ve personally enjoyed it. I don’t know if Jarad’s enjoyed it as much as I have. We haven’t really talked about it. Z: This whole time? That seems like, you know, maybe a conversation you should have. A: I guess he likes it. We’re still doing it. Z: Yeah. There you go. That’s some proof for sure. So I would think just in the abstract, that a wine shop/restaurant opened by two incredibly accomplished sommeliers would be potentially intimidating for a lot of people. We experience this issue as wine professionals where people want our expertise but are also afraid of it. Some of the things you’ve talked about — the focusing on pizza, which is, for most people, a pretty damn approachable food; having very clear prices (I think some of the fear is about getting talked into a more expensive wine than they’re comfortable with) — do those structural elements help people get over that fear factor? Or do you just not think that people are intimidated? A: Well, I think when people walk in and they see me in the front of the shop, they think I’m probably like a college student just answering the phone. I look very young. I sound very young. They probably never in a million years thought that I knew anything about wine. That’s something that I’ve always had to break down the barrier with, at any place I work. If anyone’s ever intimidated by me, then there’s a real problem, because I’m not at all intimidating. I know you can’t see me — I’m a tiny 5’3, 100 lb girl. I don’t think that they’re intimidated when they come into the shop. I think that they become at ease when they hear about the price ranges. I mean, Jarad can be a little intimidating, I’ll say that. Z: That’s why you keep him in the kitchen, right? A: But I think once you’ve once you start talking to him, you’re like, “Oh.” It’s just like your friend next door, or someone that’s going to become your best friend because he’s just so warm and welcoming. J: I’m the guy that’s in the kitchen that yells: “What you want is the second one on the left, the Pinot Grigio.” A: We have fun. Z: As Jarad mentioned at the beginning, pizza is one of the things, more than anything else, that people have been consistently going with during the pandemic (not that they didn’t eat a lot of pizza before) What are three or so of your favorite current pairings of wine with your pizzas? Feel free to explain the pizzas too, because I am sure they’re not all just Hawaiian. J: I have two hard and fast rules: No pineapples and no green peppers, ever. Barring that, if you buy it at the grocery store across the street and bring it over, I’ll slap it on your pizza. But I refuse [those] two things. The pizzas are kind of rooted in Neapolitan style, but Neapolitan pizzas are really meant to be eaten immediately out of the oven with a fork and a knife. They’re kind of floppy. Being takeout, we need a little more stability, and being in America, we use American flour. I think it actually tastes better. We sneak a little Italian flour in there for some silky texture, but American flour tastes better. We’ll do a pepperoni pizza, no problem. But we have more exciting things as well. Tomorrow we’re putting on a pizza with Bosc pear, crispy speck, gorgonzola dolce, and Korean chili flake, and we’ll pair that with pear cider. I hate when people — when I say people, I mean guys because it’s always guys — try to match up every little nuance of the dish to every little nuance of the wine. At some point, you just get analysis paralysis, and it’s just not fun anymore. So if you get a red pizza and you get a bottle of red Italian wine, you’re in the ballpark. Whether it’s Chianti, or it’s Dolcetto, or it’s Barbera, it’s really a stylistic preference. But it’s not like I say, “No, you have to get this wine with this pizza.” That’s just silly. Rule number one is eat what you want, and drink what you want. Z: That’s very reassuring. That was always my rule as a sommelier. But one that, as you said, is not always shared by colleagues. Allie: I know asking what your favorite wines are is really hard, but do you have a couple of things that you’ve put in that you’ve been excited to see the clientele really vibe with, wines that might have been a little more out there? A: Yeah. I think when we started the shop, our regulars who joined us in the area (because we obviously have a lot of transient foot traffic as well) were huge on Pinot Grigio or Chardonnay— more of the classic options as a wine buyer, which is fantastic. I love people who know what they want. But as we’ve been open longer, they’ve wanted to venture out and try new things, which has been really exciting. So we actually brought in Guardians Saperavi from the country of Georgia. It’s a woman-made wine. Saperavi is the grape variety, and it has this crunchy and dried red fruit character, a touch of florality to it. It’s a very intriguing red wine that has pretty nice acidity, so it also goes well with pizza, but it’s delicious to just chug on its own. I had this whole entire shift of, “I like Pinot Noir. I’ll try Saperavi. Oh, I love Saperavi. That’s now my new favorite wine.” Then when we were able to order more, because it was out of stock, I had a list of phone numbers to call when it came back in stock. So that’s something that’s been really exciting, and for $20. I feel like people are really excited to take a chance, and maybe $20 was the peak of what they’ve spent on a bottle of wine before. But once they see how incredible the world of wine is, for Thanksgiving, they ventured over to the $45 wall, which is really also exciting — to show the entire world of wine at both price ranges to them. So that’s probably been the most exciting part for me, with all of this, is just watching the transition of the community and their wine preferences. But when it comes to pairings, I always just say: “What grows together goes together.” So sticking with the Italian wine that Jarad was talking about. But whenever someone comes into the shop, it’s not like in a restaurant where you commit to like three ounces, and if it wasn’t your favorite wine, you just chug it and move on. It’s a whole bottle. So I always ask first: “What do you typically enjoy?” Then I find something along the lines of what they enjoy that will also go with the pizza, because I’d hate to send someone home with a Zinfandel if they like Old World Bordeaux. It’s not going to go well for them at the end of the night. J: I think when we opened, we wanted to make sure that we had all of our bases covered, and all of the classics represented. Now as we’re seeing the clientele’[s] bandwidth is, we’re beginning to push the boundaries a little bit and say, “OK, let’s try some Greek wine, OK, Greek Chardonnay. OK, that worked. Let’s do Assyrtiko. OK, that worked. Let’s do a retsina. Retsina’s a tough sell, but you push up until the line, and then you draw back a little bit. Z: Yeah. Then you drink retsina for a few weeks if that’s where you end up. J: Oh it’s lights out, by far-and-away the best retsina out there. But it’s still an acquired taste. Z: Well I want to thank you both so much for your time, I really appreciate it. It sounds like a really cool project. It makes me sad that at the moment, I am very far away and can’t come visit. But one of these days I will make it out there. I’m sure we’ve got some listeners in the Virginia area who, if they haven’t been in already, are looking forward to it. I can almost taste the pizza, and I’m very glad to know I won’t have to ever get pineapple. Thanks again, and best of luck going forward. J: That’s very kind. Thank you so much. A: Thank you, Zach. We look forward to welcoming you at some point. Adam Teeter: Thanks so much for listening to the VinePair podcast. If you love this show as much as we love making it, please give us a rating or review on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or whatever it is you get. It really helps everyone else discover the show. Now for the credits: VinePair is produced and recorded in New York City in Seattle, Washington, by myself and Zach Geballe, who does all the editing, and loves to get the credit. Also, I would love to give a special shout out to my VinePair co-founder, Josh Malin, for helping make all this possible, and also to keep Keith Beavers, VinePair’s tastings director, who is additionally a producer on the show. I also want to, of course, thank every other member of the VinePair team who are instrumental in all of the ideas that go into making the show every week. Thanks so much for listening, and we’ll see you again. Ed. note: This episode has been edited for length and clarity. The article Next Round: Knead Wine’s Pricing Structure Is Creating Loyal Customers appeared first on VinePair. Via https://vinepair.com/articles/next-round-knead-wine/ Via https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/next-round-knead-wines-pricing-structure-is-creating-loyal-customers In the past year, “athleisure” has become a commonly used word in our vocabularies, and sweatpants have replaced business casual. Our t-shirt collections have been growing substantially, and there’s nothing we love more than a boozy t-shirt. They give us a little chuckle and let everyone know our priorities. For some of us, choosing the right boozy t-shirt is a struggle because we just can’t pick which spirit to represent. For others, there’s no question what spirit they’ll be rocking — especially if they’re a bourbon lover. Bourbon drinkers don’t just want to drink their bourbon; they want everyone to know that they drink bourbon. To help them out, we’ve rounded up our four favorite bourbon shirts that should absolutely be the next addition to your ever-expanding t-shirt collection. They’re all crafted from 100% combed and ring-spun cotton, meaning they’re super-extra-soft because cozy is almost as important to us as boozy. The sizes range from XS to 4XL, so there is definitely something for every bourbon fan. Team Bourbon T-Shirt
Bourbon Helps T-Shirt
I <3 Bourbon T-Shirt
My Bourbon Drinking T-Shirt
The article The Shirts That Bourbon Lovers Didn’t Know They Needed appeared first on VinePair. Via https://vinepair.com/picks/best-bourbon-t-shirts-2021/ Via https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/the-shirts-that-bourbon-lovers-didnt-know-they-needed Launched in 2005 and created for maximum approachability, Monkey Shoulder is a blended Scotch that’s a fan favorite. And in case you were wondering, no, it’s not meant for monkeys’ consumption (though we’d assume they’d like it as much as we do). The Scottish malt whisky brand doesn’t take itself too seriously, and has been successful in bringing Scotch whisky to a younger generation of drinkers. Thirsty for more? Read on for 10 more facts you should know about Monkey Shoulder. It’s made to be mixed.Unlike many whisky brands, which are made to be drunk straight or on the rocks, Monkey Shoulder was designed as a mixing spirit. It can be transformed into a delicious whisky ginger or a “lazy” Old Fashioned, and the brand even claims to be a great replacement for rum in a poolside classic. It’s all about that blend.Some drinks pros turn up their noses at blended Scotch. But unlike most blended whiskies, which are combinations of malt and grain whiskey, Monkey Shoulder is made from one hundred percent malt. The number 27 has an unexpected meaning.Monkey Shoulder is made from a mixture of three well-respected single-malt whiskies: Balvenie, Kininvie, and Glenfiddich. The blend uses nine casks for each single malt. Hence, the blend is labeled “Batch 27.” No monkeys were harmed in the making of this whisky.Wondering where Monkey Shoulder gets its unique name? We were, too. According to Monkey Shoulder, the name is inspired by the traditional malt whisky distillation process in which malted barley was mixed by hand with shovels. This labor-intensive process often caused a shoulder injury to workers, causing their arms to hang low like those of a monkey. This injury was therefore dubbed “monkey shoulder” — the inspiration for Monkey Shoulder’s name. You probably know its siblings.As the saying goes, you can tell a lot about a person by the company they keep. Spirits are no different. Luckily, Monkey Shoulder has some well-respected friends. The Scotch brand is made by the same family that’s behind some of the biggest names in liquor, William Grant & Sons. The parent company also makes Hendrick’s Gin, Glenfiddich Scotch, and Tullamore D.E.W. Irish Whiskey. Monkey Shoulder is a bartender favorite.Think the pros only drink single-malt? Think again. When it comes to Scotch whisky, bartenders consistently list Monkey Shoulder as a go-to, calling the brand underrated, versatile, and high-quality. It’s budget-friendly.Contrary to popular belief, not all Scotch will break the bank. There are plenty — mostly single-malt — options that are as delicious as they are affordable. At only $25 for a 750-milliliter bottle, you can mix up Monkey Shoulder cocktails on the daily. Monkey Shoulder can be enjoyed solo.As much as they love stirring up Monkey Shoulder in cocktails, bartenders and reviewers alike agree that the blended Scotch is also delicious neat and on the rocks — something that’s unique at such a low price. Drinks pros consistently comment on the Scotch’s smooth taste, richness, and complexity. Monkey Shoulder went on tour.In classic rock star fashion, Monkey Shoulder went out on the road, touring the country to give the people what they want: lots of booze. Back in 2018, the brand enlisted a truck topped with a giant shaker — called the “Monkey Mixer” — to drive around the 50 states with a mission to redefine Scotch’s role in the cocktail industry. While Scotch can often be taken seriously, the brand used this stunt to show imbibers that it’s OK to have a little fun with their spirits. Drinks aren’t the only thing Monkey Shoulder mixes.Sure, Monkey Shoulder mixes into great cocktails. But like many other products and events geared toward millennials, Monkey Shoulder has also enlisted the help of a DJ. DJ Format has created Monkey Shoulder-themed playlists made specifically for cocktail parties, all of which are available on MixCloud. The article 10 Things You Should Know About Monkey Shoulder appeared first on VinePair. Via https://vinepair.com/articles/monkey-shoulder-scotch-guide-27/ Via https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/10-things-you-should-know-about-monkey-shoulder Despite the pandemic putting a damper on Charleston’s otherwise lively nightlife, Graft Wine Shop managed to sustain itself as a local favorite with national appeal. Co-owners and sommeliers Miles White and Femi Oyediran first met in 2008 while working as busboys at the Charleston Grill. As the youngest members on staff with a mutual love of wine, the two formed a bond that endured through the years, even while careers took them on different paths. For White, the journey included various wine-related stints in the U.S. and abroad, along with completing the Culinary Institute of America’s wine and beverage program. Oyediran also continued to hone his expertise, eventually becoming an advanced sommelier and winning multiple wine competitions. Determined to put their mark on Charleston’s wine scene, the friends reunited and opened Graft in 2018. Initially both a wine shop and bar, Graft quickly became a local favorite offering guests an attractive space to buy and sample wines with an emphasis on biodynamic farming and sustainable practices. Graft’s popularity grew quickly, eventually reaching an audience outside Charleston. It wasn’t long before White and Oyediran became known on a national level with press from The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, and more. Their shop was even listed as one of VinePair’s annual 10 Best Wine Stores. Clearly they had found their niche. But like so many in the restaurant and service industry, the pandemic dealt Graft a devastating blow, forcing White and Oyediran to think outside of the box in order to stay afloat. As Oyediran explains, “We were doing everything we could to bring some dollars through the door.” VinePair spoke with the two friends about the challenges of the last year, the ways they were forced to re-envision their business, and the surprising silver linings that they found along the way. 1. What has the last year managing a wine store and bar together during a pandemic been like?MW: Femi and I had to decide what we wanted to do, as opposed to somebody making the decision [to close] for us. There’s no rules and regulations [locally] against that. When we were forced to close, Femi and I always wanted to build a website, we just never had the time. We were able to integrate our inventory over pretty easily. The website worked and allowed us to keep things curbside only and the reception was great. I think before we opened Graft we didn’t realize how much work went into owning and operating a bar and when we shut that down, for the first time in a long time, we actually got to get back to the wine. FO: We got to be productive in a way that was foreign to us. The bar was open all day, every day before, and we had people in and out all the time. Being able to have undisturbed time to work really gave us the time and space to re-conceptualize the way we do things, and focus on retail in ways we hadn’t been able to do before. For instance, I write a weekly newsletter that goes out now, and it’s been a huge thing for our customers. They flock in after reading the newsletter. Working on other projects [such as] a new wine club which we have coming up soon, and rearranging the way we do our bar program. It’s given us a lot of time to get creative and input new ways of doing business that, honestly, we didn’t have the time to do before. 2. What are some of the biggest hurdles you’ve dealt with during the pandemic?FO: Our bar was shut down for seven months, and that was definitely a hurdle. Margins are certainly a little bit more attractive with the bar, but the good news is we had some really great support locally on the retail side. Ultimately, I don’t think that was fantastic for our employees. I don’t think [they] applied here to work at a wine shop. They wanted to work at a bar where they get tips. That was a hurdle of its own. I think we did a really great job of coming up with ways to stay afloat. We introduced a load of new merchandise: hats, T-shirts, and sweatshirts. One thing that was a game changer is we introduced what we call “Graft, Take the Wheel,” essentially these curated curbside bundles. Our goal was to get as much wine out the door and eventually we realized that this was actually sustainable. We can have people pick up these wines and not have to have any contact with them, so we actually started buying more wine. We’ve done a really great job at adapting and changing the things that we’re doing to make it through. 3. Are there any changes you might keep in place after things return to a more normal state?MW: Everything that we did we’re planning on keeping. We can actually have people place orders at midnight. People still don’t want to pick their own wine and have gotten to a point where they trust us. People still don’t feel comfortable coming inside, so we’ll absolutely keep all of it. 4. How has your team worked together during this time?MW: We’ve gotten tremendously lucky with people. It’s small and does feel more like a little family, as cliché as that is. People stuck with us and we were able to get our first round of PPP in. Obviously, no one is doing as well as they were this time last year. We are faring better than a lot of people, which is really pretty tragic, but it’s allowed us to keep everyone on and happy and keep everyone off of unemployment. 5. What, if anything, has helped you weather the past year together?FO: Miles and I are pretty optimistic dudes. We see tough situations and we go, all right, what can we do? That kind of shared mindset is really important. MW: We’ve had a lot of newer customers in the past seven or eight months, just from a retail perspective. Charleston is already a bit of a drinking town. There’s a good sense of community here and I think people make a conscious effort to support locally. We have a lot of people that shop at all of the wine shops, not just us. They do such a great job of supporting everybody. The community has been awesome and people are curious, and want to drink and try new things. 6. What’s new and exciting that you are drinking right now?FO: There is so much good wine out there and every week there is new stuff that comes in. Just the idea of new, small growers. I know it sounds cheesy or corny to say that, but it’s true. I write the [Graft] newsletter and we have so many new wines every week. I think it would be a disservice to say one thing. *This interview has been edited for length and clarity. The article Graft Wine Shop Co-Owners Miles White and Femi Oyediran Have ‘New Ways of Doing Business’ appeared first on VinePair. Via https://vinepair.com/articles/graft-wines-miles-white-femi-oyediran/ Via https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/graft-wine-shop-co-owners-miles-white-and-femi-oyediran-have-new-ways-of-doing-business EOD Drinks With the Founders of Canned Cocktail Brand Social Hour Julie Reiner and Tom Macy2/26/2021 On today’s episode of “End of Day Drinks,” we’re finally going to get into it — yep, we’re going to talk about canned cocktails. We’re sitting down with Julie Reiner and Tom Macy, the owners and founders of Social Hour. Social Hour came out of an idea the two of them had while working together at Clover Club, one of the amazing bars that Julie founded and owns. She’s also really well known for Flatiron Lounge and Leyenda, and Tom was one of her head bartenders. They’re going to talk to us about what is causing this canned cocktail boom to happen right now, where they see the white space in what is becoming a really crowded field, and how Social Hour sets itself apart. Listen OnlineOr Check Out the Conversation HereAdam: From VinePair’s New York City headquarters, this is “End of Day Drinks,” where we sit down with the movers and shakers in the beverage industry. So pour yourself a glass and listen along with us. Let’s start the show. Hey, everybody, I’m Adam Teeter, co-founder of VinePair. On today’s episode of “End of Day Drinks,” I’m really excited that we’re talking with Julie Reiner and Tom Macy, the co-founders of Social Hour. Before we get going and introduce both of them, I’d love to introduce who is with me today from VinePair. First, I’ve got Josh, my co-founder. Josh: Hey, glad to be here, Adam. A: I’ve got Joanna, our executive editor. Joanna: Hi, Julie and Tom. A: Tim, our senior staff writer. Tim: Hey, everyone. How’s it going? A: And Katie, our associate editor. Katie: What’s up, guys? Excited to be here. A: Julie and Tom, I will say I had the cocktails, I tried them all last Friday and really found them very delicious. I’m really curious to talk about how you came up with the idea and what drove you to do it in the first place. Then, how you see people consuming them, whether it be out of the can directly or in another form, like a glass of ice. But we can get to all that later. First, I’d love it if you could just start the conversation by introducing yourselves and your backgrounds to everyone listening. Julie, we can start with you. Julie Reiner: Sure. Hi, everyone. My name is Julie Reiner, and I have been in the bar business for a very long time, over 20 years. Over the course of that time, I’ve opened five cocktail bars, all in New York City, starting with the Flatiron Lounge in 2003, followed by the Pegu Club in 2005, and then in Brooklyn, Clover Club, Leyenda, and Lani Kai, which is no longer open. I was on the forefront of cocktail culture when it kind of blew up again; people actually started using fresh ingredients in cocktails and really thinking about the process with drinks, while bringing back a lot of classic styles of cocktails. I helped to train a lot of the bartenders who went on to open their own bars all over the country, and I have since started working with Tom Macy, who is a longtime employee at Clover Club, who then became a partner. We tasted some cocktails in a can and thought, “We could do this better.” So we went on that journey. That’s what we’re doing these days, as well as teaching cocktail classes on Zoom (my new job.) Tom Macy: I’m Tom Macy. I came along on Julie’s journey in 2009. Now that I’m actually looking at my calendar, I think tomorrow is the 12-year anniversary of my first training shift at Clover Club as a barback. I pretty much have become Julie’s partner in cocktails over the years. I started as a barback and was really enthusiastic to learn more. It was at the right time when the industry was about to explode and there were not a ton of really well-trained cocktail bartenders. I was able to move up by being in the right place at the right time. Julie’s bars were staffed with the best bartenders out there. So I just learned from this incredible group of people how to bartend and how to create cocktails. It’s crazy to think again how lucky I was. I was just able to move up really quickly to bartender, then head bartender, and then an opportunity to become a partner came about at Clover Club in 2014. I had just gotten married and my wife had become pregnant. I was like, “What does a life in cocktails look like?” And it all had happened so quickly. I was making a gin and tonic at home and obsessively micromanaging every element to try to make it perfect. And I was like, “Gosh, it’d be so cool if you could get this perfectly premade in a bottle. Why can’t I get that?” That was kind of that entrepreneurial moment that everyone who starts a business has. It’s sort of like, “Hey, maybe I should do that.” That is where the story of Social Hour begins. A: Obviously, canned cocktails now seem to be exploding everywhere. But I would assume when you started thinking about it, that wasn’t the case. Now, can you take us through the process of how you guys thought about doing it, and what the development process was? Prior to this last year or two, the only canned cocktails any of us knew of were not actual cocktails. It was Smirnoff Ice, like malt beverage. I remember going to Europe and you would always see canned cocktails. They were like Jack and Cokes, but still, they were actually spirits. Did you know when you thought about the idea that you could do this? What went into figuring out how to do it? TM: So I had this idea, and I immediately went online. It was one of the things I thought must exist. I started Googling. The only thing I could find was in Europe. It took me a while of digging around to figure out that it has a lot to do with taxes in the United States. Beer, spirits, and wine are all taxed at different levels. Spirits are the most, and beer is the least. I’ve heard this, I can’t say that I’ve actually confirmed it — but I heard from a reliable source that Smirnoff Ice, for example, around the world is made with Smirnoff Vodka. But in the United States, it’s malt-based, which is essentially beer, because it’s a lot cheaper. That sort of confirms that the reason that market didn’t exist was just because spirits companies didn’t think there was a large enough market for it, and it was just too expensive to try to break into. I just sort of kept tinkering around, and I just felt like it was going to happen. It just seemed like too good of a thing to make a perfect gin and tonic, which seemed entirely doable. I knew, somehow, that someone’s going to do that and it’s going to be a success. So I just kept following along down the rabbit hole. I definitely talked to Julie about it over the years and started experimenting at the bar with things because people were doing bottle cocktails at bars and they were playing around with carbonation. If you looked around cocktail blogs at the time, like Jeffrey Morgenthaler and Dave Arnold and those guys were doing that. So I just sort of followed that lead — we eventually put a bottled Paloma on Leyenda’s opening menu, which was sort of my pet project. It was great, and very popular. That was kind of the moment we were like, “Hey, like we should sell this in stores right now.” JR: We also realized that with the Paloma, Tom was using essential oils— grapefruit oil. In the past, we had always been making Palomas with fresh grapefruit juice, simple syrup, club soda, and tequila. We realized that we actually liked this better, because it was almost like we were making a grapefruit soda without the juice. So that was kind of an “aha” moment where we realized we could really do this. We could create Highballs and put them in a can, and give people real spirits and not these malt beverage drinks that they think are cocktails, but are really just beers in disguise. TM: Right. Because Lime-a-Ritas and all that were just crushing it. It was like, “It’s not a Margarita, people!” I don’t think I was the only one that was thinking about how to do it. Julie started this revolution of great cocktails, and then everyone’s like, “Hey, wouldn’t it be great if we could have all these amazing fresh juice cocktails in a bottle ready to go?” But then, of course, you’re like, “No, you can’t, because if you pasteurize fresh juice, it changes the flavor and it’s not stable.” So the two ideas didn’t really compute. Then when we sort of figured out a way to use the bottled format to our advantage. Creating ingredients from scratch that do behave well was the key to making the concept work. Initially, it was Highballs. It was gin, and things that don’t rely on fresh ingredients. You know, a vodka soda, a Jack and Coke, or a gin and tonic. That was initially the first idea. T: I’ve got a quick question that may be kind of slightly obvious. I hope not. It’s the question basically that you were asking yourself in the beginning — why, apart from the taxes, didn’t these products exist? What is it about a canned gin and tonic, for example, that’s difficult? Why can’t you just place those two ingredients together, and package them, and sell them? Is there an inherent challenge there? Can you explain that for us? TM: I asked someone who knew a lot about the industry the pointed question: Why doesn’t this exist? What am I missing? They just said, “I think because the market doesn’t exist, and a big company doesn’t want to waste the time if they know they’re going to sell 70,000 cases the first year.” I saw that as a huge opportunity. It was like, “Well, we don’t need to sell that much.” We just need to sell some, and sort of trailblaze the concept. At that point, I thought it was going to be totally easy to make a gin and tonic in a can. But as Julie will also attest, it was not. We spoke to Allen Katz at the New York Distilling Company. We’ve had a relationship with him for many years, and it seemed that was the obvious first choice — he had gin and whiskey, and they were great products. We spoke to him about supplying us with his products in this venture. He was totally down, and that was great. But once we started formulating with the flavor house, where you give them a prototype of what you want to do and they go about recreating it, we realized creating something in a can is a totally different animal than it is from scratch behind a bar. I mean, the goal is the same, but the tools and the techniques are different, and it took us a while to learn how to apply those things. So we were building a tonic water from scratch: the acidity, the bitterness, the sugar content, the ABV, the carbonation levels, the flavor levels of the tonic, the quinine — it was all in play. Every time you would change one thing, it would change something else. It took a long time to get our arms around that. In the end, there was no silver-bullet trick. It was the same process that Julie’s gone through, and that I’ve gone through, and any bartender that knows how to make cocktails has gone through: You just have to make cocktails a lot of times badly to learn what doesn’t work. Then you can get your arms around how an ingredient behaves. So that’s what we did. A: I’ve got two questions for you guys to build on. Tim and myself, we’ve interviewed other drinks entrepreneurs and bartenders who have said the same thing you’re saying, that citrus is really, really difficult, and the company that figures out citrus is going to make a killing just because it is so hard to master. Is that what you’d heard? Is that why you’re using essential oils? My second question is: In the development of these cocktails, how much did you think about the fact that people potentially would drink them straight from the can as opposed to pouring over ice, or is the intention that you hope people will pour them over ice? We talked to a lot of people in the canned wine space, etc. Some other spaces will say they never even thought about the fact that someone was drinking from a can; they always thought, “Well, I drink it from a wine glass, so you’d pour the wine in the glass, too.” But to me, the can always signals “drink it straight from the can.” So I’m curious about those two points. JR: I’ll talk about the second one, and I’ll let Tom talk about the first, because citrus is something he’s geeked out about for a long time. It’s funny because we have a joke within our group that we call “Getting canned by Tom Macy” because he is so passionate about it. Sometimes we get to a point and we’re like, “Oh, God, I got canned by Tom today.” TM: I feel like I’m a tea kettle or something. JR: But yeah, it was very important to us. I’m from Honolulu, Hawaii, where there is a lot of outdoor activity, like going up to a waterfall on a hike, or being at the beach. So when we were talking about creating these cocktails and Tom and I were tasting all of these different variations, we would taste them straight out of the can and also over ice with a garnish and without a garnish. It was very important to us that all of them were really delicious straight out of the can and that they didn’t necessarily need to have a squeeze of lime or a squeeze of lemon. We picture people on boats, or on a hike, where you don’t necessarily have those things. We thought it would give a much broader appeal. We wanted to make sure with the gin and tonic, for example, that it had enough acidity where it almost tastes like there is a squeeze of lime or squeeze of lemon in the can. That being said, I think that if you pour it over ice with a lemon squeeze, it’s delicious. I personally like it better with lemon, but, you know, it had to be really crushable and delicious straight out of the can and didn’t require ice. TM: Having tasted some of the other products out there, it’s like it’s clear that they are meant to be poured over ice. The whole thing is interesting because everyone — consumers, retailers, producers, distributors — are all figuring out what people want and how they drink these things. We always wanted it to be great out of the can. I also think I’m realizing more, too, that I want people to think about bringing Social Hour home, pouring it over ice, and fixing themselves a nice cocktail. You can put a garnish on it and it really does enhance the experience. It gives it that “fixing yourself a cocktail” feel. I don’t want it to only be outside on the go. As for juice, I just didn’t want to touch that at the beginning because the cocktail renaissance has been built on the back of freshly squeezed juice, because it’s just so amazing. When you’ve never had a Daiquiri made with fresh lime juice and then you do, it’s just this revelatory experience. So we didn’t want to touch it. And I mean, nothing is completely set in stone, but we are working on some new things for 2021. I’ve acquired a bunch of ingredients and I’ve been formulating in my own personal lab in my parents’ basement all winter long. Because I’ve spent all this time working on formulating cocktails in a can, I feel like I’m a little more emboldened to take more chances. I am trying to push like, “How can we figure out these problems instead of just trying to avoid them?” Everyone’s kind of doing a lot of the same ideas. Everyone’s using flavor extracts, which are high quality and all natural. Some of them are really great, and totally at the level of quality that we would use behind the bar at Clover Club. But I think that is limited — I am definitely interested in exploring what else we can do with a cocktail in a can. In 2003 at Flatiron Lounge, Julie was like, “What’s possible?” Now there’s been 20 years of all this amazing experimentation in cocktail bars. I feel like we’re kind of at that point again now with cocktails. So it’s exciting to try to rewrite those rules. I know that’s sort of vague, but I feel like I don’t have any big announcements yet. But we’re working on something. Katie: I was wondering how you ended up coming to the conclusion of which cocktails specifically you were going to offer. How did you come to these three specifically? Also, how did you decide on which spirits brands to use for the G&T and the Whiskey Mule? JR: Well, Allen Katz at New York Distilling has been a friend of mine from the early Flatiron Lounge days, and we are big supporters of his products. When we first started talking about doing the cocktails, we liked the angle of it being Brooklyn through and through, being that his Ragtime Rye and his Perry’s Tot Gin is all made in Brooklyn as well. So it really fit with our story. He was very helpful when we originally went to him to just get some advice and talk to him about what our ideas were. He was really excited about it, and he was open to letting us use his products, so it fit the bill. We originally were talking about doing a Paloma, but acquiring tequila was a little bit more complicated. So we decided that we would start out with a gin and tonic, with his gin, and the Whiskey Mule. Then the Pacific Spritz is a wine base that Tom acquired the wine for. TM: Yeah, up in the Finger Lakes. Julie and I have built a lot of design, a lot of menus together, and we always think about the slots to appeal. We want to appeal to the widest possible group of people. Not everybody likes the same kinds of cocktails. So it was important to us that we cast a wide net with the styles. So we had the gin and tonic and the mule pretty much locked in from the beginning. We knew we wanted those two. Then for the third one, we threw a few ideas around, and then all of a sudden it was like, “Oh — a spritz!” It doesn’t need fresh ingredients. That is how we went down that path. JR: Tom and I do the Jazz Age Lawn Party every year. We do all of the cocktails for it, and we do a ton of spritz cocktails there. It is really one of those summery and delicious drinks. It’s actually something that people drink all year long. People are kind of obsessed with spritzes these days, with different types of Italian bitter spirits. So we really wanted to head in that direction, and also add a little bit of a tropical flavor to it. We went with passionfruit because we really liked the way that it played in the drink. JM: I had a question about the spritz: Since it is wine-based, is it easier to distribute? Is it something that you’re able to get out there wider, versus the difficulty of a spirit base? TM: This gets into the wonderful world TTB wonkiness. It’s actually technically spirit-based in the eyes of the U.S. Federal Government. It’s classified as a “distilled spirit specialty.” That’s because the aperitivo has a neutral grain spirit as its base. It has to do with proportions of ABV and stuff, but we kind of nudged in the direction of a distilled spirit specialty purely so that we could keep everything under one roof. Not everyone has a wine license and a spirits license, and it just seemed like it was going to create too many problems. Had we only gone with the wine base — yes, there are some places that have a beer and wine license, but it’s still honestly kind of gray to me because it’s state by state and all that. I think some places can carry the Spritz, whereas they can’t carry the other ones. I don’t fully get it. But technically it is spirit-based, but it’s still about half wine. It makes no sense — the laws are what the laws are. JR: As you know, liquor laws are crazy in this country. Every state is totally different, which is another learning curve to figure out. JS: So obviously you were developing the idea for Social Hour long before 2020, but what was that experience like launching in the middle of a pandemic? TM: It was crazy. We finished our pitch deck to raise a little bit of seed capital on Feb. 28, or something like that. It was this whole whiplash thing. Not just in a vacuum of Social Hour —obviously the whole world was going crazy. I was like, “OK, so this thing that I poured my heart and soul into for the last few years is now just never going to happen.” I just felt crushed. Then the next week, it was like, “Spirits off-premise are up 120 percent and the leading category is canned cocktails.” So then it was like, “Oh, now we really got to get moving.” Then of course, who wants to invest in something? Some people who had pledged to invest were not able to because they are in the bar and restaurant world, which obviously has been devastated by the pandemic. That was an initial challenge. I have no other real frame of reference of what it would have been like to not launch during the pandemic. JR: Actually being able to have a party and see people and taste some, getting out and selling it. It was hard because you couldn’t even go inside most liquor stores. So how are you supposed to try to sell to people with a mask on from afar? It’s definitely proved challenging. It was a lot more challenging than it should have been — we were kicking ourselves for taking such a long time because we’re such perfectionists. Had we just even six months earlier been ready to go. Hindsight is 20/20. T: I want to follow up with one thing on the subject of funding, and also having a long-term plan before the pandemic. One thing we’ve noticed at VinePair is that it seems like there’s this new wave of entrepreneurial projects, in recent years particularly, that are notably women-led. That got us wondering (we were speaking about it in a meeting earlier today): Is there a reason for this, other than the appeal of these products, or is there easier access to funding these days? Have things changed on that front? Is that something that’s in play right now? TM: For just female-founded companies? T: Also the canned and RTD space. Not just female-founded, but these innovations as well. I think we’re seeing both of these phenomena hand in hand. JR: I’m not sure why that is. I mean, opening and running bars is very challenging. I think one of the No. 1 questions I’ve received in my career is: What’s it like to be a woman in a male-dominated industry? I wonder if it was just a space that women who were into cocktails felt that they could have success with, and have a little bit more of a normal work life while being in the cocktail industry by almost turning it into a 9 to 5 job by reaching beyond your brick and mortar. With a bar, you can only make as much money as you can make inside your space. With a product like this, if you do it right, your reach is endless. As for why there are more women in this, I’m not sure. TM: Women know what’s up. JR: They have good palates. TM: Clover Club has always had plenty of female bartenders, and it’s been great. I’m not trying to be political saying this, but I do feel like their palates are kind of better. At face value, they just really know what’s up, so they should be getting out there because this category needed to be reinvented. It’s amazing that it took this long, and I don’t think we’d be near to where we are if it weren’t for the pandemic basically pushing the category forward. So it’s about time. And I think a lot of people are like, “Hey, there’s an opportunity here in this wide-open space that no one’s really been developing.” Now everyone’s getting in, and it’s really intense. A: So how much have you thought about that? Tom, you said everyone’s getting in. Obviously, it’s only a matter of time before the huge brands get in. I’ve seen Tanqueray‘s gin and tonic recently. Do you think that’s a good thing for the category? Is that going to help more people see canned cocktails? Is that a bad thing? Because maybe they may not be as delicious as the stuff that you guys are doing (because it’s more craft and bespoke) and someone may have a bad experience? I know that’s always the fear on the craft beer side — the first craft beer that someone might have is from a macro player and it may not be a great experience, so they’re like, “Oh, I don’t like craft beer.” Have you thought about that at all? Or is it just such early days, like, who cares at this point? JR: I think the thing that’s interesting about the large brands that have released things (like Tanqueray) is that their percentage of alcohol is like 5 percent. They’re almost trying to compete with a lot of these different malt beverage kinds of drinks because at 5 percent, you can be sold in Target, you know what I mean? So maybe it’s not worth it for them to put out an 11.5 percent gin and tonic that is a real bar gin and tonic with 2 ounces of gin and 8 ounces of tonic, which is what ours is. At five 5, the percentage of gin is much less. I think that is an interesting thing, but it also makes their products very different from ours. A: It’s almost like there’s a White Claw competitor being sold as gin and tonic. TM: Right. It’s a nice situation for us to be in because there aren’t any classic legacy brands in the RTD space. Yes, there’s Tanqueray and there’s Ketel One, and they have their branded line of cocktails. But Tanqueray is never going to make a Manhattan. That allows us all this autonomy to be like, “Hey, we’re cocktail makers first, and we work with the suppliers and the spirits that we want to. This is like what we do. We make cocktails.” That is something that kind of shields us. At least, it allows us to come with a differentiation point compared to those larger brands. So I think it’s going to be really interesting. I think everyone’s still figuring out what people want. I also think that it’s going to split into different subcategories. We’re definitely trying to come in as a premium bar quality, proper-proof cocktail. Not everyone is going to want that, and some people are only going to want that. Consumers are still searching around, trying to figure it out. We need to think it’s important for Social Hour, and a lot of the people in our position, to try to communicate and help educate consumers on why malt versus spirit-based is a meaningful difference, and why ABV is a meaningful difference, not just in terms of how hard it’s going to hit you, but in terms of what a proper cocktail is. That’s still all being worked out. A: Tom, you may not answer this because it’s getting to R&D, but I’m curious because you sort of hinted at other products coming. You guys have three cans now. I think, you know, we’ve had a few, two other RTD brands we talked to — we talked to Crafthouse and St. Agrestis, and both of them have gone into box. Actually, when I saw it, I was like, “This feels so obvious and also brilliant.” Have you guys thought about that, or other formats in general? Like large bottles, where I can buy it and not worry about making the cocktails when I have a dinner party (when this pandemic is over) and just know that I’m getting Julie Reiner and Tom Macy-approved cocktails? JR: We did talk about boxes. Charles Jolie is a very good friend of mine. I judge a lot of cocktail competitions with him, and we traveled around in normal times together. So Tom and I were like, wouldn’t it be cool if we could do like boxed wine, but a boxed cocktail? And we were like, “Oh, yeah, we should really work on that.” Then a week later, I saw a picture and I was like, “Damn it.” TM: Their cocktails are more sour style for Crafthouse, and St. Agrestis is spirit-based. So their serving size is like 3 to 4 ounces, whereas a gin and tonic is about 8, which is what ours is. The largest spirit size the TTB allows to be sold is 1.8 liters. That can’t fit too many gin and tonics. Also, carbonation is a huge issue. We want ours to be perfectly carbonated all the way through. A kegged gin and tonic would be amazing. But the TTB doesn’t allow anything larger for spirits, which ours technically is. I’ve definitely searched around, Could we do a 3-gallon keg or something like those little Heineken kegs? That’s what I want. But those I think are 3 liters, so that is a challenge. Things are still in development. There are a lot of cocktail styles out there. If Julie and I have our druthers, we really want to expand into different styles, and build out a whole cocktail menu. Everything’s still on the table. A: That’s awesome. Well, Julie, Tom, thank you so much for joining us for this episode of “End of Day Drinks.” It’s been awesome to have you both and to hear about what you guys are building. To hear about how you got to this point has been really interesting. Can you tell everyone who’s listening how they can find the cocktails now? TM: You can go to socialhourcocktails.com and right on the “Our Cocktails” page, you can add it to your cart and ship it to most states in the U.S. Retail-wise, we’re just available in New York and New Jersey right now. But in 2021, we’re moving to some new states, and we’ll be making announcements soon. We’re coming to serve you all drinks, so please check it out. A: Awesome. Thank you both so much. JR: Thank you so much for having us. Thanks for listening to this week’s episode of “End of Day Drinks.” If you’ve enjoyed this program, please leave us a rating or a review wherever you get your podcasts. It really helps other people discover the show. And tell your friends — we want as many people as possible listening to this amazing program. And now for the credits: “End of Day Drinks” is recorded live in New York City at VinePair’s headquarters. It is produced, edited, and engineered by VinePair’s tastings director (yes, he wears a lot of hats), Keith Beavers. I also want to give a special thanks to my co-founder, Josh Malin, and to the executive editor, Joanna Sciarrino, and to our senior editor, Cat Wolinski, our senior staff writer, Tim McKirdy, and our associate editor, Katie Brown. And a special shout out to Danielle Greenberg, VinePair’s art director who designed the sick logo for this program. The music for End of Day drinks was produced, written, and recorded by Darby Cicci. I’m VinePair co-founder Adam Teeter, and we’ll see you next week. Thanks a lot. The article EOD Drinks With the Founders of Canned Cocktail Brand Social Hour, Julie Reiner and Tom Macy appeared first on VinePair. Via https://vinepair.com/articles/eod-drinks-social-hour/ Via https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/eod-drinks-with-the-founders-of-canned-cocktail-brand-social-hour-julie-reiner-and-tom-macy The Trump administration left office more than a month ago but the impacts of its trade wars continue to be felt by spirits producers. With EU tariffs on American whiskey expected to imminently increase, industry professionals warn the situation will only deteriorate further. On Tuesday, the Kentucky Distillers’ Association (KDA) announced that exports of Kentucky bourbon dropped 35 percent in 2020. Shipments to the EU, the traditionally largest export market, plunged 50 percent. Those figures will make painful reading for Kentucky distillers but the KDA says worse is still to come. On June 1, the EU is expected to double its tariffs on American whiskey from 25 to 50 percent. “We’ve said for two years now that we are cautiously optimistic a deal could get done,” Eric Gregory, president of the KDA, tells VinePair. “Now we’re starting to ring the alarm bells more because the numbers prove this is having a devastating impact.” The ongoing trade disputes affecting American distillers stretch back to May 31, 2018, when the U.S. imposed tariffs on EU aluminum and steel products. In quick retaliation, the EU introduced 25 percent tariffs on a number of American goods, including whiskey. According to data from the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development, total American whiskey exports have fallen 35 percent since 2018 to $319 million. Exports to the EU, specifically, dropped from $257 million in 2018 to $135 million in 2020, a total decline of 48 percent. Working with the KDA, Kentucky representatives John Yarmuth and Andy Barr are drafting a letter asking the Biden administration to suspend tariffs and jumpstart negotiations. They plan on sending the letter once Katherine Tai, the Biden administration’s nominee for United States trade representative, has been confirmed. In recent days, Tai has publicly commented on the need to rebuild trade relationships with American allies. The comments drew praise from the Distilled Spirits Council (DISCUS), an industry organization that is also hopeful the Biden administration will move quickly to resolve the tariffs affecting U.S. distillers of all sizes. “With a looming June 1 deadline for the doubling of the EU tariffs on American whiskey, hitting pause on the tariffs is critical to the survival of many small U.S. distilleries,” says Lisa Hawkins, senior vice president of public affairs at DISCUS. The KDA is similarly unwavering on the need for swift action. Gregory urges parties on both sides to sit down at the table — “preferably over a drink of whiskey” — and start talking again. “There are no winners in trade wars, only consequences,” Gregory says. “[The damage to] Kentucky bourbon and American spirits in general are a consequence of this ongoing trade war. We need to get something accomplished before real long term damage is done to this industry.” The article Bourbon Exports Plunge 50% in Wake of Trump’s Trade War appeared first on VinePair. Via https://vinepair.com/booze-news/bourbon-exports-plunge-trump-trade-war/ Via https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/bourbon-exports-plunge-50-in-wake-of-trumps-trade-war Though much of the U.S. is still reeling from the aftermath of a blizzard, Bud Light Seltzer is already thinking ahead. Next week, the brand is releasing four new tropical flavors as part of a new limited-edition variety pack. Here’s hoping the flavors have the ability to tansport us somewhere warm — or that they’re as deliciously sweet as they sound, at the very least. Bud Light Seltzer Seasonal Variety Pack DetailsBud Light Seltzer’s new “Out of Office” variety pack will contain four flavors: Classic Lime Margarita, Watermelon Mojito, Mango Mai Tai, and Strawberry Daiquiri. According to a press release, the pack was inspired by the grim statistic that the average American only uses 54 percent of their paid vacation days. Bud Light wants to change that by encouraging an Out-of-Office mentality. (It’s no coincidence that the pack will hit shelves just days before Employee Appreciation Day.) The 12-can variety packs will be available for a limited time only, with each flavor clocking in at 5 percent ABV, and each 12-ounce slimline can serving 100 calories and less than 1 gram of sugar. Even though we’re spending a lot of time inside, we’ll be beach-body ready at the drop of a hat. Bud Light Seltzer Seasonal Variety Pack Release DateAccording to the brand, the Out of Office variety pack launches nationwide on March 1 and will be available until May 15. Bud Light is doubling down on the OOO theme by offering to pay fans to take advantage of their unused vacation time. On March 5th, Bud Light Seltzer is inviting drinkers aged 21 and over to submit their funniest out-of-office emails with the chance of winning $1,000 towards their next vacation. Winners will be chosen weekly. As if that weren’t enough to make us want to kick our feet up, Bud Light is also awarding a $25,000 prize on March 5th, with contest details to come. The article Bud Light Launches ‘Out of Office’ Hard Seltzer Cocktail Variety Pack appeared first on VinePair. Via https://vinepair.com/booze-news/bud-light-out-of-office-variety-pack/ Via https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/bud-light-launches-out-of-office-hard-seltzer-cocktail-variety-pack Let's take a closer look at Wine Folly's new Region Guides. These dynamic wine destination guides help us connect to amazing wines and wineries through education. Wine Folly - Learn about wine. Via https://winefolly.com/wine-regions/huge-new-step-dynamic-wine-guides/ Via https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/huge-first-step-dynamic-guides-to-the-world-of-wine Life is really about the little things. One of the greatest simple pleasures is slowly sipping on a piping hot mug of coffee or tea. Whether it’s giving you life in the morning, an afternoon pick me up, or just soothing your soul, we can all agree that it’s one of the best parts of the day. Your daily ritual deserves a vessel that makes you as happy as the liquid inside of it does. That’s why we’re reaching for this Porter Mug. At-home or on-the-go, it’s sleek, high-quality design is the perfect companion for your favorite hot beverage. This mug is a major upgrade from the cheap plastic or metal travel mugs you might have encountered. It’s made with durable ceramic to keep your drinks hot and wrapped with high-quality silicone to prevent scratches and spilling. Plus it’s both microwave and dishwasher safe. This mug is built to last so you can ditch your sad old travel mugs and you’ll definitely be saying goodbye to those wasteful disposable to-go cups. Reusable mugs are one of the simplest switches to make your life more eco-friendly, but few manage to match function with style like the Porter Mug. It’s a treat for yourself that you can feel good about. The hard part? Choosing your color. The article The Eco-Friendly Travel Mug That We’re Taking Everywhere appeared first on VinePair. Via https://vinepair.com/picks/best-eco-friendly-travel-mug-2021/ Via https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/the-eco-friendly-travel-mug-that-were-taking-everywhere |
John BoothHi I am John Booth,36 years old from California,CA,USA,working in Whole Seller market,we supply different types of Beverages to the market.Here I am sharing some special tips about it. Archives
August 2021
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