This article is part of a series, highlighting the importance of additive-free and authentic tequila, partnered by PATRÓN. Discover more at The World of PATRÓN. “Pollination, pollination – it’s good for the bees and good for the nation.” I picked up this clever adage from my fourth-grade science teacher. Though my first lesson on bee pollination was over two decades ago, it’s now a permanent fixture in my brain. So, what’s all the buzz behind bees and pollination? Pollination is important because it leads to the production of the fruits we eat and tequila we drink. Moreover, since agave plants are integral to the tequila-making process, they rely on this vital process of pollination. As you’ve surmised from my catchy grade school rhyme, pollination is good for every living thing on this planet. So, what exactly is pollination? It’s the transfer of pollen grains from one flower to another. Many creatures help move pollen between flowers and act as “pollinators,” such as bees and lesser long-nosed bats. As tequila increased in popularity over the past few decades, demand has essentially surpassed the pace of supply. To counteract, industrial agave farming has largely replaced traditional farming methods though, unfortunately, at the expense of agave plants and their pollinators. Bottom line: Without a continual supply of agave, there wouldn’t be tequila. And what many consumers don’t realize is just how pivotal of a role bees and bats play in the tequila-making process. In the case of agave, when the bee visits a plant, it is looking for food, but while feeding, these insects accidentally transfer pollen grains between agave and help the plants produce seeds. Then, voila! Another agave is planted. The cultivation of plants, especially agave, is dependent on bees and bats. Since bees play a particularly crucial role in agave pollination, revered tequila-makers PATRÓN have committed to developing flavorful tequila that is mindful of all aspects of the agave-producing process, including bee pollination. PATRÓN has been limiting the environmental impact of its tequila production and today is celebrated as the largest purveyor of premium, additive-free tequila. Now, the company is proactively funding a study with a top agricultural research center in Mexico to ensure the sustainability of the Weber Blue Agave plant for the entire industry. It also creates more than 5,500 tons of fertilizer compost a year from leftover agave fibers at the Hacienda PATRÓN distillery. Furthermore, PATRÓN takes in used agave fibers, free of charge, from ten other neighboring distilleries. The sustainable harvesting of agave encourages farmers to selectively harvest agave plants, leaving some to reproduce. Technically, cultivated agaves don’t need pollination since most are grown from small offsets of a mother plant. Research and policy analyst of FoodPrint, Ryan Nebeker writes, “These offsets are technically clones, and while this ensures a field of plants that all have the same characteristics which will produce an even and predictable product, the technique comes at the cost of genetic diversity.” Moreover, when bats and bees are permitted to pollinate plants, genes combine in distinctive ways and multiple beneficial traits arise, such as disease resistance or drought tolerance. Nebeker continues, “Large, genetically identical fields are potentially vulnerable to being wiped out all at once by pests or disease. This has already happened in the past: a wave of fungal infections in the mid-1990s swept through cloned blue agave fields and sent prices skyrocketing.” Since they’re so intertwined, any disruption to the pollinators can gravely impact the entire agave industry. Wild plants are important to tequila makers, and cultivated agaves ultimately come from wild sources, so bee and bat pollination is one of the agave industry’s sole sources of genetic diversity. Thus, harvesting immature agaves in the field and overharvesting immature wild agaves short-circuits the agave industry’s survival since the pollinators lose their main foundation of food. While other companies might cut production time by using premature agave in their formula, PATRÓN does not. When you keep the pollinators happy (here’s to you bees and bats), the agave plants flourish. And when the agave thrives, we can imbibe on a steady flow of delicious tequila-based cocktails thanks to sustainable farming and pollination –– a move that’s certainly good for the bees –– and good for the nation. This article is sponsored by PATRÓN. The article The Secret Life of Bees and The Role They Play in Tequila appeared first on VinePair. Via https://vinepair.com/articles/the-secret-life-of-bees-and-the-role-they-play-in-tequila/ Via https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/the-secret-life-of-bees-and-the-role-they-play-in-tequila
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California’s Napa and Sonoma counties were not prepared when the devastating and widespread wildfires overtook the state in 2020. A deadly combination of high winds, sweltering temperatures, and freak lightning storms led to 4.2 million acres of land being burnt down, a record in the state’s history. One year later and halfway across the world, the bustling winemaking region of Provence, France faced its own version of these deadly wildfires. Vineyards used to make famous rosé were burnt to the ground, along with homes and forests in what is being called the region’s worst wildfire in 20 years. The fire began in the Var region and spread outwards due to high winds, according to the BBC. Nearly 7,100 hectares (17,500 acres) of land is now damaged, affecting around 73 wineries and 5 cooperatives. “There are three vineyards close to us which have been completely destroyed, it’s truly devastating,” Stephen Cronk, founder of Maison Mirabeau winery, tells BBC. Officials plan to send a drone around the region once the smoke clears, in order to better assess damage to nearby vineyards and estates. Fires are commonplace in the area, but something of this intensity has only been seen a few times in recent history. To make matters worse, France has undergone one of the worst frosts in 44 years, which has already threatened the country’s wine production for the year. “We’ve been hit by two ‘once-in-a-generation’ frosts, and now comes the worst forest fire in decades,” Cronk says. “For us, it’s uncertain whether we will harvest or not… It’s heartbreaking.” The article Wildfires Blaze Through Provence Delivering Winemakers Another Blow appeared first on VinePair. Via https://vinepair.com/booze-news/wildfires-in-provence-winemakers/ Via https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/wildfires-blaze-through-provence-delivering-winemakers-another-blow As someone who’d spent most of his adult life working behind the bar, Chris Moran knew exactly what he was getting into when he launched his chili-pepper-infused Ghost Tequila in 2016. “As a bartender, you’re taught that you should take quality spirits and craft something yourself,” he says. “I was biased against flavored spirits.” On the other hand, Moran’s time behind the bar taught him the importance of consistency. He knew that if he could put a competitively priced, high-quality spicy tequila in front of bartenders, most would favor that over chopping up jalapeños and infusing their own, with mixed results the only guarantee. It didn’t harm matters that by the time he went to market, tequila was already trending, and had an established cocktail batting for it — who among us doesn’t love a spicy Marg? Moran’s experience is the perfect example of how general biases against flavored spirits can cloud judgement of their true value. Despite what most discerning drinkers would like to believe, flavored spirits have shown remarkable staying power over the years, even if individual flavors themselves eventually become fads. While the days of bubblegum or whipped cream vodka are (mercifully) behind us, volume sales of flavored spirits as a whole grew by double digits last year. Far from vodka leading that charge, flavored whiskey, tequila, and gin saw the largest gains. Looking forward, market analysts aren’t just predicting that this trend will continue, they forecast drinkers will also spend more per bottle on flavored liquors over the next five years. Put simply: If you aren’t already, it’s time to take flavored spirits seriously. Volume and Value SalesBy all accounts, 2020 proved to be a bumper year for flavored spirits. According to IWSR data, volume sales of flavored gin grew 12 percent, flavored tequila volumes rose 26 percent, and flavored American whiskey volumes increased a whopping 79 percent. In each instance, growth of the subcategories significantly outperformed their non-flavored “traditional” alternatives. Interestingly, that trend may have been driven by other types of alcohol. “Based on IWSR’s consumer research, flavor is the number one driver of choice in RTDs.” writes Brandy Rand, COO of the Americas at IWSR Drinks Market Analysis. “[A]nd given the range and pace of flavor innovation in this category, it’s natural that demand will cross-over into spirits,” Rand concludes. While the majority of flavored spirits purchases in the U.S. are currently taking place at the “standard-and-below” price tier (less than $22.50 per 750-milliliter bottle), it’s the “premium-and-above” category ($22.50-plus) that IWSR predicts will grow most over the next five years. Meanwhile, in news that will no doubt delight Ghost Tequila’s Moran, agave-based flavored spirits are expected to enjoy the largest gains in that time. (Moran saw his own sales “almost double” last year.) Of course, growth is more indicative of trends than overall success. But on the dollar sales front, flavored spirits have performed just as admirably in 2021. Let’s dial into some individual brands: For the first 12 weeks of this year, Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey posted the second-highest total dollar sales, behind only Tito’s Vodka, according to off-premise Nielsen data. (For what it’s worth, Fireball also claimed second place for YoY dollar growth, behind Hennessy V.S.) During that same period, Crown Royal Peach outperformed Casamigos Blanco, while Screwball Peanut Butter Whiskey raked in more than Johnnie Walker Red. For anyone who’s reading this and thinking: “Fireball Cinnamon and Screwball are just anomalies, and they aren’t real whiskey brands,” the top three names in American whiskey are all also firmly established in the flavor field. (Also, Sazerac — the same company that produces Pappy Van Winkle — owns Fireball.) Jack Daniel’s offers Tennessee Honey and Tennessee Apple, alongside its own cinnamon-spin Tennessee Fire. Jim Beam has no fewer than seven flavored whiskeys, the most recent of which, Orange, hit the market this June. Evan Williams’ flavored collection also stretches seven deep. “I love to talk about ‘pure’ whiskey innovation, but one of the areas that continues to be of interest to us is flavored whiskey,” Susan Wahl, vice president of American whiskeys at Evan Williams’ parent company, Heaven Hill, told me last fall. Wahl also lamented that the company had been “a little late to the game” in launching Evan Williams Apple (in April 2019). But by the time of our conversation, the flavor had already had a “big impact” on the flavored whiskey portion of Heaven Hill’s business, she said. Craft and Premium Flavored Spirits OfferingsArmed with all this knowledge, it should surprise no one that whiskey now enjoys the largest share of flavored spirits sales. For second-placed vodka, flavored expressions account for roughly one of every five bottles of vodka sold, according to data from the Distilled Spirits Council. Still, flavored whiskey and flavored vodka don’t seem very cool as subcategories, do they? Maybe not for some, but the 70-proof, Casamigos-conquering Crown Royal Peach has emerged as one of this year’s most coveted and collectible bottles. Some retailers even reported that they get more calls for it than Pappy Van Winkle or Blanton’s. Craft distillers making high-quality fruited vodkas have deposited further cachet in the flavor bank — as have annual, limited-edition releases from renowned gin producers like Sipsmith. These flavored spirits may not move the financial needle in the same way that Fireball does, but they certainly make it harder for “real” drinkers to turn up their noses. Of the several hundred bottles I’ve sampled this year as VinePair’s lead spirits reviewer, the Mango and Pineapple flavored mezcals I recently tried from Gracias a Dios certainly didn’t fall in the bottom half when it came to quality. In fact, I’d say they were pretty bloody tasty, and ideal for cocktail creation. This brings us nicely back to Moran and Ghost Tequila. For another article I worked on earlier this year, I explored what — if anything — tequila producers could do to make the category a real contender for the throne as America’s most valuable spirit. I gave little thought to flavored expressions at the time, but if the analysts are correct, this was an oversight. And it certainly tracks with Moran’s more recent experiences. “The problem now is that anytime you walk into a bar or liquor store to sell your product, they’re going to look at you with a new tequila and say, ‘I’ve got 120 other blancos, repos, and añejos already. What makes this one different?’” he says. “That’s one of our main advantages. When I walk into a bar, I say: ‘This is Ghost Tequila, this is what it tastes like, and guess what the use is? The hottest thing you’re doing behind the bar,’” Moran continues, pun apparently unintentional. “It makes it a much easier sell and I don’t need space for a blanco, reposado, añejo, and maybe an extra añejo. It’s just one bottle, and it really fits both the consumer’s need and makes their life easier.’” Are you ready to take flavored spirits seriously yet? The article Whether Counting Cash or Cachet, It’s Time to Take Flavored Spirits Seriously appeared first on VinePair. Via https://vinepair.com/articles/take-flavored-spirits-seriously/ Via https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/whether-counting-cash-or-cachet-its-time-to-take-flavored-spirits-seriously This month, VinePair is exploring how drinks pros are taking on old trends with modern innovations. In Old Skills, New Tricks, we examine contemporary approaches to classic cocktails and clever techniques behind the bar — plus convention-breaking practices in wine, beer, whiskey, and more. While many cocktail trends may come and go, toasting with a round of shots is unwavering in its popularity. But as with most drinks traditions, there is a certain etiquette bar-goers should follow when ordering shots. We asked NYC bartender Constance Zaytoun about how patrons should navigate ordering and taking shots at their favorite dive bars, cocktail lounges, and restaurants. When it comes to celebratory shots — to commemorate a birthday, promotion, or otherwise — bartenders are typically excited to join in on the excitement. “Those are the most fun,” Zaytoun says. But if you’re drinking with a large group, try to keep the special orders to a minimum. “If you know it’s a busy evening in particular, what makes our lives a little easier is if your group is ordering the same shots,” Zaytoun says. Between chilling spirits, rimming glasses, and choosing the right garnishes, there’s a lot a bartender has to consider when pouring multiple liquors for more than six people. If your group is asking for everything from whiskey and vodka to tequila and mezcal, Zaytoun says, “you’re giving your bartenders a hell of a time.” Shooters, or any shots that involve multiple ingredients and steps, are a bartender’s least favorite to pour — especially layered shots, which take even more time to concoct, Zaytoun says. Still, groups looking to celebrate without over-consuming are bartenders’ favorite ones to accommodate. Rowdy, late-night crowds, on the other hand, are less welcome. The most annoying? If a group is “too blasted to serve,” she says. If a party shows up right before closing and “they’re already two sheets to the wind, that’s when it gets difficult,” and bartenders are forced to gauge a group’s level of intoxication while also getting ready to lock up. If you’re part of the former group, you may find yourself chatting it up with a bartender and hoping they’ll join in on the fun. But for some bartenders, drinking with guests is a big no-no. “I think it depends on the bar atmosphere,” Zaytoun says, noting that higher-end bars look down on employees drinking on the job. But, she says, the gesture never goes unappreciated. “I love the ask. It’s always most kind. Just don’t be offended if we can’t take you up on it at that moment.” Speaking of high-end watering holes — especially restaurant bars — don’t go in expecting to be poured shots of bottom- shelf spirits. “If you’re looking for Fireball, there’s a pub down the corner that I’m sure has it. You need to go there,” she says. At fancier establishments, high-quality tequilas and whiskies — most notably Jameson — are the most commonly ordered shots. But if you’re ordering to impress, a beer and a shot is “a bartender favorite, because it’s easy,” Zaytoun says. In fact, she says that a beer and a shot is a common industry order — especially after a long shift. “You’re hot, you’re sweating your ass off, so you want a cold beer. And then you want a shot on the side, usually whiskey.” So the next time you’re at a bar — whether you’re taking a shot or shooting your shot — remember to watch your intake and order wisely. Your bartender (and fellow patrons) will thank you later. The article Ask a Bartender: What’s the Least Annoying Kind of Shot to Order at a Bar? appeared first on VinePair. Via https://vinepair.com/articles/least-annoying-shot-order/ Via https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/ask-a-bartender-whats-the-least-annoying-kind-of-shot-to-order-at-a-bar When it comes time to mix a drink with the world’s most popular agave spirit, dozens of bartenders agree: The Margarita and the Tequila Sunrise are the most overrated tequila-based cocktails. “Now don’t get me wrong, Margaritas can be great,” Anthony Baker, NYC-based mixologist, tells VinePair. “But people need to explore tequila cocktails other than the typical Margarita — or perhaps even incorporate tequila into other classic cocktails.” Sadly, the Margarita and its handful of maligned variations came to mind for many bartenders we spoke to. (Sorry, spicy Marg lovers.) But it really comes down to the fact that there aren’t as many tequila-based cocktails that have hit mainstream success here in the United States. The overwhelming majority felt that the quality of the drink is in the hands of the bartender and the ingredients they choose, rather than the recipe itself. Here’s what bartenders have to say about the most overrated tequila cocktails right now. The Most Overrated Tequila Cocktails:
Keep reading for details about all of the recommended bottles! “The Margarita. It’s a very popular classic cocktail with a lot of different variations. In my opinion this cocktail is overrated for one reason: It’s too popular, and that alone just makes it less interesting. Who wants to drink what everyone else is already drinking?” —Andrii Palokha, Bartender, The Chester at Gansevoort Meatpacking’s American Bistro, NYC “The most overrated tequila cocktail is by far the Margarita. Many people go crazy over Margaritas — no matter how overly sweet, no matter how intolerably spicy, and no matter how annoyingly salty they are. They will continue to order and drink them in large, questionable quantities, and this is mainly because people barely know of any other prominent tequila cocktails. Margaritas [can be] great. But people need to explore other tequila cocktails than the typical Margarita, or perhaps even incorporate tequila into other classic cocktails.” —Anthony Baker, Mixologist and Virtual Cocktail “Professor,” NYC “Margarita. Most bartenders do not take the time to make it properly. Sweet and sour [mix] is used by a lot of bartenders — little do they know, that kills the tequila.” —Valeria Murrieta, In-House Mixologist, Estancia La Jolla Hotel, La Jolla, Calif. “Spicy Margarita. Margaritas are supposed to go with spicy foods to give you a cooling contrast to what you are eating! Hot-on-hot is a monotone meal experience.” —Rob Krueger, Head Bartender at John Fraser Restaurants, NYC “Spicy margarita — enough said, but to elaborate, it’s never enjoyable to have a drink that’s just going to have overwhelming heat. The overuse of jalapeño and habaneros becomes more gimmicky. The spicy Margarita is the new Dirty Martini.” —Jesse Dureka, Head Bartender, Philadelphia Distilling, Philadelphia “I’m personally over strawberry and jalapeño Margaritas. I’m not opposed to a nice fruit-infused Margarita — we have one at JIMMY with tequila, mezcal, peach, and lime — just that strawberry-jalapeño combo I see everywhere.” —Johnny Swet, Master Mixologist and Founding Partner, JIMMY Rooftop Bar, NYC “The Tequila Sunrise is the most overrated tequila cocktail, due to it being ordered for looking pretty but typically being way too sweet, often masking the terrible tequila that is used.” —Morgan Hurley, Bartender and Beverage Director, Mex1 Coastal Cantina, Charleston, S.C. “Tequila Sunrises are absolutely overrated. Quality ingredients can help a little, but why drink tequila if you’re just going to cover it up with sweetness and juice?” —Meg Hoberg, Lead Bartender, Sidebar at Bode Nashville, Nashville, Tenn.
The article We Asked 8 Bartenders: What’s the Most Overrated Tequila Cocktail? appeared first on VinePair. Via https://vinepair.com/articles/wa-bartenders-overrated-tequila-cocktail/ Via https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/we-asked-8-bartenders-whats-the-most-overrated-tequila-cocktail On this week’s episode of the “VinePair Podcast,” hosts Adam Teeter, Joanna Sciarrino, and Zach Geballe take a look at the emphasis on terroir in the winemaking industry and how the importance of person and place come into play. They also break down some of the best drinks and moments from last week’s Bar Convent Brooklyn. Geballe kickstarts the conversation by musing on a new Napa Valley winemaking project that departs from the emphasis on place, focusing instead on the prestigious winemakers behind them. The three discuss what makes the project unique and how the industry has shifted away from highlighting winemakers in favor of focusing on grapes and regions from which wines are produced. Plus, Teeter considers whether this is a good thing, and how the focus on terroir might be representative of a more general move away from higher education and expertise in America. If you have thoughts about how terroir stacks up against winemakers and whether the trend is part of a larger societal shift, please send your ideas to [email protected]. LISTEN ONLINEOR CHECK OUT THE CONVERSATION HEREAdam Teeter: From VinePair’s New York City headquarters, I’m Adam Teeter. Joanna Sciarrino: I’m Joanna Sciarrino. Zach Geballe: And in Seattle, Washington, I’m Zach Geballe. A: And this is the “VinePair Podcast.” Zach, we missed you at Bar Convent Brooklyn. And since we got to drink fun stuff, why don’t you tell us what you drank first? Z: Bar Convent Brooklyn looked like a lot of fun. Maybe next year. There’s an ever-growing number of very cool cocktail and bar festivals that I’ve never been to. I’ve got to work on that and get out of my northwest corner of the U.S. I haven’t made it up to Tales of the Cocktail in Vancouver either, which is obviously very close to me. What have I been drinking? I’ve had two interesting things in the last week or so. I had a really interesting white wine from a winery that was pretty far northern in California, in the North Yuba mountains area from a winery called Frenchtown Farms. It was a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Roussanne, which are not two varieties I’ve seen blended together very often. It’s very cool. It’s one of those wineries that makes you think, California is enormous and has so many different agricultural and viticultural areas. This is not completely different from other places I’ve been, but it’s just very remote. I lost cell phone service out in the vineyard. I think you’re technically in the state of Jefferson, the proposed breakaway republic up in the north part of California. It was a world away from the glitz and glamor of a little further down, in Napa and Sonoma. It’s an interesting wine. It’s a natural wine. It’s definitely on the funkier side, but not overwhelmingly so. It had a bit of partially fermented apples to it. Maybe that’s just because we have an apple tree in our yard and it’s dropping apples like crazy, so I’m constantly surrounded by the smell of, like, partially fermented apples, but it had that sense to it. I dig that in a white wine from time to time. It was good. Did you guys have any standout things at BCB or anything else that’s been a highlight? A: I’ll let Joanna talk about BCB. J: I think I had more gin and tonics yesterday than I’ve had in my entire life. Gin was a really big focus. A: There was a lot of gin there. J: A lot of gin, right? A: Yeah. J: Yeah. Outside of BCB, we stopped by Torch and Crown Brewery in Manhattan, in SoHo, this weekend. Adam, you had chatted with John Dantzler last year when they opened up, right? A: Yeah. J: We got some beers to go from there. I really enjoyed a saison that they had right now. We also got a sour that was just a little too sour for me. Maybe I’m just getting old. Z: I’ve noticed that, as I’ve gotten older, my tolerance for very sour things has decreased for sure. I’m sorry, we’re not reaching a younger demographic. I love really sour things. A: This podcast is brought to you by AARP. Z: Soon enough, man. J: And Tums. A: I love Tums. There was a lot of gin and tonic, though, at BCB. I also agree with you, Joanna. For me, it’s always been sour beers that I’ve always felt like I can’t do. I can have one, then I feel like I’m not enjoying them. I don’t want to fight with my beverage. I thought BCB was a good time. There were definitely less big brands that have been there in the past. It was missing some of the larger brands. It was actually kind of nice. There were more mid-tier and emerging brands, which was cool. They got more of the spotlight, which I think is always great for those brands. More people will then stop and see them. It still has a really great amount of talent in terms of the bartender community that was making drinks. You could tell everyone was just really happy to be there. They did it as safely as they could. There were multiple vaccine checks, so it felt safe. Everyone had their masks on for the most part, besides when they were tasting. A lot of people spent a lot of time outside. It was cool. Also, my parents were in town this past weekend. J: Right. A: Yeah. We had some fun drinks. I made some cocktails. I made my parents the Last Word, which they had never had before, so it was fun to share it with them. We went out for dinner one night to Lorina Pastificio, which was just a great meal with really cool wine. My parents had COS for the first time. Z: Oh, cool. A: We had their orange wine, which was delicious. J: I’ve never had that. A: It was really great. Then, we just hung out at home and had some fun times. It was all BCB yesterday. The one thing that I had never had before was RumChata. Z: Oh! A: I had never had RumChata before. It was actually pretty good. I was a little suspect. Myself and Aaron Goldfarb both walked over together. Z: This is right up Aaron’s alley. It’s basically just eggnog. A: Aaron loves eggnog. Aaron also loves a spirit that none of us in New York are talking about. We walked over, and we were talking to the team. They asked us if we wanted to try a RumChata. It was pretty delicious. They brought out fresh nutmeg. They said that RumChata is apparently one of the largest purchasers of cream in America, or milk in Wisconsin. I don’t know. I didn’t get the full facts, so no one quote me on this. Z: You might have had some RumChata before they told you the facts, so the recollections might be fuzzy. A: That was cool. There was so much good stuff, just stuff that made me go, wow. I spent some time with my bingo card at the Sazerac table. They had a pretty fun ploy that turned out to be a ruse. It was, apparently if you tried 10 different things, you would get a taste of Pappy. Josh and I were like, we’re going to do this. For just a little taste, come on. Z: Yeah. A: We get to the end and they tell us, “Oh, there’s no Pappy. We messed up. We actually don’t have Pappy today.” They said, we do have George T. Stagg, and I was like, that’s fine. Z: I’ll take it. A: It was actually pretty humorous. I did get to try a lot of really interesting things in that portfolio, including an Indian whisky, which I had never had before. Z: Oh, interesting. So it wasn’t Amrut? It was another one? A: It was another one. Now, the name escapes me. They’re starting to bring it to the U.S. I guess Sazerac has part ownership of it. Z: OK, cool. A: It was a really interesting whisky. They had one that was super aged and they’ll sell it in the U.S. for around $300 a bottle. It was really interesting stuff. That’s what I’ve been up to. Zach, you’ve got today’s topic for us. What are we going to chat about? Z: This topic has been prompted by a couple of things. I think it’s been prompted by some press releases. Those are sometimes good fodder for podcast topics. Adam, you and I were talking about this a little before we recorded, by travels and what we see in the wine space in particular. The thing I wanted to get both of your perspectives on, is that I recently got a press release about a new Napa Valley wine project. It’s keeping in a lot of what you might historically associate with Napa Valley. It’s Cabernet Sauvignon-focused. It’s got three very high-profile, well-established winemaking consultants attached to it. There’s an eye-popping price tag, etc., etc. What’s interesting to me in this, is it’s the first thing I’ve seen in a while where its whole marketing pitch is that, we’re not going to tell you what vineyard it comes from. We’re not going to extoll the quality of the grapes. What we’re going to focus on is that we’re paying these very well-known winemakers a lot of money, presumably, to make this wine. We think that you, the audience for these wines, which granted is very small and elite, are going to be more interested in that in a recitation of the specific values of the sites where the grapes came from. Granted, it’s still Napa Valley wine. It’s not like they’re making it in the middle of North Yuba, Calif., say. What’s interesting to me, and what I wanted to get your take on, is that we have been in a certain period of time in wine for the last decade or so, if not longer. Everyone, from producers in the most established regions to some of the most new or obscure, have focused so much in their communications to the public, the press, and the trade about the nuances of their site, their terroir, and of the value of this specific plot of land where their grapes come from. They’ve really diminished the importance of their winemaker and the winemaking in a lot of cases. I’m wondering, do you think that pendulum’s swung too far? Are we at the point now where the conversation is tipped towards the discussion about the place or vineyard where the grapes come from, and so little is said about the winemaking and the winemaker? That’s a little bit how I felt. I’m not ponying up $8,000 for these wines, but there was something about that that resonated with me. It’s interesting. Maybe there is an audience for, not necessarily anti-terroir, but a non-terroir focused wine. A: I do think that there is a move towards the idea that everything starts in the vineyard, and it’s less about who makes it. I definitely think there is somewhat of a tension there. We’re going to really get into it. I might piss some people off. Let’s go. I think there is a tension here that exists among trained winemakers. These are people who have either gone and gotten a degree, so they’ve really worked their their asses off. They’ve gone and gotten their master’s, some have Ph.D.s, and they’ve really learned a lot in terms of winemaking at one of the great enology schools. The other group is those that have apprenticed for a really long time under other winemakers to really learn. You can always sense a little bit of annoyance in their voices when they talk about this topic, because they care about the site, too. They also believe that skill is the best steward of that site. I think that the site has become so much more talked about than it used to be. That has then fed the movement where anyone feels like they can just buy that fruit crusher, and it’s going to be just as good as if someone who actually trained had made it. I don’t think that’s true. I think that’s pretty much crap. We’ve seen that reflected in a lot of wines that get made by novices. Like, I can bake bread. I learned how to do it in the pandemic, but it’s nowhere near as good as bread that’s been baked by a world-renowned baker, even if I use the same ingredients. I think that a lot of what we’re seeing is that discussion of sites because we are seeing so many amateurs who are making wine and then selling it at the same price as people who have really perfected their craft. That’s a little bit ridiculous. J: Do you think that these amateurs are using the land, the terroir, to sell it? A: Yeah, they use that story. The fruit comes from this amazing site. For example, I can go to the farmer’s market and buy the same caliber fruits, vegetables, etc., on Saturday in Fort Greene that the chefs in Brooklyn go and buy. I like to think of myself as a pretty decent home chef. I like to cook and play around, but I would never charge you $30 a plate for it. Z: Sure. A: I’ll charge you by having to deal with my company. Z: You’ve got to help clean up. A: Yeah. Besides that, though, I’m not charging. What’s been so crazy in wine is that there’s a lot of people who have gotten into it who are able to have access. At the end of the day, the person selling the fruit just wants to sell the fruit. You can get access to some of these, except for the really renowned vineyards. But, there’s some great sites where you can be a “hobbyist” and get access. You can have a graphic designer friend who can make you a label. You can go buy bottles. You can then be on the market at the same price. There’s some distributors who, I would argue, have made a career in representing hobbyists. There’s a thirst for hobbyists. J: Craft winemakers. A: Craft winemakers. Exactly. I think that you can’t tell the story of the winemaker as much. We all love wine, but you can’t tell the same story that a winemaker with decades of experience, or even a winemaker straight out of school who has gone through the ropes of learning how to make wine and has done the work, can. That has shifted there. That’s my thought process. I think I’ve talked a lot. Joanna, what do you think? J: I have a question. Zach, you said that you got this press release about this. I’m wondering if we know of other instances of this happening. It feels kind of gimmicky to me, a little bit, like you’re using these names. Now, after hearing Adam chat, I’m wondering if we’re swinging towards both. You need both things, right? For really good wine. Z: Oh, for sure. J: Grapes, the fruit, and then the winemaker as well — unless we think we can make the case for a winemaker turning bad grapes into really good wine. Z: No, I don’t think you would necessarily say that. Including these specific winemakers who are named in this in this project: Their reputation was built in the ’80s, ’90s, and 2000s because they were a cadre of sorts, flying winemakers. They had projects all over the world. They would make the wine or at least consult on the winemaking. The thing you were, frankly, paying them for, if you were a proprietor, was just the reputation that they lent to your project. Their specific know-how and technique mattered, along with the cachet that it gave you. That isn’t gone. We certainly have seen plenty of examples of winemakers now who launch multiple projects and move from wine to wine. Take someone like Dave Phinney, who founded The Prisoner. When The Prisoner was founded, he was lauded as a person who understood the winemaking side of it to some extent, plus the marketing side of it, and the idea of creating a brand. He created this iconic brand out of nothing, sold it, and went on to do other things. Somewhere along the way, in elite wine circles, that wine and concept became taboo. It was anathema. There was the thought that this is the opposite of what you should do and that the greatest winemakers are people whose names you may never know. The vision of a great winemaker was someone who ideally had their own little patch of land, planted weird obscure varieties, and made these wines that had no commercial purpose to them. J: Very romantic. Z: Yeah. They had this tortured genius notion. I’ve had some of those wines. Some of them are great. Some of them suck and a lot of them are in between. The thing that was refreshing to me about this notion, and that I’ve been trying to push back against a little bit when I talk to people, is this idea that wine is not a natural product in the sense that it does not occur naturally. All wine is unnatural in the sense that you can’t just go into nature and gather wine. You can pick grapes. If you pick grapes and press them, you will have a fermentation and then you’ll have vinegar or something that’s rancid. Wine is an arrested part of the breakdown of grapes. We love it. It’s great. But no, it’s not natural in a true sense of that word. Some of it is more unnatural than others. In the process of making wine, people do everything from growing grapes, choosing to plant it in a certain place, growing it, cultivating it, training it, trellising it, picking it, and making wine from it. All those things are human actions. I agree there’s a sort of gimmickry in this specific brand. I don’t deny that. What I found refreshing was a recognition that wine is a human product. We make it. To your point, Adam, and I agree with you, it’s the same way that bread is a human product. Bread doesn’t grow on trees. The starting raw material, wheat, takes a lot to get to the point where it’s a delicious sourdough loaf or whatever. We would never think to say that a baker is not the most important person and an agent in bread. The person growing the wheat matters and maybe the quality of the wheat matters. I wish I had more opportunities in life to have artisanal wheat made into bread by skilled bakers. That would be delightful. Bread doesn’t ship and store the way wine does, so I don’t get as many chances to do that. We would never deny the skill, agency, and the absolute necessity of a talented baker in giving you the highest expression of that wheat. Yet, a lot of people in wine have really sought to to diminish the role of the winemaker, including winemakers themselves in some cases, which I really don’t understand. A lot of people outside of that have really sought to strip out the role of the winemaker. A: Answer a quick question before I want to take this conversation to a crazy place. Z: Oh, let’s go. A: In terms of winemakers who diminish, I think a lot of winemaker’s at the end of the day are just like brewers and distillers. They just want to sell their product. If they think that right now, what the buyers want to hear is that it’s all about the vineyard, they’re going to sit there and say it’s all about the vineyard. Whatever you want to hear, they’ll tell you, so long as you buy the wine so the winemaker can survive. I do want to ask a larger question. Do you think that this movement comes because of the fact that we as a society have become anti-education? Z: Oh. A: Education has become expensive. It’s astronomical. A lot of us have massive student debt. We come out of college, and a lot of us don’t make salaries that can help us pay off that debt pretty quickly. We think we should be paid a lot more than we are paid. We have our generation, millennials, and Gen Z making less than our parents made at our ages, which is crazy. Across the country, there’s this movement about how, if education is not going to be free, then forget it. We have the whole VC world saying, who even needs to go get an education? Just start your business. We have this whole movement that’s almost anti-expertise. Or anti-education to gain that expertise. Is that also fueling everything? I don’t know. It seems like we have to think about where else we are getting messages in society. I feel like I hear this happening even when I hear people talk about certain fashion designers who are “self-made.” No one wants to think about whether or not those people had apprenticeships. There’s artists who didn’t get degrees, didn’t get MFAs, etc. It’s interesting, as a thought experiment, to think about whether this is a larger idea of us as a society turning against education. Joanna? You take this. J: So, you’re saying that we don’t value craftsmanship. A: No, I think that, to become a lauded winemaker, a lot of those lauded winemakers have these degrees. J: Ah. OK. A: We turned away from the idea of the winemaker towards the site in large part because there are people who are devaluing education because education has become so expensive. For example, if we were to say that the winemaker is really important and, to be a successful winemaker, it’s really important to get a degree. There’s a lot of people in our society that could not afford to do that. Education is insanely expensive. If that is also the case, is the discussion of the site as its own thing a reaction to the fact that it’s not just about thinking about the romanticism of everything? It’s also that, if I want to do this thing and I can’t afford to gain the knowledge to do this thing or to be poor as an apprentice to do so, I’m just going to go do this thing and tell a different story. There’s the thought that, I may not have the skill set right now, but I sure as hell don’t have the money to get that skill set, so I’m just going to continue to fail as I learn. J: I think that’s a very valid point to make. As a result, are we turning towards highlighting terroir? Or is that not even a part of this argument? A: I think that’s why you try to highlight terroir, because you can’t lean on your own expertise because you don’t have it yet. J: Gotcha. Z: I think there’s probably two things happening here. There is something to the idea that expertise in general is being diminished in its value societally. Some of that is good. Sometimes, I think expertise, as Adam said, is not equally available to all people. The barrier to gaining that expertise is very high for some people more than for others. There are real, broader societal issues with that. I also think there’s another piece of this, which is that learning how to do something in school does not mean that you will inherently be good at it or great at it on your own. Winemaking is both science and art. I think anyone who’s good at it will tell you that, whatever their background. I think we have seen a rejection of the science part of it and of the technical side. We’ve seen that in a lot of camps, not just the natural wine camp, frankly. At the same time, what has also been going on is that a lot of people are recognizing that there is an opportunity with clever branding or a compelling personal story that might not be about your winemaking credentials or even maybe the source of your fruit. You can just skip over the learning to do it part or you can learn to do it while doing it. The reality is, because our understanding of winemaking and the science of it is much more complete than it used to be, you can read a book and probably not make something poisonous. You can make something that’s drinkable and maybe you can make something that’s even enjoyable and consumable to some people. I think that you’re right, Adam, that there is a part of this which is a broader societal trend. I also think there’s something specific to wine, which is a very specific backlash against the idea of all great wine being made by a few people. That’s what it’s felt like for a while if you’ve been paying attention, when we were early on in our drinking age. Now, there’s been this democratization, I suppose, of winemaking. It has come at the denial of the importance of the winemaker and the skill of winemaking in a way that is unfortunate for everyone. Yes, you’re right, Adam, that people want to be able to sell their product and maybe they don’t care what the angle is. But in the end, I think it gives consumers an incorrect impression of what wine is, how it comes to be, and how it makes it from the vineyard to your home or to the restaurant. It is such a human endeavor. That is part of its beauty. It is a synthesis of human technological prowess and of natural beauty. That is wonderful. I would not want to deny either piece of that in talking about wine. A: Yeah, I think that’s a good point. It’s very interesting. You guys didn’t really answer my question. Z: Excuse me for not having a sociology report ready for you. Geez. Do your own homework, Adam. A: Fine, Zach. A: No, I think you’re right. It’s unfortunate. I agree with the analysis that it’s a little gimmicky, the way that this one wine is marketing itself, but it is interesting to see that there are people who are starting to say, we’d like to be back in the spotlight a little bit and we’d like to talk about us as well. I think it’s both. It’s site and person. It’s not just the site. It’s what that person does with the site and how do they understand the site? How do they want that site to be expressed? There may be really skilled winemakers who want that site to be expressed through what we would say is a more traditional vein of winemaking where it’s much more about the purity of the fruit, but also wants to be known as the person behind that wine. They want to talk about their perspective on why they did what they did. It’s the same way that you want to hear from an artist and ask them, “Why did you do what you did on the canvas?” Not just it is what it is. It was all the paint. J: I also just think, with how people respond to chefs, I wouldn’t be surprised if consumers become increasingly curious about the people who are making their wine. Z: For sure. A: I think that’s very true. Well, Zach, Joanna, this was really interesting. Z: Yeah. Let us know what you guys think. Email us at [email protected]. A: Hit us up. Let us know. We want to hear what you think. If anyone can answer my question, hit me up. I’ll talk to you both next week. J: OK, take care. Z: Sounds great. Thanks so much for listening to the VinePair podcast. If you love this show as much as we love making it, then please give us a rating or review on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, or whatever it is you get your podcasts. It really helps everyone else discover the show. Now for the credits. VinePair is produced and recorded in New York City and Seattle, Wash., 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 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 VinePair Podcast: Are We Overselling Terroir? appeared first on VinePair. Via https://vinepair.com/articles/podcast-are-we-overselling-terroir/ Via https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/vinepair-podcast-are-we-overselling-terroir Live sporting events are back, and bars are up and running. Now, beer brands must make up for the lost time in an effort to reach consumers following a year of radio (and TV) silence. A recent report from iSpot.tv claims that the nation’s ten largest beer brands have spent nearly $525.8 million on TV ads so far in 2021. This was a 49 percent increase from 2020, when spending came out to just $352.4 million. Modelo topped the list, spending more than $67.9 million on ads this year — almost $30 million more this year than in 2020. Coming in at second was Michelob at $45.8 million, followed by Corona Extra, which spent $44.3 million on ads. Beer ads also gained traction during the Tokyo Olympics, with almost 4.2 percent of audiences viewing broadcasted content (compared to 2.6 percent during the 2016 Rio Olympics). Revenue resulted from viewers watching on screen at home, given that there was no live audience this year. Interestingly, more than half of the highest-spending beer brands are also among the brands that craft over half of the world’s beer. Perhaps that half a billion dollars is getting put to good use. The article These 10 Giant Beer Brands Have Already Spent Half A Billion Dollars On TV Ads This Year appeared first on VinePair. Via https://vinepair.com/booze-news/beer-brand-half-billion-dollars-ads-2021/ Via https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/these-10-giant-beer-brands-have-already-spent-half-a-billion-dollars-on-tv-ads-this-year On September 14, billionaire Jared Isaacman will embark on a three-day privatized space flight. Flying on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, the ship is set to carry an unlikely cargo load. The tech entrepreneur and pilot plans to bring 70 pounds of hops on the mission known as Inspiration4. Upon return, Isaac hopes to partner with a brewery that will lend his “space beer” towards a charitable cause. This is not the first effort made to bring beer hops into space, though. Hops — a plant which gives beer its bitter flavor and aroma — are some of the key ingredients that go into making beer alongside water, yeast, and malted barley. Each of these pieces components can travel into space on their own, but distillation outside of Earth’s atmosphere has proven difficult due to zero-gravity conditions.
A raffle held for one of four seats upon the flight raised over $13 million for childhood cancer research at St. Judes. This is in addition to the $100 million Isaacman pledged to donate, along with the eventual auction of the hops. Despite the charitable efforts, there don’t seem to be any breweries jumping to the opportunity just yet. Isaacmen took to Twitter on Thursday writing, “c’mon breweries make history and get in contact with us.” From Budweiser’s launch of barley seeds into space in 2017, to bottles of wine being aged in space, the drinks business’ involvement with space flight in recent years shows no signs of slowing down. The article Billionaire Seeks Brewery Bids on SpaceX-Flown Hops for Charity Beer appeared first on VinePair. Via https://vinepair.com/booze-news/spacex-hops-charity-beer/ Via https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/billionaire-seeks-brewery-bids-on-spacex-flown-hops-for-charity-beer Smoked cocktails aren’t deliberately designed for visual appeal. Ask any bartender who plays with fire behind the stick, and they’re likely to discuss how smoke adds depth and complexity to a drink. Despite this, the show just happens. As soon as smoke pours out from a decanter or a carefully removed bell jar, patrons’ heads crane in intrigue, and a question arises almost as quickly as the billowing puffs ascending from the glass: “What is that?” The true answer goes beyond saying it’s a cool-looking beverage. A smoked cocktail contains the power to turn an Old Fashioned or Negroni you’ve had hundreds of times into something new and bewitching. And as complex as its attention-grabbing process may appear, smoking cocktails is also something home bartenders can safely do in their own abodes with the right amount of space and equipment. However, there are some steps to follow, so VinePair consulted a few bar professionals known for adding smoke to drinks for some tips to master the process. The Science Behind the SmokeSmoking a cocktail entices multiple senses even before it hits a drinker’s lips. “The sight of the smoke and the aroma it gives off adds this unique 3D experience to the drink,” says James Shearer, beverage director of Zuma in Las Vegas. “It’s almost like this charred visual version of a spirit’s angel’s share.” These sensory elements create spectacle, but the depth of flavor the smoke creates delivers satisfaction. Different factors can influence the direction these flavors take, starting with the choice of wood. For example, the Macallan barrel staves used to create Zuma’s Burned History — a riff on the Penicillin — imbues a nuanced fruity essence into the smoke. Other ingredients can also add complexity to smoke, such as dried herbs like rosemary and thyme. A smoked cocktail also doubles as a cool chemistry experiment. When the smoke hits the glass and interacts with a drink’s other components, it transforms into a binding agent, like a near-ethereal form of bitters. “Smoke helps to smooth out the other ingredients, which allows them to blend in the best way possible,” says Ravin Buzzell, bartender at Ysidora in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. “When done well, it will bring out consistency and balance in a drink.” The smoke can also bind to a drink. Low temperatures create a reaction that causes the smoke to stick to the glass’s surface, maximizing its flavorful impact. This makes chilled glasses, or vessels large enough to hold a huge hunk of ice, the preferred glassware for smoked cocktails. However, this isn’t necessarily a hard, fast rule. “A snifter or a Cognac glass can work well on occasion,” Shearer says. “Their smaller openings trap the smoke better, which can intensify the smoke’s aromas.” A Drink and a ShowThe science of smoked cocktails takes a back seat to the show in the eyes of most guests. While the bartenders making the beverages dig its nerdy backbone, they also have an appreciation for its entertainment value. “We’re turning an Old Fashioned from a drink made in one minute to a drink made in three minutes, so it helps that it’s fun to watch it being made,” says Andrew Erickson, lead bartender at Fable Lounge in Nashville, Tenn. Erickson notes that the drink does more than entertain — it also generates sales. “When a customer sees a smoked drink served to another guest, they’ll want to try one, too.” Some bartenders may take the drink’s inescapable show element one step further by adding extra layers to the proceedings. For instance, Buzzell purposely keeps his cherrywood smoked cardamom Old Fashioned off his menu because enough of his regulars know about the beverage. This tactic allows the drink to manifest from seemingly nowhere once it’s inevitably ordered, elevating its intrigue even further. “Not advertising the drink adds an extra element of surprise that blows guests away when it comes out, especially if they’re not familiar with smoked cocktails,” he says. “When this happens, it immediately enhances the guest experience.” Smoking at HomeSmoking cocktails doesn’t come with a “don’t try this at home” warning — the process is safe, relatively easy, and not as pricey as you may think. If you’re an ambitious home bartender looking to up your game, you can give this technique a whirl. However, since smoking drinks is a process made of many parts, the experts have provided some basic rules of thumb to get you started. First and foremost, the pros stress that you shouldn’t start anything until you’ve created a large enough space to safely make the drinks. Remember, you’re playing with fire. Once you’ve established this, you’re going to need some wood and some equipment. A smoking gun is a popular tool that’s user-friendly and can be easily loaded up with store-bought wood chips, but it can be an investment — the good ones run between $100 and $150. Another option is to light the wood yourself, a method that could both save you money and expand your wood choices. “You can easily pick up a cedar plank for a few bucks at Home Depot’s grilling section,” says Erickson. “You can also reach out to your local distillery to see if they have any barrel staves to spare.” It’s also important to have a chilled decanter on hand to trap the smoke as it arises. Once the smoke is secured, pour the cocktail into the vessel and give it a slow swirl for about 30 seconds to fully infuse the smoky flavor before pouring it out. “You can find some beautiful, inexpensive decanters by stopping by your local thrift store,” Buzzell says. Once you’ve determined how to create and capture the smoke, the options for cocktail creativity abound. Classic whiskey cocktails like the Manhattan tend to be the default option among bartenders due to the spirit’s versatility, but gin and rum-based drinks like the Negroni or the Hurricane can also work rather well with a bit of practice. So don’t be afraid to play around to see which smoked cocktails set your soul on fire. The article Everything You Need to Know About Smoking Cocktails At Home appeared first on VinePair. Via https://vinepair.com/articles/smoked-cocktails-explained/ Via https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/everything-you-need-to-know-about-smoking-cocktails-at-home On this episode of “Next Round,” host Adam Teeter chats with Aaron Polsky, founder of LiveWire, a canned cocktail company. Polsky, who sees the brand as a “record label of some of the world’s best bartenders,” explains what inspired him to create the business and how he puts bartenders at its forefront. Teeter and Polsky explore the ins and outs of the business, with a focus on how LiveWire collaborates with bartenders and artists to bring each cocktail to life. Plus, Polsky looks to the future as he talks about how LiveWire has grown and where he hopes to see it go in the years to come. Tune in and visit https://livewiredrinks.com/ to learn more about LiveWire. LISTEN ONLINEOR CHECK OUT THE CONVERSATION HEREAdam Teeter: From VinePair’s New York City headquarters, I’m Adam Teeter, and this is a VinePair “Next Round” conversation. We’re bringing you these conversations between our regular podcast episodes in order to give you a better idea of what’s going on in the alcohol beverage industry. Today, I’m talking with Aaron Polsky, the founder of LiveWire Cocktail Co. Aaron, thanks so much for joining me. Aaron Polsky: Hey, thanks, Adam. Thanks for having me. A: Before we get into your background, history, etc. I’d love for you to just start us off from the beginning. What is LiveWire? P: LiveWire is a canned and bottled cocktail company. We make cocktails by bartenders who are well-known around the globe. The raison d’etre of our company is to provide a new source of income for bartenders, because as we learned during Covid, but many of us knew before that, our career is highly unstable. We pay royalties to the bartenders in perpetuity on every cocktail sold. A: Oh, wow, that’s awesome. How did you have the idea for LiveWire? P: Around 2012, I started getting my first cocktail press. It was cool to see my name in print, but at the same time, I realized quickly thereafter that it doesn’t really do the reader, the cocktail enthusiast, any good if they’re not in the same city as me. Plus, it doesn’t do me any good, because I can’t really monetize it. So it’s like, I’ve got this article out, but I can’t share my cocktails with the readers. There was this disconnect that needed to be bridged. I started working on LiveWire, which was not named that, around 2012. I made progress here and there. Every time I would start it very optimistically and think, we can do this, we can get this up and running in two months, and pitch some liquor companies to be partners, co-backers, or investors. That was pretty early for the RTD space in America. I never really got it off the ground until I was leaving Harvard & Stone in 2019. I decided that was going to be the time that I actually got this project off the ground. I started raising money. I raised a small friends and family round just to get our first 440 cases made. A: OK. P: We produced our first cans on March 3, 2020. A: Wow. So this was not a Covid business, but it turned out to be a Covid business. P: Yeah. Wow. It was funny. I was bartending at the time, too. Again, I was very optimistic. I read this article on Medium that talked about how they raised $2 million dollars in seven days. I thought, well, if they could do it, I could do it. It turns out I couldn’t. I realized, “oh, I have no money.” I started working in a restaurant a couple nights each week. I was working there up until March 15. In early March, once I had the product made and everything was scheduled, I thought, cool. I figured I could probably start paying myself and quit in April, but I ended up working full time on it as soon as Covid hit. A: Yeah. Tell me, where did you get the idea? There have been so many canned cocktail brands. All of a sudden, they’re everywhere. There are some bartender canned cocktail brands. Obviously, you have some of the OGs that existed and people weren’t aware of them, but they were there. You have new ones out. What caused you to say, I want this to be not just my cocktails? I want it to be other people’s cocktails, too. I think that’s a really interesting model that no one else has done. P: Yeah. This was around September 2019. I had this light bulb moment to change it over. Initially, it was going to be my cocktails. It would have been the same as Charles Joly, Tom Macy, and Julie Reiner. I don’t think those were out yet. Charles’ was. Crafthouse was out. A: Yeah. Charles’ has been for a while. P: Yeah. You know, I was thinking about his brand. With all due respect to Charles, I look up to him greatly, but I thought about the amount of time and effort it would take a consumer who’s looking at a bottle of Crafthouse or looking at a bottle of my brand to do the work in a store. I thought about the work it would take to figure out who the people are behind the cocktail, why they’re trustworthy, where their street cred is and all of these things. You really don’t have that time. A lot of consumers are passing Charles’s brand, I’m sure, in the store not knowing that somebody who is named the best bartender in America was behind this brand. A: Right. P: They didn’t know that his brand is better than a lot of the other things. I had this moment where I thought, if the brand’s not just about me, but used as a platform to shine a light on a lot of bartenders and bring them and their work to the masses, we then become this roster. We become this record label of some of the world’s best bartenders. Then, we can communicate that to the consumers in our advertising and marketing without it just sounding like some blowhard, saying, “hey, I’m the best.” Obviously, saying anything is the best is subjective to an extent, but it’s pretty easily backed up when you look at the careers of the people that are involved with us. I wanted to have that strength behind the brand. That’s how that difference came about. A: Interesting. How many different bartenders are you working with right now? P: We have seven. We have six cocktails out. We have a seventh produced about to be launched as well. Then, we have about six to eight more bartenders on deck. A: Are these people that you’ve known throughout your career? Are you doing all of the curation? Or, since this has taken off, have there been any bartenders that actually approach you and ask if they can get in on this? P: A lot of people approach. So far, all of the people who are out and committed are people that I’ve known throughout my career. Once we’ve gotten those out, which I assume will take the majority of 2022, we’ll start considering new people for it. It’s both a time resource and a financially intensive procedure to make every single cocktail. It’s quite an undertaking. A: So, I’m really curious about this. I’m sure there’s like a lot of proprietary stuff you figured out, but like, so many canned cocktails suck. P: Yeah. A: Yours are the best I’ve had. I’m dead serious. They really are. What is the process, and how are you doing it? What is it that you’re doing so well, and what are others doing so wrong? Are you at a small batch facility that’s packaging these? Are some people trying to go too large format? It just doesn’t make sense. The Old Fashioned you have out, I would pay $16 for this at a cocktail bar, and I wouldn’t blink an eye. P: Right. A: I’m really curious how you’ve been able to do that. A lot of others that I’ve had, I’m willing to pay $8 for, but if you charge me $12, I’d be pissed. I’m really curious what that process is and how you figured that out. P: Yeah. The Old Fashioned is actually our easiest drink. It’s just MGP rye, apple brandy that Ventura makes, cherry bark vanilla bitters, and sugar. That’s it. A: Wow. P: This one’s the easiest to get through and then we can go beyond that. I think a lot of people think that the consumer is dumb. That’s what we don’t do. We don’t think the consumer is dumb. We don’t predilute because nobody predilutes when they make it at a bar. If you make an Old Fashioned at a bar, you take 40 to 45 ABV whiskey. You take a sugar cube, bitters, combine it, add ice, simple syrup, an orange twist, and you call it a day. So, I did the same thing. I made an Old Fashioned. I did math, and I put it in a bottle. All of our products are premium, and we didn’t dilute them. Again, it’s the math. You see these Old Fashioneds that are 32 percent or 35 percent and think, how are you getting down to 32 percent ABV? It’s possible they’re trying to save money on federal excise tax, because that’s done by ABV. A: Right. P: That one’s the easiest. Bittercube makes some of the best bitters on the market. Between them, Angostura, and everything Sazerac produces, including Bittermens, are the top players in the game. Plus, they’re businesses. I love Ira from Bittermens. He’s great, and he has a very craft approach. Plus, when I tell him I need five gallons by Tuesday, he sends me five gallons by Tuesday. When I need the documentation to submit to the federal government, he has that. They’re built to scale, and I know that we can grow with them. With the cans, and this is very counterintuitive, we don’t use juice. That’s why they taste fresh. This is another thing where you think the consumer is dumb. You see these companies write that there’s fresh juice on the can. It’s like, yeah, sure, maybe by some extent or some regulation allowance, you’re able to put fresh juice on the label. Even if you take a lemon and squeeze it right into the can, add in all your other ingredients and canned it up, by the time it reaches the consumer, it’s not fresh. A: Right. P: We write that right on our website: we don’t use juice, we love fresh juice, support your local bar and go there. We use a combination of organic acids. We don’t cheap out on our acids. We don’t just use citric. When you use only citric, you get a very sharp attack and a very sharp decay of acidity. That’s not how you want it. We use acids because juices degrade. What juices have in them are things like pectin, solid matters, and these little things that hold it together and make it a little bit smoother. When you don’t have that, you need to be very smart with how you use your ingredients so that you don’t end up making your drink taste thinned out and metallic. We use a combination of acids that’s proprietary to us in order to lengthen that finish. They’re all organic acids. Then, we use high quality flavors and extracts. We go to a flavor house that’s one of the best in the business. I tell them our flavors have to be whole foods compliant, and they have to taste like what they’re called. For example, when I ask for honeydew, they send us around seven honeydew samples. We’ll test them and either they nail it or they don’t. If they don’t, I give them feedback like, number six and number eight were the closest. I liked that eight was juicy, I like the top notes on six, but it also needs more of this. Three to four weeks later, another magical flavor appears at our door, and hopefully they nail it then. By utilizing the expertise of a flavor house while also maintaining that it needs to be natural and whole foods compliant, we’re allowed to stay within our integrity as bartenders and be proud of what’s in the product. We’re also able to put out a consistent, high-quality product. That also is built to scale. A: Right. P: When we grow, we want our product to stay the same, which is also why we work with the flavor company. A: Yep. That makes a lot of sense. P: Yeah. That’s why they taste good. Ultimately, the last reason is that, I think every one of our employees is or has been a bartender. The culture starts at the top as well. I’m a bartender. That’s what I put my name on, so I want to put out products that I would be proud of in the bar. You look at some other companies where the founder is a money guy or a former packaging creator. You don’t have that final say of quality control that we do here. I think that it’s really important that we’re bartender owned. A: Where are the designs for all the cans coming from? Are you using the same designer for each? There is definitely some cohesion there. You have different bartenders, but everything looks similar in a good way. I’m curious how you decided that this will be the look of the brand. P: Every bartender can choose the artist that they want to work with. A: Oh, wow. P: Yeah. I view this as creative work from the juice to the package. I want the bartenders to be behind it and be proud of it. They find an artist. We talk to the artist. Mostly, it’s the bartender. They talk to the artist and give them their vision. Where I’m involved is, sorry, this is getting technical. I let them know that any mean element of the art has to be a separate layer in the file. It has to be isolatable. When we take the art and turn it into a label, we can move stuff around without covering the art. We can shrink or expand it as needed. The best art that comes to us is a bunch of different elements that we can move wherever. We have a design and marketing company called Jellybone that takes that art, turns it into a label, and adds the font, text and all of that stuff. The bartender is involved through all of it. Then, we create our label. A: That’s awesome. Going back really quickly, because I was thinking about it as you were talking about the flavor house and things like that. Is each bartender working with you and the flavor house and going through that ,or are they saying, “I want honeydew,” and then you’re figuring out what the best honeydew flavor is and then giving it to them to play around with? How much is that? Is the whole time 100 percent collaborative? P: Yeah, but I take the lead on the flavor house stuff. It’s a whole different set of tools and a whole different set of measurements. I pick the final contenders for the flavor. Once we’re at that point, I get the bartender involved, and we blend it together. A: Very cool. As you look at what you’ve created so far, what are your goals for the brand over the next few years? P: 50 state distribution, a couple of countries, getting into venues, getting into more chains. A: What chains are you in now? P: We’re in Total Wine, BevMo!. We’re close to a couple of other grocery store chains. We’re in a chain in northern California called Nugget Markets. We are also in one of the higher end stores, Raley’s, which is also a northern California chain. Getting into national chains is something that we want to do as well, along with airlines and all that. Because the bartender royalty is such an important component of the business, I don’t feel like we’ve succeeded unless they’ve got a pretty good amount of money in their pocket. It needs to grow to a pretty big level for me to be happy with it. A: Right now, besides California, are the majority of people buying LiveWire online? P: We have brick and mortar distribution in California, New York, New Jersey, Texas, and Louisiana. A: OK, that’s a lot. P: Yeah. We have a pretty good deal of business there. As for the rest of it, we do sell a lot online. I would say that most of the online sales are from those brick-and-mortar states. Two of our bartenders, Erin Hayes and Joey Bernardo, are both from Chicago, so they have a following there. We do get a lot of orders from places where they have a following. A: That makes sense. Do you see this being a brand that could be picked up by a large restaurant chain, and all of a sudden, your Old Fashioned is their Old Fashioned? P: That would be great. There is definitely an opportunity that I didn’t see at first. With this hiring difficulty that so many restaurants and bars are facing, it really makes their life easier to have high-quality canned and bottled cocktails. A: It really does. P: Katana Kitten picked us up. Death and Co. is about to pick us up. PDT picked us up, mostly to serve through Crif Dogs, but they serve it there as well. Having Normandy Club and those incredible bars on our account list really shows bars that we’re at that level. And Masa at Katana Kitten says, “when I have tickets from the printer to the floor, it’s awesome.” I’m sure that this staff shortage will continue for a bit. There’s definitely that value proposition to chain restaurants. A: Very cool. Aaron, this has been really awesome talking to you. What you’re building is really awesome. Congratulations. The drinks are very delicious. You said you have a few new ones coming out, right? P: We just released Shannon Mustipher’s cocktail on Tuesday. That one is a bottled Whiskey Sour type drink. It’s a little bit different than anything on the market. It’s exciting for that reason. It’s bourbon with coconut, Rockey’s Liqueur, lime, lemongrass, and Jamaican No. 1 bitters, also from Bittercube. That’s 375 mL, 33 percent ABV, and it drinks like a tropical drink or a Whiskey Sour, but it looks like you’re pouring whiskey. It defies expectations. A: That’s really cool. I really want to try. It sounds delicious. I was curious about that too, actually. Eamon Rockey’s written for VinePair a good bit. I was curious, with Rockey’s, was Shannon familiar with the liquid and wanted to use it, or did you know the liquid? How do you choose those things when you also are naming the liquid that’s in the drink? P: Eamon’s someone I’ve wanted to support for a long time and support his brands. I’ve been pretty vocal about him on social media, just as a friend. I think that friends should support friends in their endeavors. Those conversations all happened at the same time, so that all came together. A: Oh, cool. Awesome. Well, Aaron, I love what you do and what you’re doing for the industry. Keep it up. This stuff is awesome. Hopefully, we can check in in a year or so and this thing is just huge. P: Thanks. I hope you’re right. 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 wherever it is you get your podcasts. It really helps everyone else discover the show. Now for the credits. VinePair is produced and recorded in New York City and 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 shoutout to my VinePair co-founder, Josh Malin, for helping make all this possible and also to 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: LiveWire Takes Bartender Creations From Bar to Bottle appeared first on VinePair. Via https://vinepair.com/articles/next-round-aaron-polsky-livewire/ Via https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/next-round-livewire-takes-bartender-creations-from-bar-to-bottle |
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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