Spirits Pub 21/10/09 16:00 Page 37
Tuesday November 3, 2009 – Intercontinental Hotel, London thePublican Monday 26/10/09 37
FOOD & DRINK
AWARDS 2009
THE HIDE BAR
Bermondsey Street, London
Paolo Tonellotto
The Hide Bar is located in South London in a free-of-tie space let from the
Wine and Spirits Education Trust, which undoubtedly helps it with its aim
of providing an eclectic array of drinks that even aficionados would find
interesting.
Describe your spirits offering and how you provide range and choice to
your customer base
The 370 different bottles of spirits available largely comprise unusual
premium products that are not easily found elsewhere, with the likes of
Smirnoff and Jack Daniel’s excluded. The list includes 50 rums, 50 tequilas,
60 whiskies, 20 vodkas and a unique collection of Armagnacs. Paolo says that
such is the bar’s growing reputation that it can now cut deals with suppliers THE FACTS
to allow it to offer products at competitive prices.
• Type of pub: Leasehold
What innovations have you used in order to make your offering a • Wet/dry split: 100/0
success? (it is run as a
Because of the unusual drinks available, Paolo says there is an allowance in concession)
the stock-take that allows for samples to be given to customers. Enabling • Best selling spirit:
people to experiment was also behind the introduction of the Tuesday Russian standard
evening supplier-supported £10 tastings, which can feature cocktails or a
THE
vodka (£3.10)
certain spirit and involve up to 25 people. There is also a monthly email • Price of double gin &
newsletter that is distributed to 500 people, highlighting future events.
LEXINGTON
tonic: £5.80
• Employees: 20
What training do you provide for your staff in order to maintain high
standards?
Pentonville Road, London
Most of the training is done in-house, apart from the WSET courses that most
Stacey Thomas
of the employees have completed. Ongoing training centres on product infor-
mation being given when the drinks list changes and when suppliers visit the
bar. “None of the team has done less than a year with us and they are all In less than a year the Lexington has developed a growing following for its
passionate about drinks, so they do not need coaxing to learn,” says Paolo. unique Americana offering that includes a range of bourbons and American
whiskeys, which complements its US beers, American-influenced food and
Why should you win this award? music.
“We’re a very customer-focused bar with very knowledgeable and friendly
staff that let people try new things. Our customers often don’t recognise any Describe your spirits offering and how you provide range and choice to
of the drinks so we then go into finding what they’d like,” he says. The objec- your customer base?
tive is to offer the highest-quality drinks at the The unique selling point of the pub is its range of 40 bourbons and US
cheapest price, which Paolo admits can be a whiskeys, which accounts for around 50 per cent of sales. Stacey says the
challenge, but he believes the bar achieves it. THE FACTS range includes some extremely rare aged bourbons alongside established
brands, although Jack Daniel’s is not stocked as she believes it could “deflect”
• Type of pub: Leasehold people from trying a new product.
• Wet/dry split: 75/25
• Best selling spirit: What innovations have you used in order to make your offering a
Ocho tequila – in a success?
Margarita (£6.50) Rather than having regular cocktails Stacey decided her shortlist should
• Price of double gin & comprise only bourbon-based options. The American theme also runs to the
tonic: £5.50 weekly special ‘Boiler Maker’ that is a bourbon and beer combination that
• Employees: 11 calls on the bar’s extensive US beers list. The food is also being gradually
developed to comprise mainly US-style dishes.
What training do you provide for your staff in order to maintain high
standards?
This is all undertaken in-house with basic induction training that is comple-
mented with more in-depth product knowledge on the bourbons. This
includes talks from visiting suppliers, which Stacey says has helped the team
become “extremely comfortable” with the spirit. To help customers with the
selection process the bar team work through a set process to find the type of
bourbon that best suits their taste.
Why should you win this award?
Stacey suggests the unique offering at the Lexington, with its spirits being a
key aspect of its American theme, has not only created a popular destination
but also turned people on to drinks that they might not have tried and might
not have expected to like. “We’ve been changing perceptions of the drink. We
want to offer what you can’t buy at Tesco and to give people a treat. The harder
the drink is to find and the rarer it is, then that’s what we’re after,” she explains.
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72