christmas
Bars convinced i be a joyeux noel
The limited-edition winter drink for Sourz.
Winter warmth from Sourz
SPIRIT brand Sourz is aiming to entice revellers with a new variant this Christmas. The Spirited Cranberry & Apple flavour was introduced to the trade last month and is the second seasonal launch for Sourz this year, following the introduction of the Spirited Summer Berry flavour in summer. Sourz is promoting the new flavour over the Christmas period with dedicated point- of-sale material, including Christmas cocktail recipes, Santa hat giveaways and an online competition giving consumers the chance to win a weekend in Prague with three friends. The blue and silver bottle design was chosen by the brand’s Facebook followers, who were invited to vote for their favourite pack. The label features graphics of snowflakes, clouds, stars and hearts.
“As the number one non-
cream liqueur and speciality brand in the UK on-trade, Sourz is committed to implementing an ongoing programme of innovation,” said Gregor Mina, senior brand manager for Sourz at Maxxium UK.
“Like all of the Sourz variants, our new flavours are developed to be delicious as a modern, mixable spirit in long drinks or pitchers, or as a straight serve.” Sourz Spirited Cranberry & Apple joins the core range of Sourz Apple, Sourz Cherry, Sourz Blackcurrant, Sourz Tropical and Sourz Pineapple.
30 - SLTN - November 11, 2010
LTHOUGH Christmas is the busiest time of year for many in the licensed trade, it does present its challenges for operators looking to encourage customers to trade up in their choice of spirits. With such large volumes of people coming through the doors over the festive season, how can bartenders be expected to educate everybody on the merits of premium brands? Robbie Mitchell, food and beverage manager at Hotel Missoni Edinburgh, brushed off any suggestion that a busier bar can make it more difficult to up-sell. “Good bartenders retain the ability to up-sell even when under pressure,” he said. “Visually showing the consumer the bottle and mentioning a couple of reasons to trade-up is a very quick and
Seasonal serve Ron Zacappa 23 ‘Babbo Natale’
A blend combining the toasted hazelnut and carmel essence of Ron Zacapa with the rich, deep fruit flavours of raspberries and blackberries.
effective method.”
Mitchell added that Christmas is the perfect time for venues to introduce incentives for their staff to up-sell, and advised all venues to make sure their bar staff and waiters are knowledgeable about the products they are selling.
James Rusk, owner of The Butchershop Bar & Grill in Glasgow, acknowledged that the sheer volume of customers at Christmas can make it difficult to spend that one-on-one time with each customer, but said that it is still very possible to up-sell even at the busiest times. “I think it’s about making it easy for the customer to know what you have on offer,” said Rusk. “You’ve got time to chat to the customer sometimes, but at Christmas you’ve got 70 people turning up and they’re all thirsty.
“I think if they can visualise what you’ve got on offer quite quickly, through nice little things on the bar, some suggestions that you can make, people like that. “It’s up to you to be able to express
Spectre of public sector cuts fails to dampen optimism of A
Both Hotel Missoni, top, and the Butchershop Bar & Grill have introduced seasonal cocktails to help consumers get in the mood, and make the most of the festive sales opportunity.
that visually to the customer.” Christmas is traditionally a time of year when revellers are willing to splash the cash on more expensive brands, but this winter season sees the country overshadowed by concerns over further spending cuts. Against this backdrop, there’s an argument some will be keeping a
tighter rein on the purse-strings this year.
Mitchell and Rusk, however, are confident a good Christmas lies in store. “I think that educated palates and cocktail fans will always be prepared to pay more for premium products,” Mitchell said.
“At Hotel Missoni, we still stock a
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