Bartender HQ Podcast : Bar Culture, Cocktails and Flair Bartending for Everyone.

On this week’s show we discuss (and I RANT about) what is a Bartender’s Job? Along with our usual industry news and what’s going on at BartenderHQ this week.

Drinks Industry News

* Elon Musk to launch Teslaquila – Trademark Registered!

* Johnnie Walker to open Madrid flagship store

* Angel’s Envy aims to connect drinkers and distillers

* Aldi Scotland to stock McQueen Pink Gin

* Premier Inn creates Interactive Gin Map

BartenderHQ Social

* Instagram

* Facebook

Bartender’s Job, Do you know what it is?

We’re talking about making sure your priorities as a bartender are in the right place in this week’s main course.

There is nothing more important as a bartender than making money for the business. Everything else is secondary, be that your tips, great service etc. That doesn’t mean the others are neglected, but that those things are a means to the end of bringing money into the bar’s business to pay the wages and bills and keeping the bar open.

It gets a bit ranty, but I hope you see where I’m coming from. Agree or not, let me know!

On this week’s Podcast – I begin #ProjectHero, I talk about what’s next for me work wise as well as my trip to the Roadhouse for Chicks with Flicks in Covent Garden London.

Industry News

The Spirits Business’ Top 10 Spirit launches of September 2018

* Proper No.12 Whiskey from Conor McGregor

* Aerstone Single Malts from William Grant & Sons

* Fever Tree Citrus Tonic (for Tequila & Mezcal)

* Bacardi Ginger

* Allt-A-Bhainne Single Malt from Pernod Ricard and Chivas Brothers

* Bertoux California Pot Still Brandy

* Jameson Cold Brew

* FEW American Blended Whiskey

* Douglas fir Flavoured Vodka from Moorland Spirit Company’s Explorer Editions.

* Chimes English Extra Dry Vermouth

The Main Course – Chicks & Flicks

Chicks and Flicks is the Roadhouse’s all female flair competition. I attended and the standard was incredibly high. There is no difference in the skill level of the best ladies in flair compared to the guys, we just need more women encouraged to learn the art. Incredible show from all the competitors. You can find clips on our instagram over at @BartenderHQPics

#ProjectHero

Project Hero sees me aiming to hit the gym every day for the next 100 days without missing a day. Inspired by Zack Prohaska of YouFlair, who is currently going from 400 days to 500 days without a day off. His transformation has been phenomenal, and if you’re interested in flair you have to check out his channel.

Restaurant bookings can be a pain. Miss one and your whole night can be thrown into chaos, with booked tables waiting and filling up the bar, bartenders in the weeds and unable to serve their regulars properly, you get the idea. That’s why we spoke to Gerard from TOGO today, to find our how their system can help organise your bar and restaurant bookings and table reservations.

Industry News from BartenderHQ

* Cotswolds Whisky gets a national listing in the UK

* Craft Spirits sales hit 4.6% in the USA

* Fentiman’s launch a Gin Baking portal online

Main Event – TOGO Restaurant Bookings

TOGO allows bars, restaurants and even boutique hotels to manage their bookings simply and in an intelegent way, as well as including customer relationship management features. Check out all their features at the TOGO website

On this week’s podcast – were talking about Flair, specifically preparing for a flair competition, as that’s exactly what I’m doing!

Industry News

Wetherspoon prepares for Brexit by dumping European brands

JD Wetherspoon pubs in the UK have announced they are delisting Hennessy and Courvoisier Cognacs and Jagermeister in favour of non EU products from Black Barrel, E&J Brandy and Stryke – a British herbal liqueur. Full Article

Conor McGregor’s Notorious Whisky is no more

MMA Fighter Conor McGregor last year announced he would enter the Irish Whisky market with Notorious – however the name is already owned by a brewery who make Notorious Red IPA. A replacement name and brand has not been announced at the time of publication. Full Article

Preparing for a Flair Competition

As mentioned above, I’m preparing for a flair competition next week and documenting the process on our YouTube channel. So far we’ve broken down the general process, as well as deep diving into the rules. Over the next week we’ll cover selecting music, creating the routine, setting up a practice area and getting everything together to be ready to go on the day. We’ll also share video on the day as I’ll be introducing all the bartenders on the night at Samoan Joes in Coventry!

On this week’s podcast we talk to Grant Thompson from Tipll – a new app that allows people going fora night out in a new city to find the best bars and drink like a local, through the magic of augmented reality on their phone.

Tipll – Drink like a local!

Tipll lets users filter bars, restaurants and clubs according to their preferences, flags up venue information and offers, and leads them to the door using built-in GPS functionality.

Quick but accurate live ratings and reviews let others engage with those experiences in real time, while additional in-app features to be introduced later in 2018 – such as cashless payments and taxi ordering – will make Tipll a one-stop shop for a night out. 

Benefits for users and venues of Tipll

The brains behind Tipll is local entrepreneur Grant Thompson, who has drawn from years of experience working in the leisure industry to create an app that’s as useful for venues and destinations as it is fun for users.

“By Tipll-ing it, visitors spend less time searching for a venue that suits them, and more time enjoying the experience when they get there”, Grant explained.

“At the same time, by giving easy access to useful information about different bars, restaurants and clubs, Tipll is able to increase the footfall and dwell time that local businesses receive, while also encouraging responsible drinking.

“One of the most attractive features for venues is Tipll’s live promotional service using augmented reality – a bit like Pokémon Go for bars. Restaurants and pubs can promote their up-to-date offers to passers-by that have the app, and users simply point their phone at a participating venue to view the current deals.”

Tipll’s main audience will be people who are visiting new cities for short breaks or for work, though Grant also sees the app appealing to students and large groups, such as stag and hen parties.

One handy filter function lets groups find venues that will welcome them, with plans to add pre-purchasing of drinks via the app. Several safety-related features are also in development, including a personal kitty for taxi fares, and a find-a-friend service to prevent members of a group getting separated from each other.

As well as creating a tool that promotes venues and helps visitors have a better night out, Grant is also keen for organisations such as local councils and Business Improvement Districts to take advantage of the social data that the app collects. 

“Tipll gathers all kinds of insights about patterns of trade, and the trends of the people visiting that area, that haven’t been available before.

“For example, it tracks what drinks users buy, average transaction value, dwell time in each venue, demographic data, where users are visiting from, and the routes they take between bars, interlinking this with data from hotspots.

“This data has lots of potentially useful applications, such as driving traffic from one area to another through call-to-action promotions, tracking visitor trends, or informing decisions about where to open new restaurants or bars.

“Our primary purpose with Tipll is to create something that users love, and that makes going out in a new city easy, safe and fun. However, by also building lasting relationships with destinations and venues, we’re really excited about the wider opportunities to promote and better understand our vibrant local economies.”

On this week’s podcast we’re talking about how Tequila is made – as well as our regular look at industry news and a look back on the week at BartenderHQ

Industry News

Ryan Reynolds has been promoting Aviation Gin with Jimmy Fallon on US TV

Alcohol and energy drinks are a bad combination for humans

VK Announces new Watermelon variety following public poll

London Rum Week Announced

The Catch Up on BartenderHQ

* Matador Cocktail

* Clouds and Dirt GaryVee Cocktail

* Mexican Pornstar Cocktail

How Tequila is Made

Fermentation:

Starting off with a product that contains sugar or starches that can be turned into sugar, yeast is added which eats through the sugars and excretes alcohol and carbon dioxide. At between 12-16%ABV, the alcohol becomes toxic for the yeast so fermentation stops.

Distillation

To get a spirit up to a more useful strength, we take advantage of different evaporation points. While water boils at 100C Ethanol is 78C, so we can extract more of this by controlling the temperature. Allowing the alcohol to evaporate off more quickly than the water, the steam can be captured and cooled turning it back into a liquid, but with a higher ABV and less impurities than before. The distillation process can be repeated to further purify the product.

How Tequila is made specifically

The source of sugars for Tequila is the Blue Weber Agave Pina, which has its leaves cut away and the heart of the Pina is used. These are harvested in the fields by Jimadors who use specialised knives to remove the spines. In Autoclaves and Brick Oven methods, the Pina are cooked whole and then have the juice extracted for fermentation. In the case of the diffuser, the Pina is shredded raw and the juice extracted and cooked, sometimes through the use of acids. This gives a higher yield, extracting more of the sugars, however the flavour is seriously degraded.

 

 

Casa Agave’s Jen Foley is with us on this week’s podcasts talking about how Casa Agave began and their amazing Tequila and Mezcal. Casa Agave is a UK importer and distributor of Agave products.

Industry News – Millennials shun beer and wine for spirits

Full Story

In news that really didn’t surprise me at all, Millennials are more likely to be ordering spirits than beers or wines today. This doesn’t surprise me at all, its so easy to crack open a beer or pour a glass of wine at home, so why would people pay much more for the same in a bar. On the flip side, good spirits often represent a much higher cost of entry, $30+ a bottle, so its more economical to try them at least in a bar first. On top of that, a skilled bartender can add much more value to a spirit in its preparation into a cocktail than simply pouring a beer.

The Catch Up – This week at BartenderHQ

* Tequila Martini Recipe

* Mezcal Negroni Recipe

* Mezcal Vs Tequila Infographic

* Is Your Favourite Tequila Diffuser Made?

* Mezcal Cucumber Julep Recipe

The Main Event – Jen from Casa Agave

In our interview today we talk to Jennifer Foley from Casa Agave and 400 Rabbits in Nottingham. Casa Agave is a UK distributor to the public and trade specialising in Tequila, Mezcal and other Mexican spirits. They also have a range of Mexican drinkware available on their website.

Products we tasted in the show:

* Creencias Blanco – Tequila

* La Medida Espadin – Mezcal

* La Medida Arroqueno – Mezcal

* Animas Espadin – Mezcal

https://www.casa-agave.com | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

August is Agave Month! Following July’s 80s month celebrating the Anniversary of Cocktail’s release, August is Agave Month. All month we’ll be learning more about the spirits of Mexico (and beyond) and reimagining classic cocktails using Agave spirits.

Agave Month

This month’s Agave focus will also be an opportunity for me to expand my knowledge – I know the basics but its a huge category so you can join me on my journey of discovery as we learn more about Agave as a plant as well as the spirits it produces.

Latest Industry News

The Spirits Business has released its list of the top 10 product launches in July 2018

* Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ghost & Rare Port Ellen

* Seedlip Grove 42

* Mortlach Trio

* Cooper & Kings Geography Bi-Continental Brandy

* Grant’s Cask Editions

* Don Julio Reposado Cask Edition

* Discarded Vermouth

* Chivas XV

* The Irishman Founder’s Reserve – Caribbean Cask Finish

* Famous Grouse Ruby Cask

This Week at BartenderHQ

* Smoked Tequila Old Fashioned Cocktail

The Main Event – Agave Month

Check back this month for more Tequila, Mezcal and more – including interviews with Casa Agave and AquaRiva founder Cleo Rocos. We’ll also look at the different production methods of Tequila and Mezcal including the controversial Diffuser method and how it affects flavour in spirits.

We’re looking to work with any interested brands to raise awareness of Agave, Tequila and Mezcal too, so please feel free to reach out and get in touch.

As always, you can join us on Social Media and join the conversation with BartenderHQ

* Facebook.com/BartenderHQ

* Twitter.com/BartenderHQ

* Instagram.com/BartenderHQPics

On the 30th Anniversary of the release of Cocktail we’re incredibly proud to present our interview with JB Bandy, the man who trained Tom Cruise and Bryan Brown to flair bartend for the movie. Without JB Bandy, flair bartending may never have gained the popularity it has today.

JB Bandy Worked the Same Bar as Me!

In this interview we discuss how he originally got involved with the Cocktail movie, some of his experiences and where his secret cameo in the film can be found. Yes, he’s actually in Cocktail! It also turns out JB Bandy and I have worked behind the very same bar, TGI Fridays in Birmingham, the first to open in the UK.

So pour yourself a Daiquiri, sit back and enjoy this chat with a true legend of the bar industry! Happy Birthday Cocktail!

Nostalgia in bars can be a great way to engage your guests and give them a reason to stay. We’ll be talking in more detail with my wife, Jo Eden-Sangwell later in the show.

Industry News: Stonegate Buys Be At One

Full Story: https://news.sky.com/story/slug-and-lettuce-owner-toasts-50m-takeover-of-be-at-one-chain-11445611

Stonegate pub company has reportedly purchased the Be At One group, which has around 30 cocktail bars across the UK. The chain started in London around 20 years ago when three bartenders got car loans to open their first bar, and the rest is history. Drawing much of its culture from TGI Fridays at the time, they run their own internal bartender competitions and have industry leading training and development programs.

This Week at BartenderHQ

* Friar Tuck Cocktail

* Dirty Mother Cocktail(s)

* Cape Codder Cocktail

* Angel’s Tip Cocktail(s)

* Dingaling Cocktail

The Main Event – Jo Eden-Sangwell Interview on Nostalgia in Bars

Jo Eden-Sangwell (my wife) has spent 12 years in retro bars and in this interview we’re talking about retro music and the value of nostalgia in the bar industry to engage your guests.

We talk about primary nostalgia (the music of your youth), secondary nostalgia (the music your parents were listening to during your youth) and re-nostalgia, your early adulthood music when you created your own tastes.

Find Jo and Dance Aspirations (her new project) on Facebook & Instagram

Music Credits

Miami Viceroy Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/