Less is more.
The classic minimalist approach is something that Breakthru Beverage Development Specialist Adam Halyckyj preaches to bar managers all the time.
“I’ve been working with a bar recently that had a signature cocktail list with upwards of 30 drinks,” Halyckyj said. “That’s way too many choices.”
While it may seem to some people that being spoiled for choices would be a good thing, it really isn’t at all. It’s not good for the bar or for the customer.
“As a bartender, when you have that many cocktails you need to be able to make, it’s an unnecessary burden,” Halyckyj said.
From a business standpoint, having the wherewithal to produce 30 cocktails at any given moment is very expensive. That’s 30 different varieties of ingredients you need to have at the ready, and some may not be used very often. And from a cocktail production standpoint, that’s 30 different ways a bartender will build a cocktail, and ingredients may be housed at different locations behind the bar.
During a high-volume shift, that’s not ideal. It means the bartender is running around constantly, which compromises their ability to serve the customer in an engaging way.
For the customer, 30 different cocktails are just too many options, Halyckyj explained, and the overwhelming amount may turn them off from ordering a cocktail completely.
“Some bar programs just try to do too much,” Halyckyj said. “The overall quality of the cocktail is thinned out.”
Serving the appropriate amount of signature cocktails for your bar is one challenge. Another is building a cocktail list that aligns with the overall concept of your business.
A high-end restaurant with fine-dining cuisine, Halyckyj noted, must be paired with a high-quality drink menu. When a customer orders a nice steak, it shouldn’t be accompanied with a signature mixed drink you might serve at a backyard BBQ.
Flip the script and the rule is the same.
“If you run a casual restaurant where the average entree costs $10-$15, and the drink they order costs $15, that’s a problem,” Halyckyj said. “Customers are savvy and will catch onto that disconnect quickly and they might not come back. You need to create a seamless food and drink experience.”
Back to less is more:
If you’re a large venue with high-volume customer traffic, you need a small set of go-to, simple-to-execute cocktails that matches the experience level of your staff because you must keep the serving process moving. If you offer cocktails that take four minutes to build, you’re going to bring your service to a halt, and the customers will not enjoy the experience.
“Getting your cocktail list right just has a ripple effect on the success of your entire business,” Halyckyj said. “The ripple effect could be good or bad, that’s why creating a cohesive drink experience in terms of quality, production and service is so critical to success.”