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January 2, 2024by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

Program for Unique Holidays: January 2024

Program for Unique Holidays: January 2024

by David Klemt

Do you want to stand out from from other restaurants and bars in your area? Change how you kick off the new year with your January holiday promotions.

Several holidays are set against every date on the calendar, and this month is no exception. These holidays range from mainstream to esoteric.

Pay attention to the “weird” or unique holidays to raise eyebrows, carve out a niche for your restaurant or bar, and attract more guests. Why do what everyone else is already doing? Why program only around the same holidays as everyone else?

Of course, you shouldn’t try to celebrate every holiday, strange or otherwise. Focus on the days that are authentic to your brand; resonate with your guests; and help you grab attention on social media.

You’ll find suggestions for promotions below. However, the idea behind our monthly holiday promotions roundup is to inspire you and your team to get creative and come up with unique programming ideas.

For our December 2023 holidays list, click here.

January 2: Thank God It’s Monday Day

We all know the Monday trope: It’s the day of the week to fear, inspiring the Sunday Scaries.

Well, this month encourages people to change how they look at the start of the workweek. Your venue can play a role, offering F&B promotions and entertainment programming that puts people in good spirits on a Monday.

January 3: National Fruitcake Toss Day

Another trope? Fruitcake somehow becoming a rock star during the end-of-year holiday season. I suppose this divisive dessert gets the “rock” part right…

If you have the space, you can hold a fruitcake tossing competition. Nobody’s going to eat the fruitcakes they were given, so they may as extract some joy from them.

January 9: National Cassoulet Day

This French dish is warm and comforting. And according to Tastewise, social conversations were up 20 percent in 2023.

However, less than one percent of restaurants have cassoulet on their menus in the US. Could be an excellent opportunity for savvy operator and kitchen team.

January 13: National Peach Melba Day

Each December, Pantone announces the next year’s Color of the Year. At this point, it’s a tradition.

For 2024, that color is Peach Fuzz. So, it makes sense to put peach dishes and drinks on your menu. The Peach Melba is a dessert consisting of peach wedges resting in raspberry sauce, accompanied by vanilla ice cream. However, there’s no reason your kitchen team can’t make this their own by getting creative with ice cream flavors and other accompaniments.

January 14: Start of National Mocktail Week

This is an excellent way to help guests celebrate Dry January. However, it’s important to note that some sober guests find the term “mocktail” disrespectful. I can see their point: the word has “mock” in it. So, perhaps call your celebration Alcohol-free Week, Non-alcohol Week, or Zero-ABV Week.

Either way, this is the time to dial in your zero-proof menu.

January 15: National Strawberry Ice Cream Day

Celebrating this holiday with the Peach Melba is a great way to get the most out of promoting your guests’ favorite new dessert. All you have to do is serve your Peach Melba with, you guessed it, strawberry ice cream instead of the standard vanilla.

January 20: National Cheese Lover’s Day

Getting creative to celebrate this holiday will take some effort. However, if you nail it, this promotion can be recurring and become a sought-after experience.

Wine, beer, and spirits pair with a vast array of cheeses. You can create an entire tasting experience, pairing specific cheeses with a curated selection of wines, beers, whiskeys, or other spirits. Check out this guide for pairing ideas.

January 20: National Use Your Gift Card Day

I don’t usually double up on holidays for this monthly KRG Hospitality feature, but here we are.

If your business offers gift cards, this is the day to encourage people to come in and redeem them. Send a targeted email campaign, include a link to your reservation system, and you’ll have an excellent way to track how many gift cards you can expect to show up for redemption.

January 25: Clashing Clothes Day

Why should October and December get all the dress-up fun? There’s no reason your guests have to pull out all the stops for Ugly Christmas Sweater gatherings and then wait another year to do it again.

If you pull this off well and make it a “thing,” you and your team can own Clashing Clothes Day and make it an annual promotion.

January 30: National Croissant Day

The humble but delicious, flaky croissant is a tasty canvas. Sure, you can just offer croissants, but what about going harder and offering an array of croissant sandwiches or desserts?

Image: Ivan Bertolazzi on Pexels

December 12, 2023by krghospitality krghospitality No Comments

Drink Donnybrook: Let’s Talk Screwdriver

Drink Donnybrook: Let’s Talk Screwdriver

by David Klemt

Is there vodka in there? Maybe.

As it turns out, the origins of one of the simplest cocktails on the planet—there are just two ingredients in a traditional Screwdriver—are a mystery.

Another interesting note about the Screwdriver: It’s likely a relatively new drink.

If the Screwdriver is an American invention, the earliest most believe it could have been created is the 1920s. That’s when Smirnoff sold the rights to North American distribution to a distiller in the US.

However, it’s possible the cocktail wasn’t invented until some time in the 1940s. Vodka didn’t really become popular among Americans until the ’40s. So, it’s conceivable that the Screwdriver is less than 100 years old.

Still, it’s difficult to believe that someone, somewhere didn’t think to add a splash of vodka to their orange juice in the 1800s. Or that someone didn’t think to “adjust” the taste of the vodka in their glass with a bit of OJ.

Either way, it’s pretty entertaining to know that we don’t have a definitive answer for who created the Screwdriver, where it was first made, and when. When we consider the fact that the recipe calls for just two simple ingredients, maybe it does make sense that we don’t know the who, where, and why. It’s so easy to make that it’s believable multiple people had the same idea around the same time, across the globe.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Drink Donnybrook without checking into some origin theories. So, let’s dive in!

World War II

One theory involves WWII and the US Marine Corps.

It’s quite simple, really. During WWII, stationed overseas, perhaps a few Marines jazzed up their orange juice with a touch of vodka.

Oh, but wait. The Screwdriver may not be attributable to the USMC. It’s possible, according to another theory, that the former US Army Air Forces came up with drink and name when stationed in Ankara, Turkey.

As the predecessor to the Air Force, the USAF may hold claim to the Screwdriver.

If it’s one thing we need, it’s more fuel for the inter-service rivalry between the USMC and USAF.

Journalists

Two publications mentioned the Screwdriver in the 1930s and 1940s.

According to some historians, Journalism Quarterly at least made reference to a drink called the “Smirnoff Screwdriver” in 1938.

If that’s true, the classic cocktail predates WWII by a year. And if that’s true, it’s possible that American marines, airmen, or soldiers spread it around the world.

In 1949, Time magazine mentioned the Screwdriver. According to the writer, the cocktail was the newest drink grabbing attention at the Park Hotel in New York. Apparently, American engineers, Balkan refugees, and Turkish spies loved the drink.

Interestingly, if Time‘s reporting is accurate, it’s possible the supposed Turkish spies frequenting the Park Hotel bar got the name of the drink from American airmen.

Since apparently no bartenders who worked at the Park Hotel appear to have taken credit for it back in the ’40s, it’s unlikely it was created there.

Roughnecks

Okay, so you’re an oil worker. It’s the 1950s and you’re working in the Persian Gulf.

You’re performing back-breaking, dangerous tasks in oil fields. Maybe you need a pick-me-up, and maybe that pick-me-up involves mixing orange juice and vodka together.

But…you don’t have a barspoon. You certainly don’t have a swizzle stick. And you don’t have a coffee stirrer handy.

What you do have is a screwdriver. That screwdriver will definitely stir a drink. It doesn’t take time for this vodka-orange juice concoction to get the name “Screwdriver” because of the stirring utensil.

Well, that’s one theory, anyway.

Two days from now, December 14, you can share all those stories with your guests. Why? Because that’s National Screwdriver Day, a time to celebrate one of the simplest cocktails ever made.

Of course, you and your team can make the Screwdriver your own. Top-shelf vodka, the finest and freshest hand-squeezed orange juice (maybe even blood orange juice), any number of garnishes or rims, a touch of sparkling wine or water… The simpler the drink, the easier it can be to riff on it.

Cheers!

Image: Ryutaro Tsukata on Pexels

July 31, 2023by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

Drink Donnybrook: Let’s Talk Whiskey Sour

Drink Donnybrook: Let’s Talk Whiskey Sour

by David Klemt

If I were to say that the Whiskey Sour is a cocktail with an uncertain and disputable origin, would you find that statement surprising?

Regular readers of KRG Hospitality articles probably won’t think that’s shocking. After all, it’s well known at this point that I enjoy diving into cocktails with “hazy” histories.

For example, there’s the Martini, the Mint Julep, and the Margarita. I guess if you want to ensure it causes endless debate, you should make certain your cocktail’s name begins with the letter “M.”

Dial “M” for “moot,” as it were.

One thing we can state with certainty is that the Whiskey Sour is a true classic cocktail. We can also state with conviction that it will always boast decades of popularity amongst drinkers, particularly in America.

This particular sour cocktail may not be among the top ten or 20 most-popular drinks, but it was at one point. One can make the argument that the Whiskey Sour was among the most popular for a century.

So popular, in fact, that we dedicate an entire day to it. We celebrate the Whiskey Sour on National Whiskey Sour Day, August 25. This year, we honor this classic on a Friday.

“M” is for “Mystery”

A ubiquitous tipple for a century? Looking into what we know of the Whiskey Sour’s history, yes.

That may seem like a bold claim. However, it’s possible its time in the spotlight boasts more than 100 years.

This comes down to the Whiskey Sour’s creation and when it became so popular. Interestingly, it appears historians can’t agree on when it was first mentioned.

For example, some say the recipe for the Whiskey Sour first showed up in print in Jerry Thomas’ The Bar-Tenders Guide. This legendary tome was first published in 1862. Then there are those who say the cocktail first appeared in 1870 in the Waukesha Plaindealer, a Wisconsin newspaper.

Of course, there’s a technicality. In The Bar-Tenders Guide, the 1862 print specifically mentions the Brandy Sour, the Gin Sour, and a rum sour called the Santa Cruz.

Either way, we can assume with confidence that the cocktail was known to at least a handful of bartenders and bar guests before the recipe was published in 1862. Then we can add this quote from David Wondrich about just how important the Whiskey Sour has been to American bargoers:

“From roughly the 1860s to the 1960s, the Sour, and particularly its whiskey incarnation, was one of the cardinal points of American drinking, and one of the few drinks that could come near to slugging it out with the vast tribe of cocktails in terms of day-in, day-out popularity.”

If we trust Wondrich’s understanding of cocktail, spirits, and bar history—and I think it’s safe to say we absolutely can—there’s at least a century’s worth of human history where at least Americans couldn’t seem to enjoy enough Whiskey Sours.

Prepare Your LTOs

As a member of the Sour Family of cocktails, the Whiskey Sour makes it easy to build an LTO menu for National Whiskey Sour Day.

First, of course, there’s the standard Whiskey Sour recipe: two ounces whiskey, 3/4-ounce fresh lemon juice, 3/4-ounce simple syrup, and a small egg white (optional).

Then there’s one of my favorite cocktails, the Penicillin: two ounces blended Scotch, 3/4-ounce fresh lemon juice, 3/4-ounce honey-ginger syrup, and 1/4-ounce Laphroaig 10 or other Islay Scotch (fl0at).

Finally, to add a third LTO because people like things in threes, there’s the New York or Continental or Southern Whiskey Sour: two ounces rye or bourbon, one ounce fresh lemon juice, 3/4-ounce simple syrup, one small egg white (optional), and 1/2-ounce red wine (float).

Of course, there are other riffs on the Whiskey Sour (the Gold Rush, for example) you can include on your LTO menu.

There you have it: another cocktail whose creator will likely never get full credit for their influential invention. Cheers to this mystery person!

Image: Ambitious Studio* – Rick Barrett on Unsplash

February 8, 2023by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

Rosa is Pink, Lowlands Agave is Blue

Rosa is Pink, Lowlands Agave is Blue…

by David Klemt

Código 1530 is proud to present Valentine’s Day cocktails from Travis Pentecost of Tu Madre and Abby Blanchard of Broken Shaker.

Even more relevant for Valentine’s Day, each of the tequila-forward four recipes below is made with Código 1530 Rosa Blanco. As you can tell from the bottle image above, Rosa Blanco is a rosé tequila.

This particular tequila’s characteristic comes from the aging process. As the name implies, Rosa begins life as a blanco. But after one month in uncharred Napa Valley Cabernet French White Oak wine barrels, the liquid takes on a pink hue.

Produced using lowlands Blue Weber Agave, Código 1530 is precise about Rosa Blanco’s aging time. Too short and the barrels wouldn’t influence the tequila. Longer than one month and the wine barrel flavors would overpower the agave.

Código 1530’s exacting production and aging techniques result in their signature blanco delivering soft red wine notes on the palate, and a subtly floral finish. Rosa’s aging process enhances Blanco’s rich and bright earthy, mineral, and citrus notes.

If you have guests who are tequila fans—particularly those who love blanco—Rosa Blanco is a great conversation starter and upsale.

Kisses and Roses

recipe by Travis Pentecost (Tu Madre)

1.5 oz. Código 1530 Rosa Blanco Tequila
0.5 oz. Chinola
1 oz. Fresh lime juice
0.75 oz. Orgeat
2 dashes Plum bitters
Lemon slice to garnish
Edible flower to garnish

Add all ingredients to a shaker and strain into a Collins glass. Garnish with lemon slice and edible flower.

Will You Cherry Me

recipe by Travis Pentecost (Tu Madre)

1.5 oz. Código 1530 Rosa Blanco Tequila
0.5 oz. St-Germain
1 oz. Prickly Pear liqueur
1 oz. Fresh lemon juice
2 dashes Cherry bitters
Fresh mint leaves to garnish
Lemon slice to garnish
Edible flower to garnish

Add all ingredients to a shaker and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with fresh mint leaf “bouquet,” lemon slice, and edible flower.

Sandia Margarita

recipe by Travis Pentecost (Tu Madre)

2 oz. Código 1530 Rosa Blanco Tequila
1 oz. Fresh watermelon juice
1 oz. Fresh lime juice
1 oz. Pina Agave
2 dashes Peach bitters
Fresh mint leaves to garnish
Orange slice to garnish
Gummy watermelon candies to garnish
Edible flower to garnish
Salt for rim

Add all ingredients to a shaker and strain into a prepared cocktail glass. Garnish with “bouquet” of fresh mint leaves, orange slice, gummy watermelon candies, and edible flower.

You Up?

recipe by Abby Blanchard (Broken Shaker)

2 oz. Código 1530 Rosa Blanco Tequila
1 oz. Fresh lime juice
0.75 oz. Simple Syrup
3 Raspberries, muddled
Raspberries to garnish
Raspberry gummy candy to garnish (optional)
Edible flower to garnish (optional)

Add all ingredients to a shaker and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with raspberries. Optional garnishes: addition of raspberry gummy candy and/or edible flower

Images: Código 1530

Disclaimer: Neither the author nor KRG Hospitality received compensation, monetary or otherwise, from Volley or any other entity in exchange for this post.