The Tasting Panel magazine

TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES Pour Relations TEN TIPS FOR CUTTING POURING COSTS, BOOSTING PROFITS by Fred Minnick 1. USE THE REFRIGERATOR. If you find yourself throwing away spoiled juices all the time, you need to change your fresh juice procedures. Joe Lombardi, mixologist at Garden City, NY's Novita Trattoria & Wine Bar, advises limiting juice exposure outside of the refrigerator: "Often, perishable ingredients at the bar will sit out for multiple hours without refrigeration. This is effectively reducing the shelf life of these ingredients immensely." 2. PREP IN SMALLER QUANTITIES. Lombardi also recommends prepping fresh ingredients in smaller quantities. "Not every night is a Saturday, and sometimes even your Saturdays will be slow. As with a fresh fish special, if there is a run on a certain drink that features your fresh ingredients, you will simply 86 that drink from the menu." BevIntel: Loss-Prevention Experts Alcohol waste and theft at restau- rants and bars is a $9-billion-a-year issue, according to Dan Smith, the CEO of BevIntel. His company helps bar owners and managers across the globe sniff out where the missing alcohol goes. With 22 years of experience in inventory management, BevIntel provides bars and restaurants hands-on monitoring of alcoholic beverages. For spirits, the BevIntel team scans and weighs each bottle, feeding the date into their propri- etary software. Bar management then gets a full weekly report on how much product is used—and how much goes missing. For beer, the company's IntelliTap system monitors flow on taps. Both systems are integrated directly into the establishment's POS system. Recently featured on the Spike TV show Bar Rescue, franchise- based BevIntel currently services 5,000 accounts in 12 countries around the world. www.bevintel.com 10. ENCOURAGE THE USE OF A SPILL CHECK. Spillage happens, says Lombardi. "If you encourage your bartenders to use a spill check, where they ring up any drinks that may have spilled, you will be able to account for any spilled liquors in your reports. This will help you tackle common variance problems." january/february 2012 / the tasting panel / 63 3. USE POUR SPOUTS. Pour spouts will pour 25 one-ounce services per 750-ml. bottle. They also reduce spills. 4. INVEST IN LIQUOR CONTROL TECHNOLOGY. There are several systems that can portion and track shots. They serve liquor through spouts and can prevent too much from being dispensed. 5. TAKE WEEKLY INVENTORY. You might have a leaking bottle, a janitor stealing product or a Rémy Martin Louis XIII that's less full than it should be—or everything might be just fine. You'll never know if you're not checking those bottles. 6. ORDER ONLY WHAT YOU NEED. In an interview a few years ago, Master Sommelier Paolo Barbieri, who now works for The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, said he does not buy rare Château P étrus for the sake of building a museum. The same can be said for a bar. If your clientele doesn't drink cognac, why are you purchasing three different XOs? 7. KEEP RECIPES AVAILABLE. I have a good friend who is forced to work with lesser bartenders but doesn't want her recipes ruined by their inability. So she keeps placards with detailed cocktail instructions at every bar. In addition to sticking to her recipe, novices also don't guess on lime juice or liquor proportions. 8. CHECK YOUR DRAFT SYSTEM. The ideal temp is between 35° and 37°F. If it's over this, you will have wasted foam, a lesser-quality product and lost money pouring through your taps. 9. WHEN TO OFFER BUYBACKS. Lombardi says buybacks are used on the best cus- tomers. "Our policy is to buyback every fourth drink for a customer, as long as that customer is friendly and well-known. If any customer should ask for a buyback, the bartender is told to politely refuse. In our bar, buybacks are offered, not requested."

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