Cocktail Carafes
At Benny the Bum in Philadelphia, Pa., carafes aren’t just for wine service. Owner
Bret Levy offers a set series of Martinis in both full and half carafe options to
entice groups of women to come in and stay for a while.
“Every bar owner wants groups of girls in his or her place,” says Levy. “This pro-
motion has definitely increased our revenue and attracted groups of ladies.”
The menu includes five Martinis that can be
ordered in a half carafe, which is three 7-ounce
Martini pours, or a whole, which is six 7-ounce
Martini pours. The carafe is presented tableside
on ice to keep it cool and is accompanied by the
appropriate number of glasses rimmed according to
the cocktail ordered.
“We have a Poppin’ Berry Cosmo, and that glass
is rimmed in pop rocks,” Levy explains. “Both of
our Benny the Bum venues are kind of new style lounge and sports bar concepts,
with great seafood, DJs and live entertainment. We have a large number of beers on
tap, and we usually do buckets of beer for the gentlemen. So, now we have Martini
carafes for the ladies.”
All of the drinks are vodka based, with Three Olives and Absolut stepping in to help
sponsor the ongoing promotion. To avoid over-consumption, Levy has his bouncers
and bartenders keep an eye on tables with carafes. Thus far, there have been no is-
sues with those enjoying the cocktail carafes.
“Most tables that get a carafe end up getting a second one,” Levy says. “They
are fun and cool, and we find generally girls don’t want to switch to something else
during the evening.”
Tracking the Market
The Base Bar, located inside the Hard Rock Hotel in
Chicago’s business district is going with the times
in terms of beverage promotions. Since the beginning
of February, the bar staff has watched the close of
the stock market each day and at 4 p.m., a chalkboard
announces the new price for three specialty items – one
beer, one wine and one cocktail – based on how many
points the market rose or fell for that day.
“The base price is always $5,” explains bar manager
Autumn Griffith. “Then if the market fell 300 points, we
take a cent off of the $5 for every point. So that day, the specials would run at $2 each.”
The specials will change when summer arrives to be more seasonal, but for now, Base Bar
customers can choose between a glass of True Earth Red, which is a Cabernet-Merlot blend, a pint
of Peak Organic Ale or the Second City Cosmopolitan Martini.
“We are trying to highlight our organic sustainable products, because that’s the direction we are
trying to take our beverage program overall,” Griffith says. “The Second City Cosmo sells really well.
We make it a little different with St-Germain instead of Cointreau, and we are trying to encourage
people to buy the Peak Organic Ale with the promotion.”
Some days the market goes up, and people have to pay a bit above the $5, but in these times, it
becomes a celebration in the bar, where business men and women are frequent customers. “On a
Friday, with the after work crowd, we sell at least 10 of each,” Griffith says. “It’s definitely earned a
Glasses and
Revenues Raised
Salud is an indoor/outdoor venue located
inside the JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort
in Tucson, Ariz., and the current lobby
lounge supervisor Juan Carlos Ruiz has kept
a tradition going that his predecessor began
many years ago. Salud stocks 115 types of
tequila, and each day at 5: 30 p.m., rain or
shine, people gather to end the workday
and propose a free, traditional tequila toast
with glasses raised to the Tucson Mountain
Park beyond. Ruiz leads the toast, and
he retells the “Legend of Arriba, Abaja,”
a sweet love story involving the Mexican
spirit, to groups as large as 150 people.
“It’s a love
story,” explains
Ruiz, “that
we tell all the
guests on the
patio, and
through it,
we are able to
incorporate
culture and
history. Not
only does it
draw our hotel
Juan Carlos Ruiz
guests, but
the public as well, and it has been rated
a top thing to do in Tucson by several
magazines.”
Each day features a different half-ounce
tequila pour, and Ruiz finds that almost
everyone stays to have a full-sized tequila
cocktail after the toast concludes, with the
majority choosing the featured tequila for
inclusion in their drink.
“We have a calendar where we can check
off which tequilas we have used,” he says.
There are no sponsors for the event, but
Ruiz does get his staff in on the action.
“We have our servers recommend our
cocktails that come with the featured
tequila, especially the drinks that are a step
outside of the box from a Margarita.”
