Retail: Off-Premise
A MATTER OF TASTE Examining the importance and intricacies of running an in-store tasting. BY JON PAGE
Liquid to lips. When asking distillers how to attract more customers, the phrase is frequently mentioned and repeated. Beyond a distillery’s tasting room or bar, one of the best ways to achieve liquid to lips is through an in-store tasting at an off-premise location. While laws and regulations vary from state to state— and there is debate about whether or not distilleries should offer mixers—the practice of hosting an in-store tasting is widely lauded by craft distillers across the United States. “In this business, all of us craft distillers are producing slightly more expensive than normal bottles, so nobody wants to pay $50 for a bottle if they don’t have a chance to taste it first,” says Scott Harris of Catoctin Creek Distilling Co. in Purcellville, Virginia. “I think it’s pretty important for people to get liquid to lips before they are ready to buy a bottle.” Virginia is a control state, and Harris says Catoctin Creek must schedule tastings at Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) stores via an online system. With more than 300 stores in the state, he says that knowing your market is key. “Knowing which stores you want to put yourself into is important because there are stores in really bad parts of town that are only selling cheap stuff, or there are stores in some rural county where you don’t even have any customers,” Harris says. “You’ve got to know where you need to be.” In Ohio, another control state, Watershed Distillery founder and CEO Greg Lehman says that knowing when to host a tasting is just as important as where. State law require distilleries to buy their tasting products from the store. “You’ve got to pick a time that’s busy because otherwise you’re going in there and you’re buying four of your bottles and then you’re trying to get that money back by selling it to the customer,” says Lehman, whose distillery is located in Columbus. “If they’re not walking in at a big clip, then two hours later you’re done, out the door, you bought their bottles.” In the non-control state of California, distilleries still need to pay careful attention
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The practice of hosting an in-store tasting is widely lauded by craft distillers throughout the United States. to state regulations. Jaqueleen Cleaver, a sales and marketing specialist who manages product demonstrations at Venus Spirits, says the Santa Cruz-based distillery regularly checks the state’s ABC website and consults with advisers to ensure its tastings are compliant. “We have to be really careful with our newsletters and getting the messaging out to people about where we are and where they can find us,” says Cleaver. “Marketing laws for alcohol change often. We check frequently anytime we start a new program.” Venus, which recently started a tasting program for its new line of ready-to-drink canned cocktails, prefers to have regular employees lead tastings, rather than partnering with outside agencies or brand ambassadors. Sometimes that’s owner and distiller Sean Venus. Other times it’s members of the bartending staff at the Venus tasting room. “Using your own staff is, I think, hand over fist more beneficial than using outside promotional staff, especially in the beginning,” says Cleaver. “When it’s a new brand, there’s a lot to educate somebody on and people usually want to know what makes your brand different. I think using people that work at the
distillery or in the tasting room are just more capable of answering questions and delivering your brand message.” At Sonoma Distilling Co. in Rohnert Park, owner and whiskeymaker Adam Spiegel strives to participate in higher profile tastings. For distilleries that are just starting in-store tastings, he recommends starting small. “People in craft get into so many different places that they can’t physically support,” Spiegel says. “Our rhyme or reason is we shouldn’t be in those markets if I can’t support them.” Harris echoes that sentiment. “Make sure that you’re hitting your home market first,” says Harris. “Start within a 50-mile radius of your distillery and then you can grow it to 100 miles and then grow it from there. As you get farther and farther from home it’s harder to do these, and they cost quite a bit of money.” Spiegel notes that distillers should always be thinking about the return on investment, whether the resource is money or time. “The biggest takeaway that I have is [to] build a plan,” Spiegel says. “Don’t just throw a bunch of spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks.” ■
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