L E S S O N S
L E A R N E D :
Crafting a Better Drinking Culture P A R T
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WRITTEN BY CARRIE DOW
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t was one of the last seminars at the American Distilling Institute Conference in Denver last March, but may have been one of the most important for any distillery with a tasting room or facility tour: how to properly handle guests who have over-consumed, and how to prevent it from happening in the first place. The Kentucky Distillers’ Association (KDA) is tackling this issue head on by developing a comprehensive Social Responsibility program. Using the lessons her association has learned, Ali Edelstein, KDA’s Director of Social Responsibility, presented a seminar at this year’s conference showing how KDA discovered that this initiative is not only good for customers, but good for the bottom line. In this two-part article, we’ll look at KDA’s program and how it fits into your business. “The Kentucky Distillers’ Association is the non-profit trade association that helps promote, protect, and elevate Kentucky’s signature bourbon and distilled spirits industry,” Edelstein said. “In recent years we’ve helped distilleries in Kentucky pass a lot of legislation that has helped grow their businesses. Responsibility is a huge part of those discussions.” The KDA believes so strongly in this issue that it created Edelstein’s
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full time position in 2016 to oversee the program. Since then, several important pieces of alcohol legislation have passed in Kentucky. “Making sure we’re responsible retailers is a huge part of what allows us to keep modernizing Kentucky’s alcohol laws,” she said. Kentucky’s industry learned the phrase ‘drink responsibly’ doesn’t only help with laws, it also means better business. To create this program, KDA and Edelstein consulted and surveyed association members, government officials, and community leaders. The results of those discussions became KDA’s Best Practices for Social Responsibility. Edelstein and KDA now share these best practices with distilleries across the country.
EVENTS/ TICKETING/ SERVING “In our last panel (Creating Brand Champions through Tastings and Tours) you learned that Intellicheck is a $50-per-month resource that authenticates the [visitor’s] ID and prevents service to minors,” said Edelstein. “It also provides valuable demographic data, but it’s really the best 50 bucks a month you’re going to spend to avoid those $10,000 fines.”
Other ways of preventing service to minors and overconsumption are drink tickets and bracelets, but even these items can be abused. “When you offer drink tickets, a lot of people pass them to friends,” noted Edelstein. “However, we’ve found that one reason people pass drink tickets is not necessarily because they want to drink. They may have already had enough, but there’s a perception of value. ‘I paid for these tickets, so I’m going to use them.’” The organization came up with having guests put unused drink tickets in a bowl for prize drawings for t-shirts and other swag. The guests just put their name and number on the back.“They get something that is not alcohol, but still feel they’re getting value for those tickets,” explained Edelstein.
TA S T I N G ROOM EXPERIENCE One of the simplest ways to encourage responsible drinking is easy access to water. “Having the visitor ask for water creates a barrier,” Edelstein said. “Some people are shy about it so making [water] widely available goes a long way.” Having food like high-protein nuts or other WWW.ARTISANSPIRITMAG.COM