TO-GO COCKTAILS W R I TTEN B Y SAI L OR GUEVARA PH O TO S PR O VI D ED B Y H EADF RAME SPI RI T S
D
uring the COVID-19 period of restrictions for bars and restaurants, to-go cocktails became a lifeline for many, including distillery bars and tasting rooms. Approximately thirty-nine states issued temporary measures to legalize the sale of to-go alcohol from on-premise locations, with around twenty-one, including the District of Columbia, making the sale of cocktails to-go permanently legal. Realizing how critical these measures were for the life of on-premise locations during the pandemic, I wished to explore how to-go cocktails still benefit these locations 44
and what the demand looks like today. For businesses like bars and tasting rooms that rely more heavily on alcohol sales than food, this was an obvious need. And during the shutdown of food establishments, it was quickly evident that many restaurants generated more significant profit margins in alcohol than food. “Being able to sell cocktails with takeout food was critical to us while our restaurant was shut down for inside dining,” said Jennifer Neston, who owns a popular bistro in Washington State. “We sold more cocktails through our to-go
cocktail program than before the pandemic, and that demand for cocktails continues today.” During the pandemic, I was a brand manager for an emerging whiskey brand, so I saw to-go cocktails as necessary to save my accounts and job. One of the most significant issues I identified is that most restaurants were staffed by an owner and a chef or a very small skeleton screw to handle take-out orders, none of whom were bartenders. So they were not equipped to make cocktails. “This is where we leaned into our brands, and it turned out that W W W . ARTISANSPIRITMAG . C O M