COCKTAILHOUR

MERRITT HOSPITALITY’S BEVERAGE MENU

F r e s h & C r e a t i v e

COCKTAILHOUR

MERRITT HOSPITALITY’S BEVERAGE MENU

F r e s h & C r e a t i v e

Paul Kirwin and Carlson Hotels AsiaPacific p.17power of Pinot p.16brewsters night p.18

Karim Lakhani, Senior Vice-President ofFood & Beverage, Merritt Hospitality

INSIDE

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2005

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Photo: Bill McGeary

COCKTAIL HOUR

Karim Lakhani, senior VP of food &

beverage, Merritt Hospitality.

Merritt Hospitality’s

commitment to the

handcrafted cocktail

pays off. BY LYNN SCHWARTZ

Merritt Hospitalityrevives the handcraftedcocktail—and it pays off.BY LYNN SCHWARTZ

The American cocktail still conjuresup images of glamour and sensu-ality, Jean Harlow’s tight satingown, the Stork Club, aphrodisi-acs, double olives, and let’s notforget James Bond. But the cock-tail’s popularity has had its ups

and downs. Nearly 200 years old, the cocktail flour-ished between 1900 and 1920, but began to dwin-dle in the 60s and 70s. Sadly, the romance and mys-tique all but gone, spirited concoctions “hadbecome an alcohol delivery vehicle rather than abeverage to be savored,” says Ryan Magarian, a pro-fessional mixologist and consultant for Kathy CaseyFood Studios/Liquid Kitchen.

HANDCRAFTED COCKTAIL RETURNSToday, with the onslaught of celebrity chefs, an

enthusiastic wine culture, and a growing artisanalproduct market, there is a greater appreciation forfine food and drink. Consumers now havesophisticated palates. In this environment, itmakes sense that the cocktail is coming back witha splash and bringing with it a new style of inno-vative, handcrafted, signature drinks.

Karim Lakhani, senior VP of food & beverageat Merritt Hospitality, an independent hotel man-agement company operating 24 hotels, noticedthe potential and the problem. “The beverage sideof the hotel business is very profitable,” saysLakhani. “But we weren’t doing a very good job ofexecuting the product or training staff well.”

Lakhani realized the importance of the hotelbar serving a quality beverage. “The younger gen-erations expect innovation. They are not contentwith their father’s gin or vodka,” notes Lakhani.“You can see this trend in the spirit industrywhere flavored vodkas and rums, gins with botan-icals, and even flavored soft drinks have gainedgreat popularity.”

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So Lakhani, along with Magarian’s assis-tance, set out to establish a new beverage pro-gram for Merritt Hospitality. The goal was toprovide a better product on a large format—tooffer quality, creativity, and consistency.

FRESH MIXES“Today, cocktails are cleaner tasting, fresher,

and not as sweet,” says Magarian. “They need tobe an integral part of the culinary experiencejust like food and wine. To achieve this, theprogram is based on fresh juices, fruits, purees,herbs, and vegetables.

“Prepared mixes were easier and you couldbuy in bulk,” says Jerry Janus, director of food

& beverage, Marriott Hunt Valley, Maryland,one of four properties where the beverage pro-gram has been implemented. “Making simplesyrup and sour mix from scratch and squeezingfresh juices on a daily basis takes longer but theresult is much better,” insists Janus.

TRAINING IS KEYTraining is everything. Without it there is no

quality. “Our training was extensive. Anadvanced course in the art of mixology,” saysJanus. At first there was resistance. Initially thestaff thought, “Oh my God another trainingsession,” Janus says of the experience. “But afterthe first day with Ryan Magarian, there was a

definite change. They realized that this wassomething great.”

Training included how to prepare preciserecipes, bar setup, spirits knowledge, cocktailhistory, and technique. It also covered thepreparation and display of some unusual gar-nishes, which are in full view of the customer.Things like fresh mint sprigs, serrano chili pep-pers, orange chunks, cucumber slices, watermel-

22 HOTEL F&B EXECUTIVE • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2005

STYLE AND SUBSTANCE

Flipping the set-up from one room to another is tough work, especially with heavy,cumbersome banquet tables. Southern Aluminum tables address this with theirAl·u·Lite ™ and MardiGras™ lines of sturdy, lightweight folding hotel tables, fea-turing a variety of banquet and seminar table top finishes.

Choose banquet or seminar table top finishes in the new Swirl option,or a variety of other colors such as desert tan, walnut, salt and pepper,black, sage green, mahogany, dusty rose, stone or graphite blue, in glossor flat surfaces.

Ms. Jeanine Fernandez, food and fun manager at the Marriott Hotel inGalloway, New Jersey, says her MardiGras™ tables are 1) easy to turn, 2)safe and 3) easy to clean.

Ms. Fernandez also keeps the tables out year round without fear of damage.Southern Aluminum also markets their Designer Series tables, weighing up to

70 percent less than conventional hotel seminar/training tables and featuringWILSONART™ inlay table tops in a wide variety of colors.CONTACT: Doug Green, 866-234-8661,dgreen@southernaluminum.com,www.southernaluminum.com

BANQUET TABLES

key to the pantryENERGY DRINKNestlé Waters Super C Energy is an easy-to-use powdereddrink mix with 14 vitamins and minerals. Available in3-ounce packets and two flavors—Orange and Berry, it canbe mixed with your favorite bottle of spring water. A low-carb, low-calorie, and low-sugar drink, Super C Energy hasas much vitamin C as eight glasses of orange juice. “SuperC Energy is the perfect product to replenish travel-wearyguests while increasing your high-margin bottled water sales,” says Heidi Frost,Nestlé Waters North America. CONTACT: Heidi Frost, 203-531-4100, hfrost@perrier-group.com, nestle-waterssource.com

WINE EDUCATIONHow do you educate consumers about wine with-out boring them to tears? With the TrincheroWinery “World Wine Challenge” interactive edu-cational CD. Developed by Barry Wiss, certifiedwine educator and senior diector of education andhospitality for Trinchero Family Estates, this gametests our expertise and provides feedback on the depth of our knowledge. Spinthe big wheel and a multiple-choice question will be randomly selected from 22geographic categories. The World Wine Challenge “World Wine Regions” hasbeen released in the United States and will be followed by additional volumessoon. The World Wine Challenge CD is available for $19.95. CONTACT: BarryWiss, Mary Ann Vangrin, 800-967-4663, www.tfewines.com

INCENTIVE PROGRAMMcCain Foods USA launched the exciting Moore’sLoad Up On Sales server incentive program in May.The innovative promotion builds sales and profitsby rewarding servers who sell Moore’s Onion appe-tizers with free iTunes® music downloads andentry into a sweepstakes for iPod®s, iPod® minisand iPod® shuffles. CONTACT: 800-767-7377, or visit www.mccainusa.com

Espresso Luxurio Un Bellini Mango Bella Manhattan Sonoma

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on wedges, thyme sprigs, slices of pear, and sin-gle white grapes.

“Our staff was even taught body carriage,demeanor and how to shake,” recalls Janus.

“Shaking is done over the left shoulder forfour shakes. Exactly. Every time. This is show-manship. It creates mystique.”

While staff training was helpful and necessary,Magarian cautions those considering similar train-ing, “A program like this cannot succeed withoutkey people in place. You must train the trainers tomaintain the established program. This is what agreat kitchen demands: accountability, profession-alism, and meticulously tested recipes.”

THE SWEET SIPS OF SUCCESS“The hotel bar used to serve bourbon on the

rocks or a beer,” recalls Janus. “But we haveimplemented a beautiful menu. The customerhas some great choices including standard, vin-tage, and unique modern cocktails.” There arevintage choices like the Hemingway Daiquiri andmodern creations such as Cosmopolitans withSerrano Chili Peppers, Raspberry Vodka, TripleSec, Fresh Lime Sour, and Cranberry Juice.

“You should see the expression on the facesof the customers when they taste our drinksnow,” boasts Janus. “Their faces say, Wow! It hasdefinitely helped our sales and customers don’t

Popular Merritt SignatureCocktails

�THE HEMINGWAYEL FLORIDITADAIQUIRILight rum, MaraschinoLiqueur, fresh lime, andgrapefruit.

�THE ORIGINAL CUBAN MOJITOFresh mint, lime, soda, and rum, and for theadventurous . . . cucumber, mango, guava, andraspberry.

�TEN THYME SMASHFresh thyme, cucumber, and lime shaken withultra-premium Tanqueray Ten Gin, and whitecranberry.

�ULTRAPEARA refreshing version of the classic “Sidecar.”Fresh lemon and orange shaken with a touch ofClear Creek Pear Brandy, Vodka, and spice.

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mind paying more because it is a quality drink.”Not surprisingly, staff gratuities have

increased, which is great for morale. “Our staffwalks around with smiles,” says Janus. “But at theend of the day, it is the guest that is the winner.”

WHAT IS INNOVATIVE?Innovation is more than something different.

It is about flavor and presentation, satisfying thepalate, nose, and eyes. Like any fine meal, flavor,color, and texture are all considered.

Happily, as bartenders become mixologists,the art of cocktail making is on the rise—demanding a place next to fine food and

wine. And Magarian will stand by the chal-lenge, “Any cocktail made by the hands of anexpert mixologist with fresh ingredients is asgood as any glass of wine.” �

Lynn Schwartz, a freelance writer, is the former COO of Keens

Restaurant Group and co-founder of Temple Bar, both in New York City.

PERRIER REIGNS

When Perrier is poured, the salespour in.

“The quality and reputationof Perrier definitely drives hotelbottled water sales,” saysJoseph Marsco, general man-ager for Las Vegas-based Gastronomy ManagementGroup.

Marsco explains that Perrier was selected because ofits worldwide reputation as a better quality water andbecause it complements the theme and cuisine of theFrench-style elegant dining at Mistral, which opened inAugust 2004 in the Las Vegas Hilton. The GastronomyManagement Group includes several of Las Vegas’ toprestaurants, bars, and lounges.

According to Marsco, presentation of premi-um bottled waters such as Perrier is as importantas the water itself.

“We treat bottled water like wine or any bottledbeverage,” explains Marsco.

He says tables are pre-set with stemmed ele-gant water glasses and that Perrier is mentionedby name when bottled water is initially offered.Bottled water is always served appropriately

chilled and the water glasses are kept properly filled.“Bottled water is served and maintained in the same

fashion as other bottled beverages,” Marsco says.In addition to hotel restaurant sales, Nestlé Waters

offers several bottled water vendor programs, includingbottled water minibar programs and in-room neck hang-ers.—SBH

CONTACT: Heidi Frost, 203-531-4100, hfrost@perrier-group.com, nestle-waterssource.com

FOR MORE INFORMATION Call Kathy Casey Food Studios at 206-784-7840 or

email info@foodstudios.com.

HOTEL BOTTLED WATER PROGRAMS

Merritt's New Cocktail ProgramSignificantly Improves Beverage Sales

Hotel F&BMarket

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