The spirits industry has long marched to the voice of the consumer, but today, as the new cocktail culture turns mixologists into tastemakers, it is starting to heed the bartending elite. Mammoth liquor conglomerates like Bacardi and Pernod Ricard have even collaborated with barkeeps in creating new spirits.
In another example, around the neck of every bottle from the fledgling spirits outfit the 86 Co. — the gin, the vodka, the tequila, the rum — is a small glass ridge. The ridge is there to make it easier for a bartender to grab the bottle, upend it and pour. It was the suggestion of the Los Angeles mixologist Eric Alperin, one of many bartenders sounded out by Simon Ford, Dushan Zaric and Jason Kosmos before they and two other partners started the liquor line last year.
The neck is not the only thing designed to please the men and women behind the bar. The mouth is slightly tapered so speed-pouring spouts don’t slip out when they begin to wear thin. The bottle has liter and ounce measurements on the side, so that once empty, it can be used for other juices and syrups. The spirits themselves were concocted to be affordable yet pass the quality test and be eminently mixable.
A top concern of bartenders is that spirits mix well in cocktails, because not all do. Pernod Ricard worked with London barman Nick to create a series of bartender-friendly Absolut vodkas. The first in the Absolut Craft series, called Herbaceous Lemon, will be sold on allocation and made available only to bartenders.
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