Where to Drink and Dine in Chicago During the NRA Show

5 Simple Steps to Modernize Your Bar Program

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There has been a revolution in the past decade. Diners and drinkers are now more in control of what they consume than twenty years ago. Whichever the buzzword may be – gluten-free diet, craft drinker, scratch cooking – the culture has collectively raised its expectations on what it wants from bars and restaurants. In 2016, there is no reason your bar should feel dated. There are few practical tweaks to your beverage program that will make it fresh and vibrant again. No, you don’t have to call your bartenders mixologists. Honestly, you shouldn’t. And you don’t have to reinvent the martini. You just need to take a few simple steps that show commitment to a good program.  Read more

Cocktail Trends 2017

10+ Simple, Classic Cocktail Recipes Your Bar Needs to Know

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Cocktails are back. Whether shaken or stirred, nothing is more hip than ordering a classic cocktail. A good bar becomes great when your staff can nail drinks that many bartenders have never heard of. The drinks I will go over are straightforward, simple cocktails. They don’t take much preparation. They don’t require a shopping cart’s worth of ingredients. They do require proper execution, but avoid advanced technique that makes them inefficient. There is no fluff with these cocktails; just simple drinks made well. They will surprise and delight your guests.

Classic cocktails can revolutionize your bar by creating a cocktail program that is exciting and easy to execute.

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Beverage Trends for 2016: Cocktails & Spirits

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It’s an exciting time to drink in America. In most cities, you can head in any direction and find a bar to saddle up to that will serve you an inventive and original house cocktail. The current cocktail and spirit renaissance has brought on a new golden age of imbibing. With a refocus on ingredients, technique, and integrity, bartenders have helped drinkers shake off the hangover from the days of over-sweetened drinks made with premixes of unearthly colors. Bar patrons only seem more curious and open to trying new things, so there doesn’t look to be any signs of the renaissance slowing.

What will the beverage trends for 2016 be?

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Image of Culinary and Vegetable Cocktails

How Your Restaurant Can Create Innovative Cocktails

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Cocktail bars have reinvigorated drinker’s imaginations over the past decade. They’re the lifeline that has pulled cocktails from the depths of saccharine swamps filled with frozen daiquiris and sugar-rimmed cosmos. While these bars have certainly been innovative hubs of creativity, they’re most notable achievement, on a whole, has been as revivalists. While cocktail bars often look to the past for inspiration, one cocktail trend is set in the present. Culinary cocktails celebrate the philosophy of the kitchen. In today’s dining world, that means locally sourced ingredients with fresh flavors that reflect the seasons. Though exciting and inventive, culinary cocktails haven’t made as big a splash as some other beverage trends. More so, they’ve been a ripple: subtle but widespread. If you’re a restaurant thinking of revamping your cocktail program, you should look to the kitchen for inspiration.

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How Bars Can Better Track Inventory

For The Weekend: Inspiring Fall Cocktail Ingredients

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 The google calendar page has flipped, and we’ve stumbled, sunburnt and sandy, into the start of fall. It’s time to pick the Mojito mint from your muddler sticks, and dump out the last drops of your sangria. Now, you can start stirring in your favorite fall cocktail flavors. If you want to make your at-home bar more exciting and versatile, then here are some tips on how to use new liqueurs and ingredients that will turn classic cocktails into impressive feats of cocktail wizardry.

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Hard Soda and Root Beer Next Big Drink Trend

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It’s been in the news a lot lately that there’s enormous interest and growth in hard root beer. Small Town Brewery, based in Wauconda, IL, has been a leader in this space with Not Your Father’s Root Beer.  Luckily for me here in Illinois, we’re the only ones who have it on tap and in it’s harder form of 10.7% or 19.5%ABV. I’ve been enjoying it since it came out last year and distribution has spread widely throughout the US.

How big of a trend is it? Well the beer came out last year, from a tiny microbrewery.  It’s not the 6th best-selling craft brewer and the beer accounts for 3.3% of the entire craft market!

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Thinking Outside the Glass: Creative Cocktails

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Competition in the restaurant industry has always been fierce. Restaurants and bars continue to search for ideas on how to differentiate themselves from the rest and become the consumer’s first pick on their night out. As the industry evolves and Millennials take charge, food is no longer the only consideration when deciding where to go for lunch or dinner. Interest in cocktails has been growing, and the 2.2% increase in hard liquor sales from 2014 supports this trend. It’s time to customize your cocktails and Uncorkd has some ideas on where to start.

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Saint Patrick’s Day: A Pot of Gold for Restaurants

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Whether you’re Irish or not, Saint Patrick’s Day is a holiday celebrated across the nation. Each city has their own ways of recognizing the Saint, but more than 30% of those enjoying the holiday will be at bars and ordering a themed food dish or drink. This occasion only comes around once a year, so prepare your restaurant with these helpful tips from your friends at Uncorkd.

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Trending Cocktails: Citrus and Grapefruit Flavoring

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Citrus has always been a favorite when it comes to both food and beverage flavoring, but trend reports show that 2015 is the year of the orange, grapefruit and lemon. Consumers tend to lean towards bold flavors and citrus helps spice up a meal or beverage without the added calories.

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Bartender’s Choice Menus: Get Free PR and Increase Profits

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Industry insiders predict that, among other things, 2015 will be the year of bartender’s choice menus. The rise of the cocktail over the past few years has whetted customers’ tastes for strong drinks with unique flavor profiles—and for many guests, your Manhattan or Sidecar with artisan bitters is no longer going to cut it. Never fear! At Uncorkd, we’re all about helping you make your cocktail menu awesome. This week’s handy post explains how you can add bartender’s choice drinks to your menu to improve your press and profits. 

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