Wine Based Whiskey

Cocktail Programs are Hard, or are They?

Fri, 22 Mar 2024 18:36:15 GMT

Cocktail Programs are Hard, or are They?

Happy Friday readers!

If you have been following along with this blog, I would like to say thank you for sticking with us! I hope you enjoyed Sogand Karimi’s post last week and got to learn some things from a different perspective.

This past week I spent time in the field with current and new customers in California. It is always an eye-opening experience to talk with restaurant owners and see their side of things.

In this post, I thought I would discuss the logistics and investment required to start a cocktail program. Almost every time I meet with a new client their biggest concerns are, “what does it take to get a cocktail program started? What glassware do I need? Do I need a jigger? What the heck is a jigger? I don’t have a bar; how do I do this? I don’t hire bartenders; how do I do this and still make a great cocktail?”

These are all legitimate questions and ones that any business owner should be asking. Afterall, consistently making a great tasting cocktail is crucial to a successful cocktail program, right?

Well absolutely, consistency is king! Especially if you want to keep your regular customers coming back to your restaurant, it is important to create great tasting food or drinks that taste the same every time. However, it’s easier than you think.

Let’s address the bartender question. Having a bartender on staff or anyone with bartending experience can certainly help with cocktail making, but it is not 100% necessary to have a successful cocktail program. The most important part is training and creating processes that allow for consistency. At San Gabriel Beverage Group, we have a four-step process that helps any restaurant owner create, implement, and grow their cocktail business.

Step 1 : In our first step, we work with the restaurant owner or manager to create a cocktail list, complete with recipes instructions. There are hundreds of ways to make any cocktail, and we want to make sure that the flavor profile of the cocktail matches the flavors of your restaurant. We will sit with you and tweak the recipes to match exactly how you want it to taste.

Step 2 : Once we finalize the taste of the cocktail, we help create recipe cards for your restaurant. These are like your cocktail “cookbook.” Complete with a list of ingredients, amounts used, and mixing instructions. This cookbook helps you train your staff as well as giving them a reference point that they can use every time they make a cocktail. I recommend that this recipe card be printed, laminated, and placed wherever you mix cocktails in your restaurant.

Step 3: Marketing your cocktails is one of the best ways to see sales growth. How will your customers know to purchase cocktails if they don’t know you sell cocktails? SGBG has an in-house marketing team that will help design menus and table tents for your restaurant that will help bring attention to your cocktail program and increase sales.

Step 4: Follow up. Cocktail programs aren’t made in a day. If you want to tweak your cocktails, add new things, or just want a refresh, our team is here to help. Visit our website or give us a call and we’ll help you with any changes or additions you want to make.

When we break down the cocktail program to these four easy steps, we can help make sure your cocktail program is successful, even if you don’t have a bartender.

Regarding financial investment to get started, the above process is 100% free of charge. We consider all our customers business partners, and, as business partners, if you succeed, we succeed. We are here to help!

When it comes to glassware and other ingredient costs, I like to tell people that you don’t need to get too fancy when you are first starting out. You can make a cocktail in a beer/water glass, and you don’t need to buy fancy glassware. You also don’t need to come out with 20 new complex cocktails. Do you sell lemonade, fresh juice, or tea? Why not “spike” them? I have worked with many customers that start their cocktail program with a spiked lemonade. Take the ingredients you are currently using and add 2 shots of vodka or tequila. Voila, you have a cocktail!

I believe it was Leonardo da Vinci that said, “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” I always preferred the marketing term K.I.S.S “Keep It Simple, Stupid.” We don’t need to make it overly complicated to be good. Sure, bartenders flipping bottles behind the bar and lighting shots on fire is entertaining, but I have never seen someone pay for that show. So, let’s keep it simple, once we perfect that, we will help you grow to more complicated things.

Shoot me an email today, and we will get started on your cocktail program.

Cheers!

-Nick

Wine-Based Whiskey

Fri, 15 Mar 2024 21:30:21 GMT

Wine-Based Whiskey

In honor of International Womens' month, we thought it would be nice to let one of our female employees take over the blog this week! So, here I am, spirit flavored wine girl for the week! My name is Sogand, and I am the marketer for Spirit flavored wine guy aka Nick!!

Since St. Patrick's Day is coming up, along with national whiskey day (March 27th), I figured it is only right to talk about our wine-based whiskey brands. For our on-premises customers we have two whiskey options,” Rj Boone” and” Rj Boone Cinnamon” and for our off-premises customers we have Nick’s 50ML Hot Cinnamon. Now, if you aren’t a restaurant or convenience store owner, or just don’t work in the alcohol industry, you probably have no idea what I’m talking about, because I sure didn’t until I started working with Nick. So, let me break it down, on-premise basically means the establishment or restaurant has the license to allow consumers to consume alcohol on sight, like your typical bar, club or restaurant, meanwhile off-premise means you can buy alcohol at the establishment or store but you can’t consume it there, like you typical liquor store or supermarket that you can buy alcohol from.

Now, let’s get into the actual products, and since we are California based, I will put this in terms as it relates to the California Alcohol Beverage Control. Since retail licenses are issued by each state, the names of the license or “type” may vary, but the general concept is the same across the country.

So, why would anyone need wine-based whiskey? Well, if you’ve been following our blog or have a type 41 (beer and wine only) license you probably have an idea by now, but for those who haven’t and are just interested in learning about spirit flavored wines here is why!

On top of having on-premises or off-premises licenses, there are also two different types of licenses you can have within that. You can either have a full liquor license known as a type 47 license, which allows you to sell or serve hard liquor or spirits like tequila, whiskey, vodka, ECT. or you can have a type 41 license that limits you to only serving or selling beer and wine.

By now you’re probably asking “why doesn’t everyone just get a type 47 license?” And although that would be ideal, alcohol is a controlled substance at the end of the day and getting a license to serve or sell every kind of alcohol isn't always very easy. On top of that, type 47 licenses are a lot more expensive than type 41 licenses. So, you could imagine your average small business just starting out might not have the means to spend a bunch of money on a license but that’s where we come in, Spirit flavored wines!

I like to think of us as a legal cheat code, if there is such a thing. St. Patrick's is coming up, national whiskey day is coming up and if you are a “wine and beer only” establishment or business you might lose customers or profits to the guy next door who can sell whiskey or a whiskey-based cocktail. But why should you, if you don’t have to? When there’s guys like us who have wine that tastes like whiskey and can be used to make just as good of a whiskey cocktail as the guy next door. And for those who are wondering, wine-based whiskey is not wine, and whiskey mixed together, you can learn about the process on how it’s made in our earlier blog post but in a nutshell, it’s wine that mimics the taste of whiskey. With that being said, happy St. Patrick's weekend and cheers!

-Sogand

What are Spirit Flavored Wines?

Fri, 08 Mar 2024 19:29:31 GMT

What are Spirit Flavored Wines?

Spirit Flavored Wines, also known as wine-based spirits or wine-based liquor alternatives, are wines that mimic the taste and aroma of spirits.

Huh? What the heck does that even mean????? Let’s dive into the definitions and legalities behind this niche product type.

According to the United States Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) a distilled spirit is defined as “ethyl alcohol, hydrated oxide of ethyl, spirits of wine, whiskey, rum, brandy, gin, and other distilled spirits, including all dilutions and mixtures thereof, for non-industrial use.” Distilled spirits can be produced from any fruit or grain, but they must go through the process of distillation to be classified as a spirit.

Wine, on the other hand, is defined as an alcoholic beverage produced from the fermentation of fruit juices (ie. Oranges, grapes, etc.). Each US state has their own unique definition of wine each state also has their own limit on the alcohol percentage that wine can be. In general, wine must be greater than 0.5% alcohol and no more than 24% alcohol. This is why, at SGBG, we create products at 17, 20, and 24% to meet the highest classifications of wine for the states we sell in.

Great Nick, soooo what the heck are these things?

So, in its simplest form, Spirit Flavored Wines or Wine Based Liquors are products that are legally classified as a wine by state and federal authorities, but they are made to taste and smell like liquor products. Why would we do this? Well, the main reason these products were created is to give customers with wine only licenses the ability to sell cocktails or liquor-like products. I’m sure when you filled out the paperwork to get your state wine license, you weren’t worried about the definition of wine, but knowing how these items are defined and classified also helps to understand the many different possibilities you have with your license. You don’t just need to sell beer and Cabernet; you can also sell great tasting and profitable cocktails!

Got is so these things are wine, but how are they made??

Well, this blog is meant to be informative, but I can’t divulge all of our trade secrets, so I’ll give you the basic version. To make our Spirit Flavored Wines we ferment grapes, or Agave for the Agave Wine, to about 21% alcohol by volume (ABV.) Then we add a proprietary blend of flavorings and ingredients to get to the desired liquor-type flavor. In our Gin, for example, we add juniper and other ingredients that mimic the flavor of a full-liquor gin. Same great taste, half the alcohol, and meeting all the legal requirements to sell at your wine-only store!

I hope this helps clear up the confusion of these products! If you’re still confused, drop us a line on our website and I would be happy to walk you through it!

Cheers!

Nick

Brand Story

Fri, 01 Mar 2024 22:06:37 GMT

Brand Story

Last week I was in New Mexico working with our distributor, Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits. I love work trips! Getting out of the office and spending time with customers who use our products is really one of the best things about owning a business. Getting to see how happy they are serving cocktails to customers and making money! Work trips are also a time where I can think about where we are as a company today and where we’ve been, not much else to do in a hotel room but watch ESPN and think…..

My dad started these brands in 2009, but I really consider our first official year of business as 2011. It was the summer after my freshman year at New York University. I remember my dad telling me, “You’re an adult now, you’re not sitting around all summer, you’re coming to work for me, I need a Facebook for our brands.” He was right, one year in New York City was a big change from the small surf town I grew up in, guess I’m “#adulting” now. But this was also a hilarious concept to me. My dad thought my summer job would be making a Facebook.

Being a millennial, this took me about a day to accomplish. So now what?

I remember walking into my dad’s office and being like, “OK, the Facebook is done, now what do you need me to do?” That’s when I first got to experience working with customers and the effect these brands have.

Driving around Southern California, stopping in to accounts to try and explain what the heck Spirit Flavored Wines are…let’s just say I got a lot of doors slammed in my face. But there was one customer, I can’t remember the restaurant name anymore, but he had been using our Spirit Flavored Wines for about a year. Making margaritas at his family’s Mexican restaurant and killing it! I walked in on a taco Tuesday; the place was packed, and the margaritas were flowing!

I remember talking to the owner and he was so excited to see me. At that time, we didn’t have sales reps to visit customers, so he was excited we came to see him. I remember him telling me, “I love your brands, we were struggling there for a little while… Ever since we started making cocktails, we have new customers coming in…. your Agave Wine helped us keep the lights on.” That was the moment I fell in love with Spirit Flavored Wines and what they do for our customers.

Our brands aren’t “sexy.” They aren’t a 23-year aged Kentucky Bourbon or a 9-year aged tequila in a beautiful clay bottle. But they serve a HUGE purpose and help business owners around the country take their business to the next level. To me, helping other business owners is not only thrilling but fulfilling.

Fast forward to March 2020…COVID-19. Overnight, our restaurant customers were forced to shut down, the world just stopped. SH**! Our customers aren’t open, what do we do now!? Well just like the time in hotel rooms, I had plenty of time to think about our next move.

It was then that I started to research convenience stores. A huge market segment that was never a focus of ours, but who struggled with the same constraints as our restaurants. “My license won’t let me sell liquor,” and from that, Nick’s SFW was born.

Now some of you might be thinking, “Wow, how arrogant is this guy to name a brand after himself? Who does he think he is? Tito?” No, I’m not arrogant, to be honest I’m a little embarrassed when I tell people the name of the brand. The real story is that I was using it as a place holder while designing the label, couldn’t think of another name so I just went for it. I guess we’ll see how it pays off!

Cheers!

-Nick

National Margarita Day!

Fri, 23 Feb 2024 20:03:37 GMT

S.F.W. Margaritas

Yesterday was national margarita day, so I thought we’d talk about spirit flavored wine margaritas.

Probably once a week I get the question, “Can you make a good tasting margarita with spirit flavored wines?”

To this I respond, “Yes!” Let’s break this down a bit and look at cocktail making in general.

We’ve all had great tasting cocktails and we’ve all had a cocktail that we can barely finish. So, what’s the difference? It’s not always the flavor of the spirit, but the quality of the other ingredients used in the cocktail that make it taste good or bad. A margarita made with fresh squeezed lime and agave syrup is going to taste a hell of a lot better than one made with a massed produced cocktail mix made with lime concentrate, high fructose corn syrup, and other, less quality, ingredients. Sounds pretty straight forward, right?

So, yes, a cocktail made with 100% organic tequila with no additives is going to taste better than one made with Mixto tequila. However, using higher quality ingredients can also make a great tasting and refreshing drink.

What does this have to do with Spirit Flavored Wines? I’ve spent thousands of hours in the lab working to perfect or spirit flavored wines formulas. I’m biased, but our SGBG line up is the best I’ve tasted on the market. Do they taste exactly like spirits? No, and we don’t claim they do. How can something with half the alcohol in it have the same alcohol burn? It can’t, but they are an excellent, profitable, base that gives restaurants the ability to make a great-tasting margarita.

I keep talking about profitability, so let’s break it down. For purposes of this blog, I will use our California pricing, but it is universal.

To make a standard margarita, we suggest using 3 oz. of La Quiere Agave Wine and 6 oz. of margarita mix. Once you fill the cup with ice, this should fill a 12oz glass. With this formula your “pour cost” or the cost of the ingredients is about $1.59 per cocktail. Each restaurant has a different demographic, but most cocktails go for anywhere from $8.00- $15.00 per cocktail. This means that profit per cocktail is anywhere from $6.41 - $13.41 or 80%- 89% margin. At a $9.00 bottle cost, the profit from the first 2 cocktails you sell pay for the bottle and from there, its pure profit for the restaurant. How many items on your menu can provide that type of return?

Now this formula does use a mix, but you can see similar results using fresh ingredients. Produce and fresh ingredients might cost more but let’s say the pour cost is double. You are still making $4.82 - $11.82 per cocktail. Great profits, and let’s not forget, with these higher-quality ingredients comes a higher selling price for your cocktails. So, these profits can increase.

This example merely scratches the surface of the many different cocktails and profits available. If you are interested in learning more about how to make and profit from cocktail making, visit our website at www.sangabrielbeveragegroup.com or give us a call at 626.677.2700. Our experts would love to help you develop your very own, profitable, cocktail program.

Cheers!

-Nick

Convenience Stores

Fri, 16 Feb 2024 18:49:03 GMT

Let’s Talk About Convenience Stores

Last week we discussed Spirit Flavored Wines: What they are and some of their benefits. If you missed blog number 1 you can find it here .

This week, I’d like to dive into the world of convenience and how Spirit Flavored Wines are changing the game for store owners across the country.

Many people don’t realize that there are over 200,000 convenience, grocery, and drugstores across the country that are limited to only selling beer and wine. These limitations occur because of state licensing restrictions and the high cost of licenses. In cities like Los Angeles, a liquor license can range from a few thousand dollars to tens (even hundreds) of thousands of dollars. Whereas a beer and wine license usually go for much less. Other municipalities limit the number of liquor licenses available for purchase. So, if you’re looking to open a liquor store but the city has already given out their liquor license quota, you’re S*** out of luck!

This high cost of entry can be very limiting to new business owners looking to get their business off the ground. So, what are your options?

You probably all see where this is going…... Spirit Flavored Wines!

Nick’s Spirit Flavored Wines are made for convenience and grocery stores with beer and wine only license. And yes, my name was the inspo for the brand name. Well, it was actually a place holder for my designer that just stuck but I digress. Nick’s comes in 50ml bottles and three flavors, cinnamon whiskey, vodka, and tequila. At a $.99 SRP, Nick’s is a great impulse buy for customers looking for something different than beer, wine, or other ready-to-drink cocktails.

Not only is Nick’s affordable, but it also gives consumers the ability to break out of their same old seltzer or RTD flavors. Now don’t get me wrong, ready-to-drink cocktails and seltzers have been a huge game changer the past couple of years. I don't think anyone expected your stereotypical craft beer drinking dude to switch to a ready-to-drink, fruity flavored cocktail or white claw, but we’ve seen it happening across the country, and how many hazy IPAs can one man really drink? Since the seltzer craze began, we’ve seen people switch over to lighter, lower calorie options for casual drinking. Now there are thousands of brands out there offering RTDs. So, what about the customer that wants the ability to make a cocktail unique to their favorite taste?

That’s where Nick’s comes in, not only can you get a SHOT at your convenience, but consumers can also make their own cocktail by mixing their favorite flavor of Nick’s SFW with their favorite juice, soda, energy drink, or fountain drink.

Spirit Flavored Wine Guy

Wed, 07 Feb 2024 21:48:48 GMT

What Are Spirit Flavored Wines?

Are you a restaurant owner, tired of losing business to the bar next door? Maybe you’re a convenience store owner losing customers to the liquor store across the street? At San Gabriel Beverage Group, we’ve developed Spirit Flavored Wines to help solve these issues and help you make money!

My name is Nick Capriccio, Owner and President of San Gabriel Beverage Group, and ’ve been working for my family’s beer, wine and spirits wholesaler, Garvey Wholesale, since I was 10 years old (no that’s not a typo, labor laws don’t apply to Italian family businesses). As a Cash and Carry business, Garvey Wholesale has hundreds of “wine-only” licensed customers who struggle to keep pace with spirit-selling competitors. Tired of having limited options to sell to these customers, my dad, Phil Capriccio, created our first Spirit Flavored Wines in 2009 and we have been servicing restaurants and convenience stores ever since.

So, what are Spirit Flavored Wines?

Spirt Flavored Wines are exactly what they sound like. Wines that taste like spirits or liquor. Excuse me while I get technical… By definition, the Tobacco and Trade Bureau (TTB) and your local Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) define “wine” as “a product made from fruit that is fermented and not distilled.” Now, each state has a different idea of the abv limit on wine, but in general the limits are 17%, 20% or 24%. Check with your local ABC to see which versions you can sell. We have them all!

Why would I want to sell Spirit Flavored Wines?

Many people have asked me this question and the answer is PROFIT. If you’re reading this, you probably like to run a profitable restaurant or retail business. If all you’re selling is beer and table wine, you are limiting the options for your customers and severely limiting your profits. Imagine this, you’re going out to lunch with a group of friends. You want to go to your favorite corner restaurant that only serves beer and wine, but someone in the group wants a margarita. Does this change your decision on going to your favorite corner Italian spot and now you’re driving across town to a place that has cocktails? With Spirit Flavored Wines you can get the same cocktail taste and experience as a spirt based cocktails.

OK Nick, I get it. I want to make money, but I’ve tasted a “wine margarita” and it wasn’t very good.

You are probably right! There have been many products out there over the years that don’t taste very good. From Soju cocktails to poor quality agave wine cocktails, I’ve had some bad ones, but just like everything in 2024 the technology has changed quite a bit in developing these products. At San Gabriel Beverage Group we’ve have spent hundreds of hours developing our products and I am proud of where we are today. With our products you can create a great tasting cocktail, it just takes some creativity and knowledge. We are here to help!

If you’ve made it this far in this article, THANK YOU. This is my first attempt at a blog, and I appreciate you sticking with me this far. Over the next few weeks I will be diving in further to the topics above, our products, and the many profitable options you have as a wine-only convenience store or restaurant. Stay Tuned!