The VinePair Podcast: Can You Eliminate the Back Bar and Prosper?
There’s undeniably something nice about bellying up to a bar and ordering a Martini with your choice of gin or vodka. But when bars build up an extensive catalog of spirits for their back bars, the cost of doing so is often passed on to the customer.
It’s one of the many contributing factors to the current era of the $20-plus cocktail. While bar goers appreciate variety, it’s safe to say that in today’s economy, many would trade variety for value in a heartbeat. That’s why a handful of bars across the country are ditching their back bars in exchange for small, focused collections of well bottles in which they only carry one expression per spirit category. With this business model, these bars may not be able to offer $100 neat pours of esoteric whiskeys, but they can streamline their menus, get better bulk-buy prices on spirits, and ultimately sell cocktails for a cheaper price.
Inspired by an aside on a recent “Cocktail College” episode, Adam and Zach take this episode of the “VinePair Podcast” to discuss Gus’ Sip & Dip, a Chicago bar that only offers one spirit in each category, but also sells all of its cocktails for $12. Eliminating the back bar has allowed it to concentrate its purchasing power on a few key bottles, getting the best prices it can and then passing the savings on to guests. Is this a model that other bars could copy or do we lose something valuable when guests can’t choose their brand of spirit? Tune in for more.
Zach is drinking: Appassionata Estate “GG” Riesling
Adam is drinking: Still Strength Tequila Ocho Blanco
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