Bringing a great ice program to your bar can make a huge difference!
Once the preserve of craft cocktail bars providing bespoke experiences, ice has become the new “it” providing a WOW factor to enhanced guest drinking experiences.
Today, more mid-tiered bars are searching for ways to generate incremental income at the expense of the “guys at the top” by replicating or dumbing down ice programs.
With more consumers educated to appreciate that better ice makes for superior cocktail experiences, the genie is out of the bottle!
The new democratisation of ice establishes an expectation that all bars should/must offer a premium ice experience as part of the deal! So then why can't a $10 cocktail contain a big piece of hand carved ice, versus cocktails selling at $15-$25?
So, if you want to add some extra pizzazz to your bar consider a deconstructed ice program. Here’s some tips:
- Craft ice is now delivered as you like it by entrepreneurs seeking to cash in on the bonanza.. so why not buy it in!
- More bartenders have self-educated, so make your own blocks, by-passing the more expensive option of delivered ice
- Ice machine manufacturers are offering machines making larger format ice cubes.
With more competition it’s possibly a chance for high end bars to go back to the drawing board to offer more interesting, bespoke ice experiences. Here's a thought: carving ice balls in front of guests!
Recently, Uberbartools™ introduced the LuxPik™ and LuxFork™ to allow bartenders the opportunity to hand carve ice balls. Taking a very non-Japanese approach, we put the bartender’s need front of mind and designed some really innovative ice tools incorporating comfort grips, safety with enhanced control together with modularity to prolong product usage life to indefinite!
If you’ve never watched an ice show, check it out, as there's few more engaging pieces of bar theatre. You might be pleasantly surprised to see guest spend increase by introducing ice carving!
Wherever your bar stands on the ice sheet, maybe it’s a good time to re-visit your ice program! Go on, take a crack!