Anyone can pour liquor right.
What's not to know.. pick up a liquor bottle, pour into a jigger, serve into a glass of some sort...yawn.. it's so easy.. a child can do it?
Pouring alcohol consistently, without spilling or wasting a drop takes lots of skill, whilst it may appear so easy, yet many of us know intuitively the simpler something appears the more difficult it’s likely to be.
Ironically when children play games, it takes practice, practice and more practice before mastery is attained.
To prove have you taken: A series of deceptively easy tests (or are they?) to challenge:
1. TEST WASTE: Pick up a liquor bottle, pour alcohol into a jigger, tin or glass without spilling a drop.
2. TEST ACCURACY: Pour an exact shot of alcohol - i.e 1 oz, 30 ml etc. repeat (3 times)..then measure each portion to check for accurate measurement.
3. TEST CONSISTENCY: Prepare the same cocktail 3 times ensuring it LOOKS and TASTES the same.
4. TEST SPEED: Prepare 3 cocktails in quick succession, just like a real bar situation, except don’t waste a drop, serve each drink accurately and consistently!
Did you complete each test without failing any test?
Odds are that most people will fail some if not all the above? Why?
Possibly the answer may lay with bar managers not really understanding the impacts and consequences of pouring failure.
From experience people don’t treasure what’s not valued.
The impact of inconsistently made cocktails affects the bottom line, reducing Spend Per Guest, increasing costs as liquor is over-poured or just wasted.
Once drink inconsistency is identified as an issue, one can then start looking at impacts on business outcomes such as provided guest value for money, quality and ultimately guest satisfaction!
Bars wanting to sustain profitability long term need to get the Pour Challenge right, there's nothing childish about disappointing guests...it's not a game!