In January of 2009, Johnny Rocco’s launched the first annual Iron Chef Niagara event, pitting 8 local chefs against each other, in a series of events supporting a handful of local children’s charities. In the end, we were able to raise nearly $23,000. Based on the success of last year’s events, we thought it would only be fitting to expand the focus to the bar as well.

Iron Bartender kicked off this past Tuesday, February 23 with our first event sponsored by El Jimador tequila. Our featured bartenders were commissioned to created two El Jimador cocktails, the first featuring the spirit and any additional ingredients they wanted. The second cocktail was done blackbox style, with our bartenders limited to El Jimador and the following ingredients.

I was joined by local bartender Sonia Fillion, and in the end, a random selection of judges deemed my ‘Strawberry Passion Awareness’ (I know, I lost points on originality) cocktail — a blend of El Jimador, Galliano, Nutella, Lime, Strawberry, and simple syrup, the winner. I’m not quite sure how I feel about winning my own cocktail competition, but it was a ton of fun.

The next night, at our Iron Bartender event at Johnny Rocco’s Niagara Falls, we were joined by bartenders Troy Dowhaniuk (Jack Astor’s Hamilton) and Shawn Murphy (Artisanal Palate Catering) in an event sponsored by Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum. Same format, same group of random ingredients, but this pairing of bartenders gave us much different results, with a much more creative use of the mystery flavours. The voting was very close, but in the end, Troy’s drink was declared the winner. His cocktail, “Grandpa Jack’s Cider” combined Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum, Galliano, peach juice, cinnamon, and chai tea. Troy scored extra points on presentation, with his rim of cinnamon and blackberry jam.

Troy will move on to compete in the semi-finals in St. Catharines on April 27th (sponsored by Campari), and I will move on to the Niagara Falls event on the following day (sponsored by Sarpa di Poli Grappa).
The next round of competition will be March 23rd and 24th with events sponsored by Hendrick’s Gin, and Woodford Reserve bourbon, respectively.

Thank you so much to everyone who came out, and to the sponsors who have helped us make this event happen!

To see the rest of the photos, click here.

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Should you ever make it to my office, it becomes apparent very quickly that I’m a very unorganized person. In an effort to remedy this, you can often find the outside of my computer laden with an assortment of Post-It Note reminders reminding me to do everything from paying bills, to emails I need to send, or in the case of the only permanent Post-It.. to update my website a minimum of three times per week.

At the slowest of times, that can be a serious challenge. To keep up with the likes of Camper English’s Alcademics, or fellow Canadian Darcy O’Neil, and his Fix the Pumps project, can be an uphill battle for sure — throw in the hundreds of other full time cocktail blogs spanning the internet, and Cocktails and Cordials quickly falls to the wayside.

But my greatest challenge, in my opinion, is the cause of an advantage that most cocktail bloggers have neglected — I’m a full time bartender and Bar Manager here in Niagara Falls. Why don’t you see this website updated nearly as often as the others? I’m so incredibly lucky to spend 60 hours per week in a bar still, 40 or so of those hours being behind the wood full time. Over the course of the past few weeks my time for Cocktails and Cordials has drastically declined, and I’m only just beginning to find more time to devote to online cocktails.

What’s taking up my time now? After an exhausting few months of setbacks, delays, and disheartening slowdowns with construction, we are getting very close to launching the second bar and restaurant for Johnny Rocco’s Italian Grill (if you’re American.. Carabba’s is a very similar concept) here in St. Catharines, Ontario. The next few days will be devoted to unpacking countless cases of glassware, and receiving a $50K wine and liquor order, and I couldn’t be more excited.

I’m going to do my best to keep you posted with our progress, but for the time being.. thank you so much for your patience. I have plenty of very exciting news to share with you over the next couple of weeks, so please stay tuned!

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By far, one of the most daunting tasks for anyone setting up a bar (money aside) can very well be the creation of a wine list. The fact is, for the number of bars and restaurants in the world, there are nowhere near enough qualified wine experts and sommeliers to be employed by everyone. Besides that, the cost of commissioning someone specifically to pick your wines can be a very expensive endeavour.

For the bars that don’t employ these experts, what will typically end up happening is either the owner will be in charge of wines, or the bar manager – who, like me, could likely have very little formal experience with wines. But that doesn’t mean your wine list will have to suffer.

As I’ve worked on our wine and cocktail program over the past few weeks (and indeed it has taken more than a couple weeks to put together a quality list), I’ve developed a few questions for you to ask yourself when it comes time to update your own wine program.

1) Who are your guests? (Regions & Varietals)
It’s been no secret in business for years that to be successful, you must understand, anticipate, and then meet the customer’s needs. I think it’s fair to say that most bars have almost completely thrown this advice out the window over the years. Instead, items appearing on both cocktail menus and wine lists have been generalized as a means of serving the lowest common denominator, rather than instead tailoring things to what the guest really wanted.

It’s not just your proximity, price point, or service that help your guest determine where they want to eat. The theme, atmosphere, and the style of cuisine offered are where more guests place their value when determining their bar or restaurant choice. If you’re an Italian bar or restaurant, serving exclusively Italian cuisine, why are half of your wine offerings Australian? If your guests are visiting because they want to eat Italian food, it only makes sense to place more value on the wines that compliment your style of cuisine.

In addition, should you be located in a tourist destination (for example, here in Niagara Falls), it’s important to think locally, if possible. We’re located in a rapidly growing wine region, and we attract millions of tourists every year, many of which take the opportunity to visit some of our local wineries. It doesn’t make sense to not put a focus on some of the outstanding local wines from Niagara. For the tourists, the type of cuisine isn’t the most important – they didn’t come to Niagara Falls to eat Italian food. They came to Niagara Falls to experience everything we have to offer, including our wines, they’ve just been kind enough to stop in our restaurant to explore the local options we have. Keep that in mind.

2) What do your guests already know? (How to overcome big-brand domination)
In fear of trying something new, the dominant Yellow Tail-type brands of the world prosper in bars and restaurants because many wine lists will exclusively offer what they know is already selling, regardless of where it’s from, or the quality of the product.

Most guests can recognize the name “Yellow Tail” on a wine list, and will order it – not based on quality of the wine, but on the name the brand has established for itself through worldwide marketing, and a distinctive yellow label. Maybe they’ve never had a great Syrah, or South African Shiraz – the onus should be on the establishment to help introduce them to it.

The big name brands have a place on wine lists, but should be there as a means of offering guests an “easy way out” if they’re intimidated by the wines you offer. The discount brands should then be offered, bottle only, at a premium, as a means of driving sales back to the superior, less expensive, house wines. By focusing on quality rather than brand name, you can increase the perceived value and the return on your wine list.

3) What level of quality is your clientele willing to pay for? (Pricing)
Pricing can be a very difficult area to approach when it comes to wine. Industry standard is about 200-250% markup on wines, but I’ve worked in places it reached upwards of 300%. Currently our highest markup is about 100% at Johnny Rocco’s, with most wines being substantially less than that. If your establishment has high turnover, making $15 – $20 off of a bottle might be all that you need, but for many it’s much higher than that.

Because of this, it’s important that your house pours represent a good range of varietals and prices. To some, the motivation in choosing a glass of wine could very well be exclusively focused on the price, and that works for you in both ways. Some guests will automatically opt for the least expensive option, not focused on the type of wine but instead choosing something that’s going to be easy, and cheap to sip on for the night. Inversely, there are also the guests for whom quality is synonymous with price – the most expensive wine is the best on the list, and again without any attention to varietal, is the wine they’ll drink all night.

Between these highs and lows is where you’ll find more room to play with a range of varietals. A range of 6-7 reds by the glass and 5-6 whites can often carry most of the major wine varietals, and can satisfy the requests of most wine drinkers at your bar. Providing a range of options to your guests ensures that you are able to satisfy needs with quality, rather than just brand name.

4) Who’s working for who? (Working with sales reps and suppliers)
Finally, a little bit of the “what’s in it for me / the bar”. There’s plenty of great wines to suit your bar, and most of those wines are likely accompanied by a local sales rep, willing to work with you to get as many of their wines as possible on your list. Generally speaking, the more product from a particular distributors portfolio that makes it onto your bar means the higher incentive that you receive in return. But do you really want your list to carry all 20 of the Wolf Blass line of products? Probably not.

It’s important to work with many suppliers, working out the best products and the best deals you can manage in order to bring your bar the biggest return. But before you commit to a wine, even if you’re not pouring it by the glass, taste it! My wine collection has nearly tripled in the past few weeks because of the number of tastings I’ve sat through with my bar’s reps. Regardless of the marketing, or cash incentives a particular product is offering, if you don’t like the taste, there’s no reason it should be offered within your bar. Likewise, if your sales rep can’t bring one bottle that you are potentially going to sell cases of, why should you deal with that wine, or that rep? They want your business, not the other way around.

When it comes time to launch that list, your rep better be making an appearance to walk your staff through tastings, and educating them on how to properly sell their wine. Regardless of whatever deals your reps are offering, it’s important to remind from time to time that their product’s place in your bar is a privilege that can be revoked at any time for any reason, especially if it’s not moving fast enough.

So what do you take away from this? Taste everything, provide your guests with value, and build relationships on both sides of the bar that will help sustain your list in the long run, and I promise you’ll be successful.

If you have experience on setting up your own wine list, I would love to hear from you below. If you’re within Ontario and interested in learning about the reps that we work with at Johnny Rocco’s, I would be more than happy to send some information your way! Our new wine and cocktail list launches Monday, December 7th, 2009.

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When I started at Johnny Rocco’s a little over two years ago, there was very little to differentiate our bar from any other chain restaurant in Canada. Unlike many of the bars and restaurants across the United States and throughout Europe, Canada has been slow to adopt a “fresh” cocktail culture, and finding a place here in Niagara to grab a quality cocktail was more than a little bit of a challenge any given night of the week. So much, in fact, that when I went to Tales of the Cocktail this year, it even warranted a story in the local paper.

About 6 months ago, I made the move from Bartender to Bar Manager, and we’ve slowly but surely been making progress in the way we approach our bar. As we get set to open our second restaurant in St. Catharines, Ontario, I’ve been given free reign over our wine and cocktail list. After countless days and weeks of meetings and tinkering with everything, I’m proud to present our new cocktail list. As we photograph everything, I’ll post recipes and photos.

Johnny’s Bellini
When it comes to Italian cocktails, the Bellini is king, and it’s no wonder why this combination of fresh peach puree and Italian sparkling wine is our favourite, too. Johnny’s over-the-top garnish is the perfect compliment.

The Rocc-It Caesar
Fueled by Johnny’s own secret blend of spices, this huge Skyy Vodka Caesar stands tall with an Antipasto skewer and a Montreal steak spice and bacon rim. Now that’s one bloody good Caesar.

‘Cara Mia’ Strawberry Sour
With hints of vanilla, and captivating strawberry Grappa, this strong and sour cocktail is complimented by a carefully placed tinge of Ruffino Chianti. Nothing short of love at first sip.

Supersonic Gin and Tonic
Gin is in, and this could quite possibly be the best G & T we’ve ever made. Packed full of fresh lime and slightly sweetened with a hint of Apricot Brandy, we dare you not to try another.

Sicilian ‘68*
Johnny’s favourite aperitif – a combination of Italian Amaro and Rossi D’Asiago Limoncello, complimented by fresh citrus open up the palate for a cocktail worthy of pairing with Nonna’s best meal.

The Villa-Perosa Cocktail**
This pre-prohibition tipple is making it’s return featuring exclusive G’Vine Floraison gin, sparkling wine, and fresh, seasonal berries for a quite unusually tasty gin cocktail sure to leave you wanting more.

Espresso Yourself
For the serious caffeine lovers, this bourbon based brew is served tall dark and handsome – rich in aroma and style, and finished with a sweet dessert topping.

Vino Vidi Vici
Julius Caesar may have “came, saw and conquered”, but we’re not that far off with this house specialty Vino cocktail. White Zinfandel and Sherry, paired with vanilla Cognac pave the way for the new king of Johnny’s cocktails.

All cocktails above will be sold for $7.99CDN, which, by the way, is a ridiculous deal.

*Sicilian ‘68: The “68″ is in reference to the year (1868) the distilleries for the two main ingredients, Averna Amaro and Rossi D’Asiago Limoncello were established
**The Villa-Perosa Cocktail: Initially, I had hoped to include a Bramble or Clover Club cocktail on the menu, but after playing around with recipes and adding some Prosecco into the mix, I realized my cocktail was getting much closer to a French 75. “French 75″ was the name of a French Artillery gun during world war 1, and the Villar Perosa is the name of its Italian counterpart

Please feel free to leave any questions or comments about the cocktails here for me. I’d be more than happy to chat with you about them. Cheers!

A note on the restaurant:
By no means are we “fine dining” at Johnny Rocco’s. Instead, what we offer is a family style, quality approach to casual dining, and because of that, it was important that our cocktail list reflected that.

One of the first things I learned about creating cocktail menus was that for most people, a simple listing of ingredients does very little to sell drinks. Instead, “romancing” ingredients and flavours to present a cocktail in ways less discerning guests will recognize will do a far superior job.

Who taught me that? A good friend and mentor of mine, Dean Serneels, of Flairco and Mad Mixologist fame. And oh yeah, by the way, I just hired him to tend bar at our St. Catharines location.

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For those of you that visit Cocktails and Cordials regularly, you’ve likely noticed a lack of recent updates on both the blog and on twitter, and I do want to apologize for that. The tardiness on my part has been the result of more than a month’s worth of bar preparation for the St. Catharines, Ontario location for Johnny Rocco’s Italian Grill, which we will be opening on Monday, December 7th.

In taking on the role and responsibilities associated with the title of “Bar Manager” earlier this year, I was more than a little hesitant. A move to management for any bartender is an almost guaranteed pay cut, but depending on how you spend your time, you may just be able to leverage your role to make both you and your bar substantially more money. Over the course of the next couple of weeks, I’m going to share the experience I’ve had in setting up our St. Catharines location, and show you how to approach opening your own bar.

If you have any questions, I’d love to spend some time answering them here on the website. Send an email to nick@cocktailsandcordials.com, and I’d be more than happy to help.

For now, I leave you with Part 1: The Cost of Going Fresh. Interested in making the big switch from pre-mix to fresh cocktails? Click here to read why you can’t afford not to.

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