Hideout, which is number 18 on the Top 50 Cocktail Bars List and is based in Bath, Somerset, sells around 450 Old Fashioned’s per month.
The serve costs around £3.04 to make and retails at £12.50 per cocktail, offering operators a 75% gross profit margin.
Moon said: “[Offering cocktails like this] is important so that pubs can offer a larger array of drinks options, simply because you can cater for a larger range of people. It’s also very simple to implement.
“Cocktails like our Hideout Old Fashioned can be prepared and batched before shift and on any bar without the need for any fancy equipment.”
Extra level
Moon described the drink as “very easy” to make and advised operators to serve the cocktail “slightly under diluted” to ensure the serve stays “tasty and not watery”.
“Cocktails can add an extra level to pub’s offering and give guests a reason to come back again and again.
“They don’t have to be complicated, on average we use 3-5 ingredients to create a tasty drink. [You can] season your drinks with acids and salt to elevate them to the next level”, he continued.
Hideout, which is a whisky focused bar, uses a whisky blend, made up of Buffalo Trace Bourbon, Whistle Pig six-year-old Rye and Mellow Corn Whisky, to create its version of an Old Fashioned.
“We put a lot of time and testing into making it our best old fashioned ever, while still making it affordable”, Moon added.
New world
The general manager also noted there has been some movement with trends in the whisky category.
He said: “New and exciting [whisky or cocktails] is always a big plus.
“Scotch is still the most sold whisky by far but a lot more people are interested in trying independent bottlers expressions, opening up a whole new world of cask finishes and single cask releases the distilleries wouldn’t normally release under their own name or umbrella.”
Let’s get into it…
Equipment required:
- Mixing tin
- Bar spoon
- Jigger
- Strainer
Ingredients:
- 60ml whisky blend (30ml Buffalo Trace Bourbon, 20ml Whistle Pig six-year-old Rye, 10ml Mellow Corn)
- 10ml Maple sugar blend
- 2ml Angostura and orange bitters
- Orange peel to garnish
Method:
- Add all ingredients to a mixing tin
- Stir together until diluted
- Strain into a rocks glass over an ice block
- Serve with orange peel garnish
