bay state beverage guide

8 A Guide to RestockingStrategies for retailers to make the most of the annual overhaul.

12 Decade in ReviewRecall the events and trends that made 2000-2009 a decade of great change for the industry. 20 Distillers Gone Wild

Discover how bourbon is no longer sticking with tradition.

24 Tasting Corner: MalbecWhy is Argentina’s star grape a must on

any wine list?

4 Publisher’s Page

6 Insider’s View

10 Talkin’ Tech

26 New Products & Promotions

28 Operations Viewpoint

28 On-Premise Viewpoint

30 Around Town

32 Last Call

33 Shopping Network

8

January 2010 bay state beverage guide 3

1a brand index

24a Massachusetts License saLes & transfers

29a abcc decisions

Brand Indexdepartments

contents

24DECADE INWINE ONLINEGOING GREEN

CONS

OLID

ATIO

N BOURBON INNOVATIONS

OF D

ISTR

IBUT

ORS

NEW WORLD WINES

FLAVOR REVOLUTION

WINE FOR THE EVERYDAYSOCI

ALAB

SINT

HE

VALUEW

INESABSIN

THE CACHACA

LIQU

OR

AN

DFASHION

AND

ENTERTAIN

MEN

T

COGN

AC

ARTISANAL DISTILLERSMIXOLOGY

TRADING UP

BOURBON’S COMEBACK

ALCOHOL COMMERCIALS ON TVWINE FOR THE EVERYDAYSOCIAL RESPONSIBILITYSELLING WINE ONLINE

INTRODUCING CACHACA

BAN ONSM

OKING

INTEGRATED MUSICALCOHOL AND

BEVERAGE

REVOLUTION

THE H

ANDC

RAFT

ED C

OCKT

AILFLAVOR

FLAV

ORED

VODK

AS

HANDCRAFTED COCKTAILS AND MIXOLOGY

RESP

ONSI

BILI

TY

REVIEWORGANICWINE

12

features

20

new this Month

Massachusetts beer brand index

— and —new whoLesaLer brand

4 bay state beverage guide January 2010

Bay State Beverage Guide Massachusetts Edition

Volume 2, No. 1

Bay State Beverage Guide is devoted to the interests and welfare of the retail spirits, wine and beer licensees of Massachusetts. Published monthly by Vinegar Hill LLC, D/B/A Bay State Beverage Guide, 84 Sherman Street, Cambridge, MA 02140. Telephone: 617-864-1677. Fax: 617-864-1655. Subscription rates are: United States - $60 per year; Canada - $75 per year; Foreign - $99 per year. Postmaster, please send changes to: Bay State Beverage Guide, 84 Sherman Street, Cambridge, MA 02140. Nothing may be reprinted or reproduced in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher. Contents copyrighted 2009 by Vinegar Hill LLC.

PublisherTerence F. Connaughton

[email protected]

editoriaL

Managing EditorKristen Wolfe Bieler

EditorAlia Akkam

Assistant Editor Ariel Boorstin

Contributing EditorsDale DeGroff, Mary Ewing-Mulligan, David T. Kratt, Jeffery Lindenmuth,

Ed McCarthy, Gregg Glaser, W.R. Tish, Jean K. Reilly

art & design

Art DirectorLarry Lee

Graphic DesignerDana Buonincontri

Assistant DesignerJosue Romero

advertising

Terence F. Connaughton617-864-1677

[email protected]

publisher’s page

O ther than the fact it’s pitch black leaving the office and with tem-peratures so low we give Ant-

arctica a run for its money, January really is a great month. Okay, facetious yes, but entirely, no. For many, January signifies a new start, a new beginning, a time to re-flect, a chance for “do-overs”, you know….maybe right some wrongs from the year prior. If you need a business analogy, the best I could say is that it’s like taking an inventory except it’s not a physical inven-tory, it’s more, shall we say, a moral one.

Now, although it’s rare, I do take my own advice which leads me to make a pub-lic apology for some behavior I’ve shown in 2009 that I’m not particularly proud of. Now I know it sounds like an excuse but I promise, I’ve behaved this way for one reason and one reason only- this column. You see the downside of having to write this thing, at least for me, is that I’m per-petually topic-hunting. And topics come by way of messages and messages by way of people. And because I border being petri-fied about missing a message, although I am actually listening I am painfully aware that it may come across as gazing aimlessly – like I’m looking right through you. But I promise I’m not. So with that, I do apolo-gize and I’ll try my best not to let it happen in 2010. Wow, I feel better already.

Moving on, the message I heard for this column came during an industry holi-day party recently when I was introduced to someone through a colleague. Now as we all know, whether you are a beer sup-plier, wine distributor or high-end pack-age store owner, one area that’s common to us all is the concept of brands. We can all engage when the topic is brands and as it was in this particular conversation we immediately started talking about various brands. This person went on to discuss

a brand she sold for many years but had since been bought by another supplier. With that experience and in commenting on the brand today, she made an analogy that I found interesting, to say the least.

“It’s kind of like I had to give my precious dog to my neighbor, and now I’m watch-ing this neighbor kick that dog while they walk it.” I was blown away by the analogy. And what made the situation even more impactful was that just the night before I was out to dinner with a group of young craft brewers, one of whom owned a very popular craft beer from Maine. All you needed was five minutes to realize how impressively passionate he and his people were about their brand. Like true brand ambassadors, they spoke about their brand like it was an untouchable child in the family. Like they couldn’t wait to wake up the next day and do it all over again. To go from one extreme to the other seemed to me to be a message I couldn’t ignore.

Because the thing is, a brand can be a lot of things and there’s a good chance that if you are reading this, you own a brand – whether you are a store owner, a caterer, a bartender or an accountant you represent a brand. And if there’s even a re-mote chance people think you are kicking your dog”, you might want to consider tak-ing an inventory of your own brand right about now – and not a physical one…

Terence Connaughton, Publisher

[email protected]

A New Round, A Fresh Start….


AROUND THE COUNTRYNATIONAL:DRuNk DRIVING FATALITy RATES DECLINE Recent reports from the U.S. Transportation Department indicate that drunk driving fatal-ity rates have declined in 40 states and the District of Columbia. A total of 11,773 people were killed in drunk driving crashes in 2008, down from 13,041 motorists in 2007.

MORRISON NAMED ExECuTIVE DIRECTOR OF NASADADThe National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors (NASADAD) has named Robert Morrison as its new executive director. Morrison most recently served as interim executive director/director of public policy for NASADAD.

AROUND THE REGIONNEW yORk: FARM BuREAu SuPPORTS LEGALIzING WINE IN GROCERyThe New York Farm Bureau is again taking sides with wineries by supporting a bill aimed at legalizing wine sales in grocery stores. The bill, co-authored by assemblyman Joseph Morelle, didn’t make it out of committee last year and is therefore still active. In order to appease li-quor stores, the bill would allow them to install ATMs and sell snacks and gift baskets. How-ever, liquor stores continue to oppose the bill.

AROUND THE STATEMASSAChuSETTS: hEALTh ADVOCATES PLAN TO FIGhT ALCOhOL TAx quESTIONPublic health and addiction treatment ad-vocates have vowed to fight a proposed bal-lot question that would roll back the state’s new sales tax on alcohol sold in stores. Mas-sachusetts packages store owners are pushing to repeal the tax, which was approved by state lawmakers this summer. The change extends the state’s 6.25% sales tax to alcohol sold in stores. Store owners say the extra tax is driv-ing away customers and hurting business but

health activists defend it, saying proceeds help support public health programs, including the Bureau of Substance Abuse Services.

AROUND YOUR TOWNARLINGTON: TOWN PASSES LOCAL-OPTION TAx ON RESTAuRANT MEALS AND INCREASE IN hOTEL TAx Town meeting members passed a local-option tax on restaurant meals and an increase in the local hotel tax. The meals tax will tack on 0.75% to the state’s 6.25% sales tax on restau-rant bills. Selectmen said the tax will generate $200,000 annually for the town. Vince Bar-rett, a representative from Arlington’s lone hotel, Homewood Suites on Massachusetts Avenue, spoke against the tax increase, say-ing he might have to lower the hotel’s rates to stay competitive. Town Meeting also voted to place a binding question on the town election ballot next spring that would allow selectmen to license the town’s three package stores to sell liquor in addition to the beer and wine they now offer.

LExINGTON: TOWN APPROVES A TAx ON RESTAuRANT MEALS AND INCREASE IN ThE LEVyON hOTEL STAyS Lincoln also approved a tax on restaurant meals and an increase in the levy on hotel stays recently . The local option meals tax will tack on a charge of 0.75% to restaurant bills. Norm Cohen, selectmen chairman, said the tax would equal a charge of 23 cents on the average restaurant bill of $30 in Lexington. Town Meeting also approved an increase to the hotel and motel occupancy tax from 4 percent to 6 percent, but the body voted to delay the increase until July 1 . Combined, the two mea-sures are expected to generate about $500,000 in tax revenue for the town each year.

LuNENBuRG: BEER, WINE LICENSE DENIED AFTER hOuR OF COMPLAINTS After an hour of hearing from upset business owners, selectmen denied an application for a beer and wine license at Bangels Convenience store. Business owners in town showed up to

voice concerns they were unaware the last re-maining license had actually become available. As a result, local selectmen denied the license 4-1 after asking the applicant to rescind her ap-plication, and said they would refund the $200 application fee. The applicant declined citing a planned appeal of the town’s decision with the state. Until then, the license remains in limbo. Selectmen said they have never encountered the problem of more than one applicant in-terested in a beer and wine license and have started adopting new procedures.

WORCESTER: SuIT FILED AGAINST JILLIAN’S On the one-year anniversary of their son’s death, the Von Behren family filed a lawsuit in Superior Court against the corporation that owned Jillian’s at the time of his death. Michael L. Von Behren, an 18-year-old Shrewsbury High School senior, was killed on Interstate 290 on Dec. 14th after his car was hit head-on by a car driven by 26-year-old Somang Ath of Lowell. Ath was driving the wrong way on the interstate and had been drinking at Jillian’s at 315 Grove St. before the accident.

FITChBuRG: BATTLE uNDERAGE DRINkING uSING ‘ShOuLDER TAP’ STING An underage drinking awareness test took place at Kappy’s Liquor store recently to see if people would say yes or no to teens asking customers if they would buy beer for them. There were no arrests, and the youths handed out cards afterward telling people about the penalties for buying for teens. The youths were from the Gardner chapter of Students Against Destructive Decisions and worked with the Fitchburg police, the staff of Kappy’s Liquors and members of Let Us Know, a non-profit organization that helps local communi-ties with awareness programs.

WRENThAM: RESIDENTS DELIGhTED MR. DOOLEy hITS ThE SuBuRBSLocal residents were delighted that Somers Pubs is taking a stab at the suburbs with Mr. Dooley’s Irish Country Pub . It’s the first ven-ture outside Boston for John Joe Somers, who owns the original Mr. Dooley’s on Broad Street, the Green Dragon, Paddy O’s, Durty Nelly’s, Hennessy’s and Hooley House.

Legislative Updateinsider’s View

SOONER RATHER THAN LATERWhile people tend to address restocking af ter the New Year, thinking ahead has its ad vantages. Proactively identifying unwanted stock prior to the holidays al-lows you to of fer the surplus at a discount, incentivizing customers who are already in the midst of holiday shopping, and enabling you to move unwanted product. With many consumers opting for at–home rather than on–premise entertaining, it is a ripe opportunity to of fer large purchase

markdowns including case discounts to encourage additional sales and help free up space for the New Year.

TAKE STOCKThough you have likely been keeping an ongoing inventory, the post–holiday lull af-fords you the time to make a detailed list of your entire stock. Once you have a com-prehensive idea of your inventory you can see what holes need to be filled and priori-tize which products you are willing to sit on, and which you would rather move out early through discounts and other promotions.

When making decisons about what to restock, Bob Fountain, director, Category Business Solutions, Diageo North America advises that, “Retailers should ask them-selves which items will make the best use of the available secondary display space, i.e. which items will be most productive? We recommend focusing on brands and products with high household penetration and high turns (e.g. brands such as Smirnoff, Captain Morgan and Jose Cuervo) to appeal to a broad base of consumers, keep turns high for better cash flow and to help shoppers restock their pantries with popular items they may have depleted due to holiday entertaining.”

a guide to restocking your shelves after the holiday season.

estocking is one of the most essential (though likely daunting) tasks on your New Year “To Do” list. Although replenishing stock is a constant process, the quiet period follow-ing the holidays enables a more complete overhaul, offering an ideal moment to re-evaluate and reorganize. We have put together some guidelines to help you get started

and ensure that your restocking process is as efficient—and painless—as possible. >>>

By Ariel Boorstin

OUT WITH THE

O L DI N W I T H T H E

NEW

MANAGEMENT TIPS


DO YOUR RESEARCHIt is always a challenge to predict what cus-tomers will be purchasing throughout the coming year, and thus extremely important to utilize all of the tools available to help in your forecasting. Take the time to review POS reports as well as anything else which you have used to track your sales before making any restocking decisions. Analyz-ing these documents will allow you to better decipher the long–term purchasing trends of your customers so that you can more accurately decide which products are reli-able sellers. Paul Huston, owner of Hunt ers Point Wines & Spirits in Long Island City, NY explains that “The credo in retail is ‘buy correct’, which means buying the right quantity at the right time. Both actions must be performed simultaneously, because doing one without the other is meaningless. In many ways it requires a leap of faith.” No two stores or communities are alike, so be sure to speak directly with your customers as there is no better way to fully understand their preferences and needs.

Fountain suggests that “When stocking for 2010, weed out the poor selling items after going through a thorough assortment optimization process. Add the most prom-ising innovation that truly meets consumer demands versus adding just another ‘me too’ item. Consider the following when adding a new item: Is the product from a leading, trusted national brand? Does the innovation meet important consumer trends? Does the supplier have a strong new product track re-cord? Does the brand have strong marketing support? If a new item/brand does not meet at least two of the four criteria, it is less like-ly that the item will be successful, and pos-sibly should be removed from the retailer’s consideration set.”

UNDERSTAND THE CLIMATEThe current economic climate will no doubt play a role in restocking choices as decisions are made regarding luxury products and oth-er slower moving stock. Just as you should

use tools to predict purchasing patterns, do a bit of research regarding likely economic developments to help in gauging the yearly outlook. Specific product choices will also be affected by the economy, as Huston ex-plains: “Unfortunately, there are plenty of small companies that are experiencing distress from leaner selling periods. Many of these brands are therefore posting supe-rior discounts and selling their products to retailers at great prices, which may encour-age retailers to stock up on a particularly fine vintage because of the steep discount at which it is now available. You must be care ful, however, that your eyes don’t get too big because of the bargains, or you’ll find yourself stuck with dozens of cases of 2007 Chateauneuf-du-Pape because you just couldn’t resist.”

Every retailer is in their own unique po-sition, based on numerous factors including the particular year of sales and the size of the business, so it is important to make restock-ing decisions that fit your personal situation.

REACHING CONSUMERSA challenging year for sales has likely left you with various unexpected stock, and it is im-

portant to actively institute ways of engaging consumers with this excess prod uct. Clear-ance sales and customer appre ciation days are a couple of ways to entice post-holiday bar-gain hunters; you can also develop a newslet-ter, quoting any high re views or scores for your discounted products to help keep consumers up-to-date on your most alluring offerings. In ad dition, you can help bring products to life by creating in-store events which feature the discounted merchandise, allowing custom ers to learn more about or sample the brands to encourage buying.

In addition to evaluating your stock, the slow pace of the New Year’s start makes it an ideal time to examine your retail mer chandising. It is always good to reassess your store’s layout and the expe-rience you offer shoppers, ensuring that you are doing everything in your power to create a model shopping environment. Place items that you hope to move quickly in high traffic ar eas of the store and po-sition your best deals at the entrance to draw in passersby. An at tractive floor plan, shelf talkers and displays can spice up your store’s look, but rearrange with caution as drastic alterations can con fuse regulars who appreciate knowing just where to find their favorite brands.

OPEN COMMUNICATIONTo keep up with the changing times, it is im-portant to make every effort to understand the changing preferences and budgets of your customers. Take advantage of the New Year by presenting customers with a New Year’s questionnaire to garner their valuable feedback. If this feels too structured, open the dialogue by simply speaking to shoppers directly about their preferences to facilitate your understanding of any shifts in buying patterns. Events are some of the most use-ful times to gather customer feedback, as patrons can mention specific products and have distinct points of reference. Customer feedback, in conjunction with exhibited long–term trends and input from your staff, will create a reliable foundation upon which to base your purchasing decisions through-out 2010. ■

MANAGEMENT TIPS



POS SystemsBeverage Journal has built integration to the following POS systems to varying degrees. The codes with each vendor correspond with the integration points noted below:

➊ WEBSITE INVENTORy uPDATES➋ WEB ORDER IMPORTING➌ PRICE FILE INTEGRATION➍ EORDERS SALES hISTORy➎ EORDERS PuRChASE ORDERS

For information about any of these POS companies, please call

201-489-5888, ext 231

AIM ➊ ➍ ➎

ATLANTIC SySTEMS, INC. (ASI - SPIRITS 2000)

➊ ➋ ➌ ➍ ➎

CAM DATA ➊

COMCASh ➍ ➎

COMPuTER PERFECT ➌ ➍ ➎

CREATIVE INFORMATION SySTEM

➊ ➍

INNOVATIVE COMPuTER SOLuTIONS (ICS - VISION)

➊ ➋ ➌ ➍ ➎

kBA SPIRITS (kEN BuCh)

➌

LSTAR ➍

MAGSTAR ➊ ➋ ➌ ➍ ➎

MERChANT SOFTWARE -LiquorPOS

➊ ➌ ➍

MICROBIz ➊

MICROSOFT RETAIL MANAGEMENT SySTEM (RMS)

➊ ➌ ➍ ➎

PERVASIVE ➊

POS ANyWhERE ➊ ➋

POS-IM ➊

quICkBOOkS ➊ ➋

RCS ➍

SMART LIquICk ➊ ➍

TIGER POS ➌ ➍

WINE SOFT ➊

Learn about seLLing wine onLine

Sign up for our next Webinar on January 5th at 10am EST. See how a store uses the BMG eCommerce system to maintain and promote

products on a website. For more information visit: bevnetwork.com/retailweb

If you’ve spent time searching for la-bels and wine information you will recognize that access to this infor-mation is variable. Wineries and

importers assume that you will come to their website where they may provide trade-oriented content resources. In many cases the information is missing, or more frustrating has been built into a ‘flash presentation’ that doesn’t allow for copying. At best your quest is time consuming and noone, least of all the winery, knows what the finished product will look like.

The success of your e-commerce venture depends on your ability to mer-chandize your products. Yet, the pre-vailing mindset in the wine industry is of companies that protect their content and hoard their intellectual property. The result is a barrier for retailers who attempt to sell online; either you invest in the labor to track down the content you need, or your website does a less then optimal job at promoting your products.

Imagine a future where online wine stores have easy access to product infor-mation. Wine labels, tasting notes, tech-nical specifications, even reviews and rat-ings are widely and accurately distributed. In this vision of the future, wineries and importers are making this information available as soon as products are released. This content then circulates through service providers whose mission is to distribute it to retailers, marketing sites, bloggers and bulletin boards. Anywhere a consumer finds mention of a wine it in-cludes consistent, accurate information that originated from the supplier.

If this sounds a little fantastic you would be forgiven for doubting it could ever happen in this industry. But look-ing beyond wine labels for the moment, prominent retailers Amazon, eBay and Best Buy promote the distribution of their product catalogs as open APIs (ap-plication programming interfaces). Web developers can import it, display it on their own sites and, most importantly, sell from it. By being the source of product

content, these retailers attach rules on its use that help drive sales for their busi-ness. For instance Best Buy requires that if the developer site offers e-commerce, Best Buy needs to be one of the options. By opening up access to valuable assets that were being hoarded on their serv-ers, these retailers have greatly increased the reach of their products. Amazon an-nounced last year that their web services (API) now consume more bandwidth than all their global websites.

Back in the wine business, two com-panies recently announced open APIs that will provide wine information to various website partners. Cruvee, based in Napa, has been providing social me-dia monitoring for wineries. They an-nounced a new service where wineries can control how their wines are repre-sented online. Cruvee then distributes it to marketing and retailer websites. Adegga, based in Portugal, is a wine re-view site that spawned the AVIN, a uni-versal identifier for wine. Adegga, with the help of Catavino, plans to turn the AVIN into an open project where wine notes from bloggers and review sites around the world can be linked.

Both projects are in their early stages and have a way to go before they can offer the level of product information available on Best Buy’s catalog, but this is where it starts. These projects point the way to a future with abundant and accessible wine information.

To comment on this column or to learn more about how Beverage Media can help with a website for you store, visit bevsites.com, contact Ian Griffith at 617-864-1677; or follow us on twitter at twitter.com/bevsites.

Wine Information from Scarcity to Abundance

talkin tech by Ian Griffith

The success of your e-commerce venture

depends on your ability to merchandize

your products.


1

34

5

2

6falling star

continues to turn heads with its entrance into the premium 3L bag-in-the-

box category

1 snap dragon wine fLies onto the MarKet Newly launched by Diageo, Snap Dragon sources the best

grapes from the best vineyards in California to create approachable, fruit-forward wines that are a true expression

of each varietal and region. The portfolio contains Reisling, Chardonnay, Red Wine Blend and Cabernet Sauvignon for SRP’s of $7-$10. Visit www.SnapDragonWine.com

2 wine & spirits Magazine 100 best buys of the year Wine & Spirits Magazine listed the 2007 Fat Cat Pinot

Noir and the 2007 Bad Dog Ranch Chardonnay as two of their 100 Best Buys of the year in their Buying Guide 2010. The Fat Cat Pinot Noir was also mentioned as an exceptional value. Antares Wine Co., Napa, CA

(707) 265-4050

3 champagne Pommery introduces PoP earth chaMPagne Pommery POP goes green with the introduction of the new

POP Earth NV Champagne, an eco-friendly addition to their popular POP (Product of Pommery) line. POP Earth NV is a blend of 70% Pinot Noir, 20% Chardonnay and 10% Pinot Meunier, and is housed in a bottle using lighter glass, and bears a label made from recycled materials and printed with water soluble inks. SRP: $55.

Visit http://www.pommery.fr

4 thomas hooker brewing announces nor’ easter seasonaL brew Thomas Hooker Brewing announces its new Nor’easter

seasonal brew for the winter season. Brewed to celebrate winter in New England, Nor’easter lager possesses a hearty malt flavor delicately accented with mild winter spices. The Thomas Hooker Nor’easter winter brew will be

available on and off-premise through mid-March. Visit www.hookerbeer.com

5 falling star debuts 3L bag-in-a-box froM argentina Falling Star, which helped put Argentina on the wine map,

continues to turn heads with its entrance into the premium 3L bag-in-the-box category. Debuting a Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay, these new Falling Star

offerings aim to reach bargain hunting consumers in a changing market. SRP: $19.99 for 3L. Visit www.frederickwildman.com

6 samurai Love sake brings its fight to the u.s. MarKet After four years in development, Samurai Love Sake

launches in the U.S. Samurai Love Sake, with its distinctive candy apple red bottle and tongue-in-cheek

name, will hit liquor stores, hotels, clubs and bars begin-ning this month. A major marketing campaign will begin prior to Valentine’s Day, highlighting the romantic qualities of this “love” sake. SRP: $32 Call (212) 541-5698

new products & promotions


This is the time of year when I read about the liquor violations from holiday parties. The unfortunate thing is that so many of them can be avoided. My

experience suggests that most have to do with ignorance of the law rather than any overt desire to break the law.

The MRA sent out the ABCC’s letter regarding holi-day parties to our entire membership as a reminder. One of the most common offenses that I see during this time of year is when a licensee advertises a function to the general public that includes a set fee for an open bar. Of course, this is against the law and will more than likely result in an investigator knocking on the door.

Not that long ago, the MRA interviewed chief inves-tigator, Ted Mahoney, from the ABCC for our newsletter. He talked about violations that could be avoided. I think that the ABCC deserves credit overall for its outreach pro-gram. They have traveled around the state giving confer-ences on laws and reminding licensees of obligations. You should also familiarize yourself with their web site: www.mass.gov/abcc. It is loaded with good information and fre-quently asked questions.

I don’t pretend to be any authority on liquor license law. However, I will tell you that there are three common violations that I have seen over the years that are easily avoidable. The first is not having the two signs posted that are required by law. The second is having the wrong beer tap handle on a draft beer line. And, of course, the last is finding fruit flies in the syrupy brands that seldom get used.

Of course, all of these are very avoidable. The MRA always has a supply of the signs to give to our members and the ABCC will gladly provide them. You should check your beer lines to make sure that someone hasn’t mistakenly switched kegs in the cooler without anyone noticing. And, of course, those syrupy brands need to have pourers with covers on them (even then you need to check them regularly).

You may think that you have bigger fish to fry than wor-rying about things like signs and keg handles. Although these are not life threatening violations, they scream out to an inspector that you are not on top of your game. Experi-ence tells me that paying attention to these small details is important in showing that you are a responsible operator and that you want to play by the rules.

Peter Christie is a veteran of the restaurant industry. he is currently president and CEO of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, a position that he has held for the past 20 years. Prior to this, he owned and operated three restau-rants with his family.

on-premise Viewpoint by Peter Christie

Playing by the Rules

During this time of economic uncertainty, all businesses are forced to take an even closer look at the unecessary expenses they continue to pay out. As retailers examine their balance sheets, they are undoubt-

edly frustrated every time they see the escalating cost of interchange fees. As an association, we strive to offer our members benefits to help reduce their costs. While we have been successful in reducing some costs for our members, this is one growing cost that we simply cannot help our members curtail.

On average, an interchange fee of roughly 2% is collected by card com-panies and their banks from sellers on every credit card transaction. As if it is not trying enough to pay the current average rate, retailers have no control over these fees which can be raised at anytime by the credit card companies. The fees are particularly costly for small businesses, and are hidden and unfair for consumers.

Interchange fees are becoming one the fastest growing expenses to busi-nesses as they have tripled since 2001. It is no secret that the payment card market is dominated by Visa and MasterCard. Since Visa and MasterCard-issuing banks all charge the same schedule of fees there is no ability to go to a competitor that charges a lower rate. Therefore, these dominating card payment companies have no competition no transparency, and no incentive to negotiate with retailers.

Having no power to negotiate with credit card companies, the rising rates are becoming one of the highest costs of doing business for retail and restau-rant companies. Businesses are being forced to cut back in other areas that would allow growth for their company just to cover the burden of escalating interchange fees. The retail industry runs on a very slim profit margin (aver-age is just over 2%). With interchange fees exceeding that rate, the sustain-ability of many companies are in jeopardy.

I simply cannot think of any other instance where an individual or com-pany is paying for a service and they are completely beholden to rates and procedures set by the party they are paying. In the world of retail, we value customer service. Clearly, leaving your customer with burdensome costs and a feeling of powerlessness is not in the realm of decent customer service. The banks are not treating their customers – the sellers – fairly, and our consumers are left holding the bag.

Several pieces of legislation were introduced in the 110th Congress, each of which has been reintroduced in the 111th Congress. One of the bills passed in a bipartisan fashion out of the House Judiciary Committee last year. While the industry has little negotiating power, we can at the very least come togeth-er in support of measures that will actually curtail Visa and MasterCard’s an-ticompetitive interchange fee setting practices, and to help level the playing field for retailers of all sizes with the credit card companies. It is time for retail-ers and restaurants to stand up to anticompetitive measures that are destroying their businesses, and passing unfair higher costs onto their customers.

Jon hurst is president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts (RAM). As the chief executive officer of the 2,000 member statewide trade association, hurst manages the staff, business affairs, member services, public affairs and governmental affairs of the organization. he also serves as chair-man of the board of directors of the Massachusetts Retail Merchants Workers Compensation Group, Inc., a self insurance group organized by RAM in 1991.

Retailers and Their Customers Left Holding the Bag

operations management by Jon B. Hurst


WINTER BEER FESTIVAL Building on the success of their popular Grand Wine Tasting, Blanchards of West Roxbury presented their annual Winter Beer Festival recently. The event showcased more than 30 different brewers from Boston New England and beyond, and focused on a diverse selection of winter seasonals such as porters, ales and stouts. In addition to tasty snacks and appe-tizers, guests were also treated to sample traditional French Cognac and Champagne.

around town

Tracy Burgis, M.S. Walker

WINE & DINE MONDAy AT BEACON hILL hOTEL & BISTRO It is obvious that Wine & Dine Mondays have been extremely popular at the Beacon Hill Hotel & Bistro this season. To a packed house of loyal BHHB customers, the final wine pairing dinner of the season took place at the popular Back Bay bistro. A great selection of fantastic wines chosen by owner Cecilia Rait and Tracy Burgis of M.S. Walker were served with great care and pride by the entire BHHB staff. Tracy and Cecilia featured four sparkling wines from around the world and paired each with an exquisite four-course meal prepared by executive chef Jason Bond.

Cecilia Rait, owner of the Beacon Hill Hotel & Bistro

Rachael Robinson, Beacon Hill Hotel & Bistro

BHHB customers enjoy themselves

Industry icon Brendan LeGros, Long Trail Ale

Zalika Guillory, Burke Distributing Corp

Dan McPhee, Otter Creek; Derek McCarthy, Craft Brewers Guild; Tim Brazile, Craft Brewers Guild

uk TRADE & INVESTMENT ChRISTMAS LuNCh AT hARVARD The UK trade and investment office, in conjunction with the British Consulate General, joined forces to host their annual Christmas Lunch at Harvard Uni-versity. The UK Trade & Investment is a govern-ment organization that helps UK-based companies succeed in international markets, and assists over-seas companies in bringing high quality investment to the UK. Many of Boston’s business leaders in the restaurant and hospitality industry were on hand to join in the celebration.

Bob Halloran, WCVB TC Anchorman and Gerry Brennan, Thirsty Scholar

Fred Forsley, Shipyard Brewery enjoys the festivities with his daughter-in-lawJennifer Forsley

Juan Reyes, R. Mack Estates Portfolio

David Power, Capture Code; Bruce Forsley, Shipyard Brewery; Gerry Brennan, Thirsty Scholar; and Guarav Malik, Capture Code

Mike Montalto, Blanchards

Lindsay Sgambllone, WachusettsBrewing; Jean-Marc Aubuchon, Coastal Brewing Company

Michelle Maturevich, Beacon Hill Hotel & Bistro


BuLLDOG GIN LAuNCh PARTy AT DISTRICT LOuNGE Bulldog London Dry Gin is now officially available in Massachusetts. On Dec 15th Bulldog Gin held its launch party at District Lounge, one of Boston’s hottest nightclubs. Complimentary Bulldog cock-tails and hors d’oeuvres were served to invited VIP guests that included a number of Horizon Bever-age Company employees on hand to support the brand’s launch.

20Th ANNuAL MASSAChuSETTS hOSPITALITy hALL OF FAME AWARDS On behalf of the National Restaurant Association, the Massachusetts Restaurant Association held their 20th Annual Massachusetts Hospitality Hall of Fame Awards at Anthony’s Pier 4 in Boston. One of the hospitality industry’s premier events, MRA and its members take the time to honor those who have done so much for so many people throughout the industry. As expected, the 2009 inductees ensured another sold out event. Proceeds from the event were dedicated to the NRA’s Safe Fund and the MRA’s Legislative Ac-tion Forum. Bay State Beverage Guide would also like to congratulate the 2009 distinguished list of honor-ees including: Harvey Allen, president, M.S. Walker Inc.; Billy Costa, NECN’s TV Diner and KISS 108 FM; Donato and0 Filippo Frattaroli, Ristorante; Lu-cia and Filippo Ristorante; and Jon Luther, executive chairman of the board, Dunkin’ Brands Inc.

PRESTON MARkETING ChRISTMAS PARTy Customers, friends and staff of Preston Marketing gathered to celebrate yet another successful year for the widely-respected and nationally recognized Boston-based company. It was standing-room-only at Preston’s festive Faneuil Hall offices. Friends and customers were treated to some wonderful food, tasty holiday cocktails along with one pleasant surprise. Building on the company’s highly successful WedgE – The Ultimate Slicer, Preston owner Karyne Bazzano treated the invited guests with a sneak preview to two new products the company plans to launch in early 2010 – the No Fly Cone and the Flip Up Hic-Cup. Preston thanked their customers for not only making 2009 the successful year it was but for the role they’ve played in building the company to what it is today.

around town

NRA and MRA Raphael Oliver, Top of the Hub; MRA President Frank Guidara, Pizzeria Uno; and honoree Harvey Allen, M.S. Walker Harvey Allen , M.S. Walker addresses the audience

Donato Frattaroli, Ristorante Lucia and Filippo Ristorante; and NECN’s Billy Costa are proud of their hardware

Raphael Oliver, Top of the Hub; and Chip Coen, M.S. Walker

Rhonda Kallman, New Century Brewing Co and Ron Weathers, United Liquors

Ray Bazzano, Karen “KP” Patton, Gerry McGoulahan, and Karyne Bazzano, Preston Marketing

Frankie Stavrianopoulos, District Lounge; and Luba Gorelik, Stuff

Deborah Picardi, Results Marketing; and Roz Fleisher, Bulldog Gin

Deborah Picardi, Results Marketing; Anshuman Vohra, Bulldog Gin; and Debby Wang, Bulldog Gin

The folks from Bulldog arrived in style

Lisa Conti, Skyy Spirits and Ray Bazzano, Preston Marketingn

Ernie Buonaccorsi, Proximo Spirits and Sean O’Donnell, UV Vodka


THELASTCALL

Almond Toast by Sue Kim-Drohomyrecky

CUSTOM HOUSE, CHICAGO, IL

At Shawn McClain’s sustainable ingredient-driv-en restaurant Custom House, carefully crafted seasonal drinks are just as important as the food. For winter, when the cold calls for something nurturing, Sue Kim-Drohomyrecky, partner and wine director, launched the “Almond Toast” to showcase Custom House’s homemade syrups. It contains just three ingredients, but one of those, the from-scratch almond syrup, speaks to the

bar’s dedication to quality. “When you think of the season, you tend to think of nuts - with this cocktail you get that in an unusual way,” says Kim-Drohomyrecky.

Sipping an inventive cocktail like the “Almond Toast” is now a common sight in Chi-cago, where classic libations are finding new interpretations all over the city. “I think here at the restaurant I have a talented staff behind the bar,” Kim-Drohomyrecky notes. “They go out and often get inspired by what they drink. They bring that back and put their spin on it to bring a fresh take on a cocktail. Chefs have been inspired by the classics, and now the same thing is happening in beverage programs.”

Ingredients:2 oz. brandy1 oz. almond syrup*3 dashes of Angostura

Bitters

*Almond Syrup: Take 5 cups of toasted almonds, prefer-ably Marcona, and place them in the middle of a cheesecloth, bringing the four corners of the cloth up, twisting it to form a cylinder-like package and set aside. Bring 5 cups of water and 4 cups of sugar to a slow boil. Place the almond “bag” into the slowly boiling mixture un-til the almonds are soft. Take the almond bag out when the mixture is slightly cloudy. Remove the almonds from the bag and squeeze the excess almond oils from the cheesecloth into the mixture. Serving: 4 cups

Method: Shake all ingre-dients with ice in a tin, just enough to blend. Pour over ice in highball glass, and add a dash of ground cinnamon to garnish.

Jan10 Cocktail page.indd 1 12/10/09 11:11:57 AM

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bay state beverage guide

Documents

dba bay state beverage

new beginning

new start

year canada

year foreign

year prior

wine list

sherman street