Trends. Recipes. Promotions. Presentations. Sales!

The old days of “lick it, suck it, pound it” are spilling to the wayside just a bit to make way for the shot trends of 2006. While straight pours such as tequila, bourbon and whiskey are still in our hearts (and shot glasses), the club lights are bouncing off a more varied liquid selection in shooters these nights. And endless colors, tastes and sales options are going down smoother than ever.
    This April, Nightclub & Bar would like to remind operators, bartenders, owners and mixologists out there that there are four solid factors when searching out shooter success.

No. 1: Identifying the Trends
    You ID your patrons, but how about a closer look at the youthfulness of your shot selection?
    “People are going more towards the energy drinks and the bombs,” says Larry Carter, owner of Club Oxygen in Raleigh, N.C. “People are still sticking by the staples, too. So we will run anything just to see if we can pick up on the next new thing.”
    With about 70 percent of his sales coming from liquor, Carter knows profitability of shooters. His clientele’s love of spirits is satiated with some trendy choices.
    “For a while,” he says, “Rain vodka was coming in and dropping Jolly Ranchers in their vodka to infuse it. But, it is hard to keep up with Jägermeister Bombs and flavored vodka shots. Over the last year, we have gone from doing five to six bottles of Jägermeister to 15 to 20.”
    Even the early morning clean-up crew is utilizing those slender cans of stamina, so that trend is obvious, but finding unique selections to mix them with or parallel offerings in other categories may be frustrating.
    “We do a lot of drinking,” Carter says. “My employees and I go out quite a bit.” Carter also says he stays aware on vacations and when he travels to other cities.
    For in-house promoter Mariner Revell, staying on top of trends means looking to the mainland. Shooters Sports Bar and Grill, located in Hilo, Hawaii, has about 35 different shots on the menu.
    “We do a lot of Internet (research) to see what the mainland trends are, and we talk to other bar owners,” Revell says. For the future trends in shots, Revell says he sees big dollar signs. “I think they will get fancier and more expensive. We will see rappers doing $100 shots.”

No. 2: Recipe Creation and Marketing
    Taste is essential, so just slinging something together never works. If you study, test and retest your shot selection, word of mouth will ensue among your patrons. Shots are generally a group occurrence; so one bad Lemon Drop can spoil the bunch.
    Selling an average of 1,500 shots on warm, summer evenings, the owners of the Swamp in Destin, Fla., are wallowing in profit. General Manager David Williams oversees a large staff for the 1,200-capacity nightclub, but he also oversees an even larger shot list with a selection of 300. Every bartender is required to pour by heart, and each goes through a two-week training session.
    One key factor in creating good recipes Williams suggests is to keep it simple. “No more than two liquors,” he says. “We use a 3-ounce shooter. So, more than two liquors, and it starts to suffer. The shooter is supposed to taste good.” The Swamp meets a lot of requests for the Orange Crush. Made with Stoli Orange and orange juice, it is shaken, then strained and finally topped with Seven-Up. “It tastes just like Sunkist,” Williams says. “You wouldn’t even think there was alcohol in it.”

No. 3: Promoting and Identifying Profit Margin
    Getting the list out to your customers is the second factor for success. If they don’t know you have it, then they most likely won’t order it. Marketing shots can be divided between DJ announcements, bar menus and table tents, but Carter says his secret weapon comes in the female form.
    “Her name is Jamie,” he says. “She is the Shot-Nazi, man. She is upbeat, good about pushing them and has a great personality. On New Year’s Eve, she sold 300 in one night.” This combination of characteristics is what Carter advises in a shot girl. “If you don’t have the right person,” he says, “it doesn’t work.”

No. 4: Pre-Packaged Profits
    Identifying shooter trends and creating a solid program behind the bar for administering those revenue-earning libations to guests is a huge part of the profits paradigm for an operator. Shooters are high profit margin, bona fide business.
    However, there are other pieces to the puzzle –– think of today’s pre-packaged shooters and presentation options, such as shot glasses, bandoleers and customizable test tubes.
    Gelatin shots and other pre-made, pre-packaged guest-pleasers are convenient, flavorful and festive, and creative glassware can be perfect for showcasing shooters to  patrons in search of fun. NCB

Shooting For Profit