SOMETIMES BIG IDEAS come in small packages, other times they’re plastered on a billboard or tattooed on a server’s arm. What’s the difference how or where you come by a good idea as long as it eventually lands in your laptop. To expedite things, here are some nuggets that caught the attention of our editorial staff.

---

SUCCESSFUL BEVERAGE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM DEBUTS — In response to the slumping economy, Southern Wine and Spirits of Arizona has    launched   an educational program designed to help restaurateurs and bar owners become more profitable, a full-day seminar called Successful Beverage Management — Profitable Strategies for the On-Premise Operator.

The course was developed and presented by industry notables Jack Robertiello, beverage writer and former editor of Cheers magazine; Robert Plotkin, author and beverage consultant; Mac Gregory, director of food & beverage at The Phoenician Resort, Scottsdale; and Dr. Gail Bellamy, executive food editor of Restaurant Hospitality magazine.

“The downturn in the economy necessitates that beverage operators focus on improving their profitability, which is exactly what this invaluable program is designed to help them accomplish,” says Tom Boyle, vice president of sales for Southern Wine and Spirits of Arizona.

Registration for the daylong program is $295, but Southern Wine & Spirits is offering all attendees a scholarship of $200, dropping the cost to $95 for operators. Enter code SUCCESS2009 when registering at BarProfits.com.

Boyle was extremely pleased with the response to the first of these programs, held earlier this year. “Continuing education is a crucial aspect of success that’s especially important in the food and beverage industry. How else can working on-premise professionals augment their knowledge of the business than through a program such as this?”

After presenting the course again in Phoenix on January 12, 2010, the foursome will take the daylong Successful Beverage Management program on the road with 16 seminar dates scheduled through 2011. The next three dates include Tampa on March 16th, Cleveland on May 4th and Denver on June 29th. Aspects of the program will also be offered at the Nightclub & Bar Show in Las Vegas on March 8th.

Registration information and tour schedule can be obtained at BarProfits.com or by calling BarMedia at 800.421.7179.

HOT CHOCOLATE CLASSICS — Hot cocoa drinks have what it takes to become a marketing bonanza behind the bar. Warm and inviting, these drinks appeal to the kid within all of us. Splash in some Kahlúa and brandy and you’ve created an instant classic. Drop in a scoop of ice cream and the world will beat a path to your door.

One of the most delectable hot chocolate mixes on the market is produced by Holy City Chocolate of Charleston, South Carolina. Handcrafted in small batches, the all-natural hot cocoa mix is loaded with chunks of premium Columbian chocolate. We can’t recall ever tasting a better artisanal mix. HolyCityChocolate.foodzie.com

 

CHAMPAGNE CLASSICS DRESSED TO THE NINES — For those times when an ordinary cocktail won’t do, savvy mixologists invariably enlist the drink making services of the grand dame of sparkling wines.

Champagne’s      effervescence      and sensational flavors can transform a lifeless cocktail into something genuinely memorable. Champagne libations are light, effervescent and exceptionally delicious. A reusable bottle-stopper will keep the wine carbonated overnight, so you can pour Champagne into cocktails without being concerned that the unused portion will go flat and be wasted.

The venerable CHAMPAGNE COCKTAIL was named one of the 10 best drinks by Esquire Magazine in 1934. The drink is made by placing a sugar cube into a Champagne flute, tulip glass or saucer and saturating with 1 or 2 dashes of Angostura Bitters. Add chilled Champagne slowly; when the wine comes in contact with the sugar it will immediately create a rapidly rising froth.

The SAVOY CHAMPAGNE COCKTAIL originated at the London Savoy Hotel in the 1920s. It’s made with an Angostura Bitters saturated sugar cube, equal parts of Grand Marnier and V.S. cognac, a fill of chilled Champagne and an orange twist garnish.

With the New Year fast approaching, this year why not treat your guests with truly inspired libations worthy of the occasion.

 

MARTINI PERFECTION — Garnishing a Martini is a creative opportunity. In a cocktail consisting of little more than a spirit and aperitif wine, the garnish essentially becomes another ingredient and helps to distinguish your signature Martinis from the cocktail lounge down the street. Please take note, pimento-stuffed olives do not circumscribe the garnishing possibilities.

Consider your Martini garnishing options, a partial list includes prosciutto-stuffed olives, anchovy-wrapped olives, bleu cheese-stuffed olives, jalapeño-stuffed olives. There are several devices on the market that make stuffing your own specialty olives a breeze. One such product—the Olive Express—can be used to stuff olives with a variety of cheeses, onions, garlic, crabmeat, lobster meat and whatever else you can dream up. It’s FDA approved dishwasher safe and costs less than $10. OliveExpress.net

Another device worthy of primetime is the Olive Injector. It’s designed specifically for stuffing olives with bleu cheese and retails for $13.95. MartiniWare.com

Wait, don’t stop there. After creating a one-of-a-kind olive masterpiece for your
Martinis, give the   garnish   the    send-off   it genuinely deserves with a cool looking skewer. They’re available in many different styles and range from cheesy plastic to ultra-cool and handcrafted. The groovy picks pictured are counterbalanced to keep the olives at the surface of the Martini. They were crafted by Lori Rottenberg at the Claybox in Des Moines, Iowa. lori@claybox.net

 

DESERT CANDY — How often has this happened to you? You’re behind the bar and you’ve just shaken up one of your soon-to-be bestselling Prickly Pear Margaritas. Ah, but how to garnish your creation? A lone lime wedge? Way too pedestrian for such a beautiful and great tasting cocktail, wouldn’t you agree?

A scrumptious answer is to pair the lime with a piece of prickly pear candy. The soft, all-natural product is made in Chandler, Arizona from freshly harvested prickly pear juice, pectin and a wee bit of sugar. It’s tart, semisweet and marries beautifully with lime juice. The garnet-hued candy is a delicious bona fide treat.

If you’re looking to make some cocktails with prickly pear, but don’t have cacti growing in your front yard, Desert Gatherings is also a great source for antioxidant-rich prickly pear juice. As you can imagine, they have an abundance of cacti there. We highly recommend their Prickly Pear Thirst Quencher drink. It’s fabulous in a Margarita, as well as just chugging chilled. www.desertgatherings.com