This was going to be a piece about what you think about draft cocktails until it turned into a piece about what we think.
When the Huffington Post covered this very topic about a week ago, we were surprised to read that, “drinkers are digging these large batch libations. In fact, customers at Mercadito restaurants in Chicago and Miami reportedly preferred the five-day-old margaritas tapped from kegs versus the made-fresh versions. The kegs offer more time for the flavors to blend, which could even be an advantage over cocktails a la minute.”
The Huffington Post isn’t embellishing. Restaurant news.com reports the same: at Jasper’s Corner Tap & Kitchen in San Francisco, the Negroni cocktail on draft has become a cult item, according to bar manager Kevin Diedrich.
“The idea is neat and kind of geeky, but fun as well,” Diedrich said. Area restaurant employees were the first fans of the drink at Jasper’s, but it soon caught on with guests…. In fact, the first keg sold out in a day and a half.
“Consumers love trends and little quirky things,” Diedrich prophets.
This begs the question: are draft cocktails here to stay?
Personally, we’ll miss the muddling, the creative process, and all that action behind the bar. Getting our drinks fast is never really a goal.
Bartenders doing crossword puzzles in between tapping is not a place we want to hang out.
Fact is, it takes five seconds to serve a draft Negroni, which can be a bonus for bartenders, who handle 300 orders on the busiest nights, not to mention impatient patrons. “You don’t have to jigger it or stir it in a mixing glass,” Diedrich said. “It gets you out of the weeds pretty quickly.”
Why are people so into these? Or is it the bartenders?
Clearly, we need you to weigh in. What’s the dealio? If you’re a bartender, we’d like your POV. If you’re a drinker, we’d like your POV. You already have ours.
When there is a pre-batched cocktail, punch, or I guess a drink on draft, I appreciate it when the bar charges less for it. I have seen some places charge $6 instead of $10 as an encouragement. When it is $10 instead of $10, I miss the point (perhaps there is a point of not waiting on a Friday or Saturday night, but this isn’t when I go out these days).
We’re with you on this one. If you come across a crafted cocktail that’s fast, well made and reasonably priced – let us know, that’s impressive.
Cheers.
The barrel aging trend has come close to this although it is no different from cocktails batched in pitchers. They both require shaking/stirring with ice though unlike the tap system which I assume would be waterized and chilled. But at least it doesn’t require assembly (although sometimes in batched drinks, the citrus is added fresh).
Although I’m all for bringing back room temperature cocktails.