Sunday(-ish) Service #18: Bottles and beverages are a story

Today’s post is brought to you by a busy business owner, me🙋, who fell behind this past week and didn’t get this out in time

One of the beauties of a world full of choice is that we can make a case that there is something for everyone. Some people prefer a Bud Light while others prefer a robust IPA. Much of this comes down to taste but some comes down to “the story” the bottle or drink projects.

The author Seth Godin points out that one of the narratives underscoring much of our thinking is, “People like us, do things like us.” We all belong to or identify with various groups, initiatives, values, etc. Whether that is as a hardcore environmentalist or a devotee of CrossFit, when making decisions we often ask, “Do people like us, do things like this?” Do environmentalists load up with as many plastic bags as necessary when shopping? Does a cross-fit athlete eat an endless number of donuts? No. Because these actions don’t align with the narratives or behaviors that will keep them in good standing in their communities.

Booze and cocktails are a signal too. The spirit we choose, or don’t choose, says something about us. For some of us, it is about craft or local, for some, it is about being regal or popular, and for others it is about price. While a restaurant should not try to force things upon its customers that they do not want, the other day as I studied a restaurant’s cocktail menu, particularly their sole margarita, which is made with expensive ingredients, I wondered if there was a way for them to make a better-tasting drink, drink experience, and a stronger profit.

The drink uses a celebrity-owned tequila that retails for around $80. The restaurant is buying it wholesale, so it’s cheaper for them, but this gives you an idea of where they’re beginning. 

A couple of thoughts. First, as is the case with many pricey spirits, it comes in an ornate bottle. What is fun about this is it sends a signal to others when ordered. People see the bartender pick it up because it is hard to miss, and may excitedly think, “I wonder who ordered that?”, and the guest is the proud recipient of the drink with luxurious ingredients.

Second, this very fairly expensive tequila, according to the service Tequila Matchmaker, is not free from additives. So despite the packaging and price, it contains either oak extract, caramel coloring, sugar, or glycerin. As long as these additives do not exceed 1% of the total content, it does not need to be listed on the label. These are often added to make the spirit taste smoother. The tequila is also produced at distillery number 1438, a wholesaler that makes 193 other tequilas.

As I said at the beginning of this piece, there is no one-size-fits-all in the world. This may be the drink this restaurant’s clients want. But right now, this drink’s story is about ostentation and the name of this wealthy celebrity, who is a nice person, but has no real stake in the Mexican heritage of this spirit. 

Here is what I am wondering, what if rather than conveying quality and status through expensive ingredients, the restaurant substituted it for a story about the ingredients it has chosen based on quality and being made by a multi-generation Mexican family? 

What if the money went more into the liquid’s flavor and concerned itself less with packaging? I do not think this is an easy thing to do, but I wonder if it is a more interesting thing to do. It requires the courage to change but I have little doubt that I could find this restaurateur a tequila that tastes better for a fraction of the cost and would also be a more thoughtful and purposeful drink. A decision like this makes the drink less about luxury and more about being closer to the history and ritual of agave cultivation and distillation.

In the world of wine, we often enjoy hearing about the story of the grower and the history of the vineyard. What if we applied the same standard to distilled spirits like agave? What if we gave the customer a new story? What if a more captivating drinks program doesn’t come from buying a more expensive product, but by better connecting the customer to the one you have purposefully chosen?