Six years ago, spurred by the cocktail renaissance that has taken firm hold on the food and beverage world, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts launched a cocktail promotion to ignite interest not only in signature drinks but in the bars and lounges promoting them. Every year since then has yielded glossy drink menus with different themes, including Chillin’ with Fairmont (summer drinks with chefs’ tips on entertaining), Centennial Cocktails (celebrating Fairmont’s hundred-year anniversary with classic concoctions from landmark hotels), and this year’s Cocktails Par None, signature drinks inspired by the hotel company’s legendary golf courses. Since inception of the promotion, revenue has consistently increased, as has staff knowledge and positive guest feedback.
Success doesn’t only lend itself to Fairmont’s bars and lounges, however. Banquet and catering staff use the menus as a visual aid in encouraging their clients to opt for a specialty cocktail station or a signature cocktail for their event. Kelly McCleskey, wedding & catering manager at the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa, Sonoma, California, thinks presenting the menus to wedding and corporate clients is just common sense.
“The menus have enticing, colorful pictures of the cocktails, along with their recipes,” says McCleskey, “so clients get really excited about showing them off at their events.”
Brides and grooms love to personalize their day, adds McCleskey, and many of them even rename the cocktails from the menus to reflect memories or special places. For instance, an engaged couple from Texas was moving to North Carolina after their nuptials, so they changed the Centennial menu’s “Cosmo 2k” to “Off to Carolina.” Likewise, the “Cien Sonrisas” Margarita became “It’s So Texas.”
“Another couple took four drinks from the Chillin’ with Fairmont menu and renamed them to recall funny memories they made while vacationing with their friends from the bridal party,” says McCleskey. “Most of them were inside jokes, so we framed brief anecdotes to explain the meaning behind each signature cocktail.”
Because of the Sonoma Mission Inn’s wine country locale, many of the hotel’s clients hold their events at offsite wineries. Since the wineries do not have liquor licenses, McCleskey gets creative with the specialty bars in these cases.
“We try to create the impression that guests are still getting mixed drinks by presenting Champagne cocktail stations,” says McCleskey. “A lot of people are accustomed to an open bar, and this gives them a fun alternative when that’s not an option. We get really creative with Champagne!”
For variations on the traditional glass of bubbly, McCleskey uses examples like Berry Delight (sparkling wine and fresh strawberry purée with muddled blueberries and raspberries), the Champagne Mojito (sugar, lime juice, and Champagne with a mint sprig and lime wedge garnish), and the Sparkling Pomegranate (pomegranate juice, sparkling wine, pomegranate seeds, and a sugar cube).
“Another popular one is the Sparkling Poire. It’s made with three ounces sparkling wine, a half-ounce of diced Bartlett pears, and a quarter-ounce simple syrup. We consider it a new take on the lychee martini—so yummy!”
Sangria, another wine-based concoction, is making a big comeback according to McCleskey. Fairmont’s sangria is made with red or white wine, Cognac, Cointreau, orange juice, cranberry juice, raw sugar, club soda, strawberries, apples, oranges, limes, and lemons. The fruit is actually muddled to order for smaller weddings, while larger events require advance preparation.
Whether guests are drinking Fairmont’s signature drinks, Champagne cocktails, or sangria, one thing is certain in McCleskey’s book. “Specialty drinks and stations are a great way to upsell an event, and they’re huge and happening right now. Promoting them is a no-brainer.”
Ashley Brown Allen is a frequent contributor to HOTEL F&B.
