Introducing Cocktails & Commerce
Let’s get this party started! Brian K. Walker - Issue No. 1 - February 3, 2023
Introducing Cocktails & Conversions
For some time now I have been wanting to start a newsletter about digital commerce and marketing - something to complement my Commerce Experience podcast and quarterly Commerce Pulse online events I do at Bloomreach. As 2023 gets rolling, now feels like a good time to start. With this newsletter I’ll be sharing my POV on key trends, news, and topics relevant to our industry - as well as my POV on the market.
And as you may have noticed in the title, I’ll be pairing the industry perspective with another passion of mine - cocktails and mixology. Consider it an incentive to open the email or checkout the blog every week, but more importantly it is a way for us to connect over more than work. I have had the benefit of developing a lot of friends in this market as I moved from role to role throughout my long career in e-commerce and digital marketing, and often those friendships grew over cocktails and a great meal. (And if you don’t drink or are taking a break, don’t worry, I’ll toss in a few low ABV cocktails and mocktails too.)
And “Conversions”? Well, because to be honest it is at the end of the day how we keep score. Converting shoppers to buyers is the core metric for marketers and merchants - online and across all channels. And the tech and services community, we should be focused on supporting that through our solutions and services - including driving great customer experiences and supporting customer loyalty - to drive repeat conversion.
And in terms of format, look for curated links to can’t miss articles and industry research you don’t want to miss. And to help you have something interesting to share over that cocktail, at least one article to talk about over the cocktail dealing with culture beyond work.
This is of course just the beginning. As we go forward, let me know what you think of the newsletter, the podcast, or the cocktails. And certainly I would love your support in sharing this with others - it’s free!
Cheers, Brian
This Week’s Cocktail: Manhattan
Let’s begin with the drink that started it all for me. A classic and simple cocktail, and you can easily make a great one at home.
About twelve or thirteen years ago my fascination with cocktails and mixology began as I traveled almost every week to different cities in the U.S. and Europe as a Forrester Analyst covering e-Commerce technology. It was there that I discovered Manhattans and would order them before a work dinner or to unwind at the end of a long day on the road. It felt so sophisticated, handing the martini or coupe glass as I dined with clients, vendors, or colleagues.
But I noticed that some were better than others and some were just bad. I wanted to know why. I started asking questions and did a bit of research. It is such a simple recipe. What I discovered was that it was really the quality of the vermouth that made the difference. Freshly opened and quality sweet vermouth and you most likely will have a great Manhattan - even if you are using a bottom shelf rye or bourbon.
A note on vermouth: Vermouth is simply aromatized, fortified wine - and a close cousin of amari. Like wine, it can spoil. If you pull an old bottle out of your mom’s cupboard, good chances it will be off. Keep it in the fridge and you have a better chance, but use it. I have a lot of vermouths and once they are opened I suck the air out of them with a Vacuvin and then keep them in a refrigerator or in my cold, dark basement. They will safely keep many months that way. But left out, and unrefrigerated they spoil - and that’s how you for sure will end up with a bad Manhattan. You can now also buy good vermouth in small bottles, which is actually a pro move for the home bartender.
In terms of vermouth choices for a Manhattan, I like to go with Carpano Antica Formula (aka “Antica”) or Cocchi Storico Vermouth di Torino (aka “Cocchi di Torino”). These are both excellent sweet vermouths and are now widely available in the U.S. or Europe.
In terms of the base I like to use rye in my Manhattans. Rye has a spiciness to too that is lacking in a bourbon, and that balances out the sweet vermouth. If you go with a bourbon your drink will lean sweeter and be less balanced. (One trick is to add a dash of orange bitters if you use bourbon in a Manhattan to balance it.). In terms of the rye to use, you can't go wrong with Old Overholt, an inexpensive and great rye - which also happens to be America’s oldest continually maintained brand of whiskey - but almost any decent rye will work as a good base in a Manhattan.
And for the bitters, the Manhattan uses the most widely available cocktail bitter in the world - Angostura. Angostura is the benchmark for aromatic bitters, and many have tried unsuccessfully to copy the closely guarded recipe from the House of Angostura in Trinidad and Tobago. This bitter has been a leader for so long, they still display a picture of Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria on the label - ever since Angostura won a medal at the 1873 World Fair in Vienna. But feel free to play with the bitters as well, a great way to start your mixology journey - I like to use cardamom bitters for example.
I like to garnish my Manhattan’s with an orange twist, but some folks love a cherry, and still others will use a lemon twist. If you use an orange twist, squeeze it over the top of the cocktail and swipe it on the rim before you drop it in the cocktail.
Cheers!
Recipe
The spec:
2 oz. rye whiskey (suggest Old Overholt)
1 oz. sweet vermouth (suggest Carpano Antica or Cocchi di Torino)
2 dashes Angostura bitters*
The process:
Stir in a mixing glass over ice to chill and combine.
Serve up in a martini or coupe glass.
Garnish with a candied cherry or orange twist.
* Note: a “dash” in a cocktailing is really two shakes or ¼ teaspoon. So for this drink, that’s four shakes!