Josephine's Reply, C&C's Entry in a Cocktail Contest + B2C eCom Tech Market Perspectives following Shoptalk
Issue №24 - C&C has entered a cocktail competition with intentions to win! As we sip on that, contemplating the international accolades to come, we reflect on what we took away from Shoptalk.
Welcome everyone to another edition of Cocktails & Commerce. Join us as we build the spec of a C&C original we’ve entered it into the Mandarine Napoléon international cocktail competition, and reflect on key takeaways for the commerce tech market following our time in Viegas at Shoptalk. We throw a few jabs at Aperol while we are at it to… keeping up our public service campaign.
Cheers!
Cocktail: Josephine’s Reply Cocktail - A C&C riff now entered into an international cocktail contest!
In a first for Cocktails & Commerce, we have entered an international cocktail competition, so this week we’ll explore both the process and the drink we aim to win with.
Our adventure begins a few weeks ago with Bill, at the end of a long day of advisory work, actively researching the latest trends and literature concerning mixology. As Co-Chief Mixology Officer at Cocktails & Commerce, this is of course a core responsibility and one Bill takes seriously - encompassing the social media and blogs of leading mixology-media and thought-leaders for inspiration, ideas, and new developments in the sprawling and delicious world of mixology. One such source is Difford’s Guide, a wonderful family-owned, cocktail-focused media business hailing from the United Kingdom.
This was how Bill stumbled upon this opportunity, this contest we have entered. Hosted by Diffords, this contest is focused on a niche mandarin orange liqueur we happen to love - Mandarine Napoléon. Soon Bill was at work in the Santa Cruz C&C mixology lab - AKA, his home bar. Initially Bill kept this to himself as a skunk-works project, but Eventually Bill brought up the contest in a C&C management team meeting and the C&C research and development resources were marshaled - thus the collaboration began in earnest.
To award the winners in this contest, a panel of four esteemed judges from Diffords and De Kuyper (now the producers of Mandarine Napoléon) will be awarding points across four judged criteria - taste (40%), name (20%), ease to replicate (20%), and photograph (20%) - which led us to focus across a spectrum of factors, but most certainly wanting this to be easy to make - at home or in a bar. We of course also wanted something that would enable us to be creative in naming the cocktail with a hint of glamor and mystery - ideally with a twist of narrative connected to the liqueur at the heart of the competition. Taste and photograph? Hold our, er - cocktail.
Over the ensuing weeks, across multiple evening mixing sessions and discussions, our entry was finally dialed in - the first ever Cocktails & Commerce creation entered into an international cocktailing competition!
About Mandarine Napoléon liqueur
Mandarine Napoléon bills itself as the world’s leading mandarine liqueur - which of course begs the question… are there any others? The story goes that macerated mandarins in cognac was a personal favorite of Napoléon’s. In fact, it was Napoléon’s physician, Antoine-Francois de Fourcroy, who claimed to first have the idea of macerating mandarins in alcohol and then blending the distillate with cognac. Fourcroy was said to have prescribed the drink to Napoleon as a fortification from exhaustion and the cold on his many campaigns. Fourcroy’s diaries describe both himself and Napoleon drinking the concoction together.
In 1892, a Belgian chemist named Louis Schmidt rediscovered the recipe while reading those same diaries, and decided to create a liqueur based upon it. First marketed as Mandarine Napoléon: Grande Liqueur Impériale, it was predominantly distributed in France before increasing its distribution later in the 20th Century. Today Mandarine Napoleon is owned by spirit and liqueur conglomerate De Kuyper, who bought Mandarine Napoléon from the Fourcroy family in 2009.
I first discovered Mandarine Napoleon while rummaging around the back shelves of K&L Wines in Hollywood, CA while visiting family in LA. I am a big fan of all sorts of orange liqueurs - Cointreau, Dry Curaçao, and so on - so bought a bottle, gave it a try, and loved it immediately. While sweet, it has a nice, well-rounded mandarin orange bitter profile, and the cognac base gives it a richness and substance that allows it to be paired well with big spirits. Bill, influenced by my review, jumped on board. (Well done Dr. Fourcroy!).
Equal portions for the win!
The cocktail began with Bill wanting to make a boozy cocktail with only a few ingredients - likely a key to a successful entry given the criteria. The first attempts featured the Mandarine Napoléon paired with Apple Brandy as the core of a 2:1:1 classic ratio. It wasn't bad but was just not very interesting. That was the starting point of our collaboration and from where we pressed on.
After the early Apple Brandy experiments, Bill suggested exploring mezcal - imaging the agave spirit could pair well with the orange bittersweet of the orange liqueur. Considering the obvious ‘Frenchness’ of this orange liqueur at the center of the contest, I suggested our herbaceous favorite of Chartreuse - heralding of course from France as well - as a way to double down and help create a narrative around the drink. As we explored, we added some citrus - lime juice being the natural choice given we were working with an agave spirit - but struggled with the balance we sought to achieve.
Playing around with proportions we realized we were in sense working with two of the four ingredients in a Last Word cocktail and thus decided to try using the equal proportions of the that classic spec - three quarters of an ounce each, which in the case of the Last Word is gin, Green Chartreuse, lime juice, and Luxardo Maraschino (See C&C No. 9 for a deep dive into the Last Word).
We loved the idea of going with an equal parts spec as it serves one of the key criteria of the contest well - that being ‘easy to replicate’. There is a lot to like about equal parts cocktail specs - they are easy to remember and easy to scale, making them a one of the drinks you can both know by memory and can whip up a spontaneous batch of as your dinner party guests suddenly all clamor for another cocktail with urgency and all at the same time. (All you mixers out there know what I am talking about!)
We shook (our respective cocktail shakers over the phone) with anticipation as our equal parts Last Word riff formed magical, melded connections between the favors and emerged as a smoky, herby, balanced wonder from the tin. It was delicious, but…
Seasoning the dish and reaching for “a cheat”
Just as in cooking, a cocktail can often be made even better with the perfect seasoning. While we wanted to keep things simple we thought there may be an opportunity to bring things together in this drink even more so - and add some nuance - by reaching for some cocktail bitters. We first tried grapefruit bitters, which pair well with agave spirits and lime juice, and tried a grapefruit garnish with its oils expressed atop the spirit along the rim of the glass. While quite good, these made the cocktail in a sense brighter, while we sought to increase depth and complexity - if we were going to add anything at all it had to lead to another level of deliciousness.
Some cocktail ingredients are so successful at making nearly everything better, we often joke that these are ‘cheats’. One such cheat, for example, is St. Germain Elderflower liqueur. Often referred to as ‘Bartender’s Ketchup’ - this liqueur is a ‘cheat’ that adds a sweet tang and covers up flaws, and can be a fun substitute for simple syrup in a gimlet or such. St. Germain in fact had a recent ‘moment’ with the Hugo Spritz being widely seen as the drink during the summer of 2023. (At least it is better than an Aperol Spritz! Fuck Aperol!)
Another ‘cheat’ in our book is mole bitters. Well… when you want to win, may as well use all the tools at your disposal - and it makes seemingly everything great! We tossed in an ample three dashes of mole bitters to our equal parts cocktail and gave it another short shake and… walla! The chocolate and cinnamon notes in the bitters pair very well with the smoke of the mezcal and brought all the flavors together - adding depth and warmth and that ‘other level’ we had aimed to create.
Well, if you are going to ‘cheat’ once… how about again. Another simple hack or ‘cheat’ in cocktailing is to use salt or saline solution. As in cooking, salt enhances flavors and adds a nice ‘pop’ to a cocktail. Often forgotten about in mixology, salt came to our mind as it pairs so well with agave spirits like tequila or mezcal, let alone lime juice. Thus we added a small pinch of sea salt in our last run and after tasting it, we declared an inebriated victory - with no garnish!
Josephine’s Reply - the naming our cocktail
Let’s illustrate our name through a narrative…
Smoke from the battlefield obscures the dusk as an exhausted Napoléon pushes aside the canvas door and enters his tent. Unbuttoning the vest of his uniform, he sets his drink down upon his desk. The drink is now one of his favorites- a cognac and mandarin orange concoction prescribed by his doctor to give him health. Napoléon straightens the leg of the folding desk - it has traveled over the alps and across the plains of Northern Italy just as his army has - then strikes a match. Napoléon lights the candle upon the desk, then sits down, penning yet another letter to his beloved Josephine.
a bit of glamor and mystery
I write you, me beloved one, very often, and you write very little. You are wicked and naughty, very naughty, as much as you are fickle. It is unfaithful so to deceive a poor husband, a tender lover! Ought he to lose all his enjoyments because he is so far away, borne down with toil, fatigue, and hardship? Without his Josephine, without the assurance of her love, what is left him upon earth? What can he do?
We had yesterday a very bloody affair; the enemy has lost many men, and has been completely beaten. We have taken the whole country around Mantua.
Adieu, adorable Josephine; one of these nights your door will open with a great noise; as a jealous person, and you will find me on your arms.
A thousand loving kisses. - Napoleon
Napoléon sits back. Smoke entering the tent on a gust, he spies the Chartreuse the same doctor has prescribed to prevent cholera. He wonders if Josephine will finally reply to one of his letters as he adds some Chartreuse to his glass.
…
As of this writing, our entry is now in front of what we hope are imaginative, merciful and well inebriated judges. Wish us luck! We should hear back in a few weeks, and if we win so shall you! If we lose, we shall never speak of this again ;)... nah, we loved it and will certainly look for opportunities to enter similar contests in the future.
Cheers!
Note: The letter above is taken verbatim from an actual letter Napoléon wrote to Josephine. Source: PBS.
Josephine’s Reply Cocktail Spec, serves one:
3/4 oz (~22.5 ml) - Mezcal (Del Maguey Classico preferred)
3/4 oz (~22.5 ml) - Mandarine Napoléon liqueur
3/4 oz (~22.5 ml) - Green Chartreuse
3/4 oz (~22.5 ml) - Fresh lime juice
3 dashes - Mole bitters (Bittermans Xocolatl Mole bitters recommended)
Small pinch of sea salt
The process:
Combine all ingredients into a cocktail shaker, including the bitters and salt. Add ice until well over the liquid. Short shake. No garnish (see note). [Preparation time: 5 minutes]
Notes:
Short-shake: This literally means you shake briefly. The temperature of the liquid will fall quickly when shaking, and for this drink we believe it actually tastes best cold but not frigid. If you miss the mark, be patient. The drink will warm up as you sip. Enjoy.
We certainly thought about adding a garnish - as any mixologist should always do. Garnishes can impart a finishing touch to the flavors as well as a flourish of visual appeal - so should not be ignored. We chose no garnish deliberately due to our adding of the mole bitters and saline combo - plus, the original ‘Last Word’ cocktail spec did not have a garnish, only later did people start dropping tart, sweet cherry bombs into them. We prefer ours without.
Analysis: What we took away from Shoptalk - Observations on the state of the B2C commerce tech market
Beyond crafting international award winning cocktails over the last few weeks, Bill and I recently spent a few days in Vegas at Shoptalk. From the moment we arrived and smelled the chlorinated fountains and stale, boozy carpets of Vegas it was clear that Shoptalk is the preeminent business-to- consumer (B2C) digital commerce ‘show’ on the calendar.
In our book, the only ‘eCommerce show’ that really comes close these days is NRF - which of course takes place in New York in January. However, NRF retains a focus on core retail, and as a result e-commerce and technology is a side dish stuffed into the retail turkey in multiple dank and dreary Javits Center basements. And let’s face it, January in New York City can leave something to be deserted, especially as the icy wind off the Hudson River slices through Hudson Yards like a dull knife at a Manhattan gyro stand as you stand there at two in the morning.
In contrast, Shoptalk is now ensconced in Vegas, where at least you know the sun is shining outside and the casinos present an effective metaphor for luck and strategic advantages every attendee is hustling for. And of course, Vegas has come a long way in its quest to transform from a gambling mecca to one focused on - shall we say - mature entertainments such as fine dining, mesmerizing multi-media showcases, and a developing craft cocktail scene. (‘Adult entertainment’ could give the wrong impression and we don’t want to invite the wrath of the Las Vegas Tourism Board!). Shoptalk is of course expanding, adding European and other North American events - which could certainly dilute the impact of the Vegas show, or perhaps more likely manage to enhance valuable connections across our industry - a benefit conferences and events such as these generally encourage and foster.
When not off exploring the Vegas craft cocktail scene, we spent most of our time in meetings and conversations with a broad swath of the commerce and marketing tech community, including no doubt some of you given how many of you gave us encouraging feedback on our newsletter. Across those many conversations, a few key themes emerged:
Is American B2C back? After a 2023 colored by nervous outlooks and recessionary narratives led to a conservative investment environment in technology and digital commerce, we heard many vendors confirm that business is looking up. Many are seeing renewed activity reflected in their pipelines and deal-cycles. Percolating investment bullishness from retailers and brands is leading to industry optimism that 2024 may bring with it a healthy dose of much needed new customer acquisition.
Lots of tire kicking, leading to lengthy deal cycles. Overall, improved pipelines is a great sign for the commerce tech and services market, but it must be balanced with the realities of the market. Many vendors indicated that RFPs and opportunities are taking time, that deal cycles are slow and extending beyond shared timelines, and that for many buyers, budgets for tech investment remain tight, scrutinized, and still unclear - even as we approach the end of Q1. Buyers are looking for solutions that are specific, focus on their use-cases, and offer clear benefits to their businesses’ productivity, efficiency, and of course can clearly impact growth in the top-line.
Healthy market, unprepared vendors. As we walked the hall, across many meetings, we spoke with dozens and dozens of salespeople across vendors large and small. We sat for demos that seemed dated - with overly simplistic and yet incomplete demo scenarios - and frankly speaking, many lacked any real differentiation or a sharp point to the narrative. Many salespeople we engaged with struggled to articulate with any specificity the problems their solutions solve, or how they are different. Value propositions were weak or unclear, impact statements vague and disconnected from the solutions, and the ROI benefits uncoupled from the reality of what many solutions actually do. The market is in a much better place, but vendors would be smart to invest in their teams, talent, and do the hard work to improve how they articulate and show their value and differentiation. Which leads us to…
Composability and AI are everywhere, but the message is melba toast. Booth after booth and conversation after conversation focused on composability, AI, or both. That makes sense, given the market dynamics around slowed commerce platform cycles, the maturation of API-based solutions, the hype cycle around GenAI and its impact on businesses of all kinds and society as a whole. But across the recent decades of commerce technology we have seen many waves of ‘name spaces’ and trends that the industry has jumped on to put lipstick liberally across the face of their solutions and businesses. Composability is no different, and when vendors can not illustrate effectively how their solution can combine easily with businesses’ existing and future commerce and marketing technology landscapes the term quickly becomes mere background noise - like the hum of the enormous air conditioners laboring to keep the conference center climate bearable. Meanwhile, AI is not a feature or a capability and vendors should rather focus on business outcomes enabled or enhanced by AI. It can be hard to stem the tide of these marketing trends that come and go like tides - or to maintain the meaningfulness of terms like ‘composability’ or ‘omnichannel’ once everyone adopts them. But vendors would be smart not to lean into these labels too heavily - such as booth signage - lest their solutions be tarnished with the inevitable commoditization and meaninglessness of these narrative trends. Focus instead on what you do, and the problems you uniquely solve and make aspects like composability mere sub-bullets.
A lack of the lead dogs. The commerce tech market for decades followed the lead of market leaders. These momentum driving businesses drove the market and organized the ecosystems around them. ATG and IBM. hybris and Demandware. But today’s market lacks that same lead dog dynamic. The MACH Alliance and Shopify have that opportunity, but MACH is hindered by the challenges of trade-association dynamics and the difficult work of showcasing real benefit through standards, integration frameworks, and interoperability inherent in the vision. As such, the MACH Alliance can be too easily critiqued as a marketing alliance diluted through growth, with little more to add. It would be natural to see Commercetools as the enterprise commerce ‘lead dog’, but the enterprise commerce platform market has narrowed, and opportunities not plentiful enough. Meanwhile Adobe has turned away from commerce and is focused on AEM and AI while Shopify projects an aloofness, focuses primarily on the mid-market, and sets itself intentionally apart - from its partners and the market. It can be hard to argue with Shopify’s success, but its stance is notable. While the lack of the lead dog may simply be symptomatic of shifting dynamics and the evolution of the market, the reality is that the ecosystem craves a few ‘lead dogs’.
OMS, WTF. Order management is having a moment. Larger platforms have begun to offer ‘composable order management’ while pure play OMS vendors compete for essentially the same. Meanwhile, OMS optimization solutions extend the life of incumbent OMS solutions such as Sterling and Manhattan, who for years dominated the OMS market with large, but heavy solutions. Order management has become increasingly competitive and differentiation hard to suss out - with everyone positioning inventory availability, BOPIS and in-store pick-flows. Not everyone will win, especially OMS vendors with unclear value or differentiation.
Salesforce has apparently turned around its commerce ship. Many in the commerce platform market have been licking their chops as Salesforce B2C (Demandware) flew into turbulent air and effectively signaled to their customers that they were backing off investment in the current platform and investing in something new - a new unified headless platform natively built to serve B2C and B2B alike. That naturally made current Salesforce customers and partners alike very nervous. But multiple sources we spoke to at Shoptalk pointed to Salesforce having turned around their commerce business by focusing on composability - and burying the narrative of a new platform in a “composable roadmap”. While we can be critical of that term (see above) the reality is that by opening up their B2C platform and shifting their messaging away from their investment in something new, Salesforce is much better positioned to not only retain their current customers - the envy of many competitors - but also to find renewed growth.
And finally… Aperol at Shoptalk, seriously…?
For more on 2024 commerce tech outlook, see our recent C&C Issue No. 22 - 2024 DTC Commerce Tech Business Outlook.
If you are looking for Brian online, you can find him here, here, and here. And you can find Bill here and here.
Be well, be safe, and here is to good business! Cheers! - Brian
Cocktails & Commerce™ is a wholly owned subsidiary of StrategyēM, LLC.
Matt, thanks for another thoughtful comment. I’ve been thinking about a perspective on MACH for sometime.
Aperol-infused "inspritzation" I suppose?
"Meanwhile, AI is not a feature or a capability and vendors should rather focus on business outcomes enabled or enhanced by AI. It can be hard to stem the tide of these marketing trends that come and go like tides - or to maintain the meaningfulness of terms like ‘composability’ or ‘omnichannel’ once everyone adopts them."
I've been saying the same thing since the beginning of this so-called AI hype cycle: it's all a flash in the marketing pan because it's not the product, or even a feature. It's an enabler. Composability suffers the same comparisons – and in the CMS/DXP category, this is reaching epic noise levels as both headless solutions and traditional "monolithic" platforms race to the middle with their composable mantras. Hard to pick winners when it all starts sounding the same, but the real loser is the buyer, who has to decipher value from a confusing morass of signals.
Thanks for your keen reporting from Shoptalk (spot on with that voluminous chlorine-meets-booze-drenched smell that greets you in every casino lobby), and great insight regarding the market dynamics relative to a lack of "lead dogs" in the sled race. That narrowing you refer to is indeed occurring.
I know the MACH Alliance speed dating was fairly packed - I wonder how you might see the organization evolving to countermand the albatross of a "marketing alliance" mantle (and please ignore my role as a member of its Industry Executive Board).
Once again, no melba toast on this plate. Thanks for keeping your Vegas-style buffet open for business. Oh, and best of luck on the cocktail competition – I hope it stands a Bonaparte.