FIRST SIP

Editor Melissa Dowling 763-383-4442 • mdowling @ epgacceleration . com

Cocktails are not just about drinking any more . Today they need to be a feast for the eyes as well , via glassware , garnishes and extra touches that provide color and texture .

It ’ s not just for Instagram , although the social media platform has become a key part of bar and restaurant promotion to showcase drinks and decor . Rather , cocktails have to invoke all the senses to provide an experience for the guest .

Princess Cruises has tapped into the experiential element of food and beverage on its newest ship , the Sun Princess . Particularly with its Spellbound by The Magic Castle specialty concept , the cocktails are highly theatrical , from being presented in smoking boxes or wire cages to images stenciled into the foam and other flourishes .

Several venues on the new ship offer drinks with powerful presentations , from a four-glass Spritz Tower to a cocktail served in a petite watering can to be poured over an infused ice sphere to a large-format punch housed in a glass cylinder with a spigot . ( For more on the Sun Princess beverage program , see the cover story starting on page 12 .)

Contemporary drink experiences also tend to be interactive . For example , steakhouse Smith & Wollensky in April rolled out an “ Off the Rails ” Old Fashioned option . Guests shake some dice across the bar to land on a random spirit , sweetener and bitters for a made-to-order , unexpected bespoke cocktail .

Select restaurants at Kimpton and InterContinental hotels in May offered a limited-time Bridgerton-theme “ Spill the Tea ” menu . The LTO not only featured tea-based cocktails and high tea bites inspired by the Regency-era drama series , each drink came with a pre-written gossip card with a question designed to stir up saucy conversations at the table .

The Table Kitchen & Bar in Jersey City , NJ , in August created the Beetlejuice-themed cocktail Otho ’ s Resurrection in advance of the Beetlejuice Beetlejuice sequel ’ s release . To order the cocktail , guests first have to summon Beetlejuice by saying his name three times to the server . The drink is then poured from a decanter inspired by the movie ’ s Sandworm creature .

From seasonal colors , flavors and textures to pop culture themes to unique and dramatic drink vessels to incorporating games or quizzes , the possibilities are endless . What could you be doing to offer your guests an enthralling and memorable cocktail experience ?

Cheers , and happy autumn !

Melissa Dowling Editor

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