Best Practices Awards 2017
Nicole Brassard-Jordan ( left ), Michael Milligan ( center ) and Chairman Joseph Mollica ( right ).
hosted brand ambassadors from all three suppliers to lead educational seminars , selling out each event .
“ It ’ s unreal how responsive customers are to the barrel program ,” Mollica says . “ It ’ s grown year after year , from one barrel to hundreds of barrels in 2017 . Customers can ’ t get enough because it ’ s unique and millennials love one-off products . If you ’ d told me five years ago we would go to Kentucky and Tennessee and buy sixty barrels at a time , I ’ d have said you were out of your mind – but I ’ m happy to be wrong in this case .”
A tasting in Nashua for 40 people resulted in seven cases sold , with products averaging $ 50 per bottle . And a recent Jack Daniel ’ s event centered around a 17-barrel purchase sold out as well , selling so much product that bottles needed to be brought in from around the state to fulfill the orders .
“ It ’ s a great way for consumers to buy something completely unique ,” Mollica says .” And where else can you meet a master distiller that close to home ? Consumers love that , and we get excited about it too .”
MEET THE INVESTIGATOR Each year during Alcohol Awareness Month in April , the NHLC enforcement and licensing division hosts a statewide poster contest designed to empower students . This year the agency received nearly 400 submissions from 11 schools around the state . The winning schools received a visit from the InvestiGATOR , an alligator dressed like a detective who serves as a mascot for the department .
“ It ’ s a way to appeal to kids and we ’ ve tried to make it as ubiquitous a program as we can , so when folks see the mascot they think of responsible consumption ,” Milligan says . “ In 2016 the InvestiGATOR had 120,000 impressions at Fisher Cats ( minor league baseball ) and Monarch ( minor league hockey ) games . It ’ s significant , because you ’ re reaching a lot of kids from diverse communities that way .”
At the end of the day , the agency is owned by the citizens of New Hampshire , and running it is a responsibility Chairman Mollica takes seriously .
“ Growing up in the restaurant business , I know how important our role is ,” he says . “ We want to take care of our customers because they ’ re our family . We want them to get home safely , and that ’ s always in the back of my mind in the way we run this agency . We make sure our stores are run responsibly , and the enforcement division is doing what it needs to do . We ’ re in the good-time business , but we want them to have a good time safely and responsibly . We take it seriously , and we ’ re proud that the NHLC is noted throughout the control states as a responsible partner .” •
PAST OVERALL WINNERS
2016 : PENNSYLVANIA LIQUOR CONTROL BOARD 2015 : VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL
14 StateWays | www . stateways . com | September / October 2017