Cool cocktails shake up long, hot summer: operators spike drink lists with fresh ideas, innovative presentations

Nation's Restaurant News, August 9, 2004 by Brooke Barrier

"Drinking a cocktail can be too heavy," he adds. "This is something in which you get the alcohol, but you also get your palate ready for drinking wine with your meal."

La Celia cocktails include the Abruzzo, which contains limoncello, pomegranate and Prosecco, for $12, and the Vitolo, which mixes calvados with an Italian red wine and seasonal fruit for $12.

Gramercy Tavern recently introduced hibiscus Sangria, a blend of Beaujolais with hibiscus flowers, citrus fruit and a splash of soda for $10. "It's refreshing," Mraz says. "The hibiscus adds a floral quality that tones down the wine."

Sushi Samba also has taken its Sangria offerings a step further with its newly debuted Red-Grape Sangria, $9, which includes grapes muddled with sugar and lychee puree, lemon vodka, white wine and a splash of soda.

However, Sangria has not been a moneymaker for all operators this summer. "We've played around with Sangria," Cooper of Excelsior says, "but we couldn't get something that worked well."

Still, Excelsior does offer a spattering of sparkling-wine drinks made with Prosecco and a flavored liqueur for $11.

"Prosecco isn't bitter like champagne can be," Cooper explains. "Its typical flavor profile includes peaches, and so it goes well with fruit flavors."

Although many operators are getting more and more creative with their seasonal drink menus, quite a few still are turning to the trusty summer fruit, the watermelon, for a crowd-pleasing cocktail.

For the summer Sushi Samba added to its menu the Melon Tequilana, $10, in which watermelon and sugar are muddled together and then mixed with vanilla vodka, tequila, a splash of grenadine and fresh lime juice.

B.R. Guest also features watermelon drinks at many of its locations. "I try and track the seasons with drink ingredients," Klemm says. "So every one of our restaurants has a variation of a fresh watermelon cocktail."

According to Kevin Reynolds, an area director in the mid-Atlantic for Maggiano's Little Italy, a family-style concept owned by Dallas-based Brinker International, the restaurant just started offering specialty drinks this summer and is seeing great results with its Watermelon Martini, $7.95 to $8.95. The drink consists of watermelon liqueur, citrus vodka and triple sec and is garnished with a wedge of the fruit.

"The Watermelon Martini has been through the roof for the past month," he says Reynolds attributes the drink's success not only to its flavor but also to its appearance.

"Our glasses are bigger than the standard Martini glass," he says, "so the presentation sells it first and the value second. They are tall, powerful-looking glasses, which goes along with the grandiose style of Maggiano's."

Dwayne Chambers, vice president of marketing for Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, a 230-unit casual dinnerhouse chain based in Greenwood Village, Colo., agrees that glassware helps keep drink sales high. "We use unique glassware that reflects the fun of our brand," he said. "Our Margarita glasses are cone-shaped with confetti color around the glass, and our Daiquiris are served in tiki cups."