Kevin Peterson

I've been burned a few times where somebody was like, yeah, a little bit. I drink black coffee all the time. I eat green vegetables.

I've been burned a few times where somebody was like, yeah, a little bit. I drink black coffee all the time. I eat green vegetables.

And then you give them some capari. They're like, Oh, this is terrible.

And then you give them some capari. They're like, Oh, this is terrible.

And you know, so, so a lot of that has been kind of this back and forth where a lot of my kind of trusted regulars, I'll send them the survey of 30 or 40 questions. I'll then design them drinks and I'll have them rate them and say, Oh, is this good, is this bad? And what I'm really going for, I let people give a gold star to the drink if it's one of the top 10 best drinks of their life.

And you know, so, so a lot of that has been kind of this back and forth where a lot of my kind of trusted regulars, I'll send them the survey of 30 or 40 questions. I'll then design them drinks and I'll have them rate them and say, Oh, is this good, is this bad? And what I'm really going for, I let people give a gold star to the drink if it's one of the top 10 best drinks of their life.

Which is a high bar, but people are drinking, so maybe they forget some of those top 10s too. Lowers the standard a tad. And yeah, what I'm shooting for, there could be a couple outcomes. Maybe maybe you make a reservation at my bar and I text you the eight most pertinent questions. And I've got enough lead time that the minute you walk in the door, I just hand you something.

Which is a high bar, but people are drinking, so maybe they forget some of those top 10s too. Lowers the standard a tad. And yeah, what I'm shooting for, there could be a couple outcomes. Maybe maybe you make a reservation at my bar and I text you the eight most pertinent questions. And I've got enough lead time that the minute you walk in the door, I just hand you something.

That's your, you know, the equipment you grew up with times the, you know, flavor profile you like times your favorite spirit. Maybe you're part of my secret club that we have your profile on, you know, in our customer relationship database. And I say, okay, well, we were kind of going down a gin rabbit hole last time. Should we keep going that way?

That's your, you know, the equipment you grew up with times the, you know, flavor profile you like times your favorite spirit. Maybe you're part of my secret club that we have your profile on, you know, in our customer relationship database. And I say, okay, well, we were kind of going down a gin rabbit hole last time. Should we keep going that way?

Looks like you also kind of appreciate some cognacs. Maybe we want to dip over that way. And it's tricky because the ideal cocktail, it's both a moment in time, but it's also... It evolves over time. What I drink five years ago is not what I drink today or 10 or 20 years ago.

Looks like you also kind of appreciate some cognacs. Maybe we want to dip over that way. And it's tricky because the ideal cocktail, it's both a moment in time, but it's also... It evolves over time. What I drink five years ago is not what I drink today or 10 or 20 years ago.

And being able to sort of push people one step beyond where they're at today is one thing I look for in a cocktail experience and one thing I try to provide to my guests. So even if you maybe don't love the drink in this moment, you look back and say, that was actually a pivotal experience for me. I hated the first Negroni I drank. But it was a very pivotal experience. And I'm glad I had it.

And being able to sort of push people one step beyond where they're at today is one thing I look for in a cocktail experience and one thing I try to provide to my guests. So even if you maybe don't love the drink in this moment, you look back and say, that was actually a pivotal experience for me. I hated the first Negroni I drank. But it was a very pivotal experience. And I'm glad I had it.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Okay, okay. So kind of the three categories that I find are most important, you know, you kind of made this differentiation between features and flaws. So you don't want to have a flaw. So you got to get the amount of alcohol right, or kind of like the concentration of alcohol, the bitterness and the sourness level.

Okay, okay. So kind of the three categories that I find are most important, you know, you kind of made this differentiation between features and flaws. So you don't want to have a flaw. So you got to get the amount of alcohol right, or kind of like the concentration of alcohol, the bitterness and the sourness level.

So do you prefer more spirit forward drinks like old fashions, Negronis, Manhattans, or do you prefer more drinks where other flavors are more forward, like a deck region and tonic, something like that.

So do you prefer more spirit forward drinks like old fashions, Negronis, Manhattans, or do you prefer more drinks where other flavors are more forward, like a deck region and tonic, something like that.