The Bar Business Podcast: Smart Hospitality & Marketing Secrets For Bar & Pub Owners
Welcome to the Bar Business Podcast, where we help bar owners increase profits, attract loyal guests, and simplify operations without burnout so you can finally enjoy life outside the bar. Our host, Chris Schneider, draws on his over twenty years of experience in the industry to bring you valuable insights and practical advice every week. From creating a winning menu and designing a stylish bar, to effective marketing strategies and HR best practices, we've got you covered. Join us on the journey to bar business success and take the first step towards a brighter future for your establishment.
The Bar Business Podcast: Smart Hospitality & Marketing Secrets For Bar & Pub Owners
Crafting Theatrical Cocktails: Tanner Weston on Immersive Bar Experiences and Storytelling
Have you ever wondered how a background in theater can revolutionize the craft of bartending? Join us as we sit down with Tanner Weston to uncover the secrets behind creating unforgettable bar experiences. Tanner's unique journey from the world of acting to the vibrant bar scene of Hollywood reveals how storytelling and performance can transform a simple drink into a captivating adventure.
Imagine stepping into a bar that feels like an escapade to another world, where every detail is meticulously designed to immerse you in a sensory narrative. Tanner shares his insights on the art of crafting such immersive environments, whether it’s a hidden speakeasy or a fully themed venue. From understanding the importance of ambiance to producing personalized engagements, Tanner explains how these elements justify the premium prices of handcrafted cocktails and leave guests yearning for more.
But it’s not just about the atmosphere; it’s about connections. Tune in as Tanner delves into the rich histories and cultural contexts behind beloved cocktails, enhancing our appreciation for each sip. Learn how he handles awkward situations with grace, engages guests in meaningful conversations, and builds genuine relationships through authentic storytelling. Packed with historical anecdotes and professional tips, this episode is a treasure trove for anyone passionate about the bar industry and the stories that make it so enchanting.
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Welcome to the Bar Business Podcast, where we help bar owners increase profits, attract loyal guests, and simplify operations without burnout so you can finally enjoy life outside the bar. Our podcast is packed with valuable insights, expert advice, and inspiring stories from successful bar owners and industry professionals.
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You're listening to the Bar Business Podcast where every week, your host, chris Schneider, brings you information, strategies and news on the bar industry, giving you the competitive edge you need to start working on your bar rather than in your bar.
Chris Schneider:Hello and welcome to this week's edition of the Bar Business Podcast, your ultimate resource for bar owners. I'm your host, chris Schneider, and in today's episode we are joined by Tanner Weston.
Chris Schneider:Tanner, like a lot of folks in our industry, has a background in theater and acting, but also has risen through the ranks in the bar industry behind the bar, bartending but also managing and managing for some very large organizations. But the real reason we're talking today with Tanner is because he has a huge passion both for the history of liquor and cocktails and storytelling, and those are two things that we don't talk about much. But storytelling is key to providing a great guest experience, and knowing history can be a great way to really establish those stories and to provide guests with a little bit of a different experience and some extra knowledge that they wouldn't already have. So we're going to talk about acting and theater and how that gives them a unique perspective, but then also dive into how that's applicable and works in the bar business. So with that, tanner, I'll go ahead and let you talk about your background a little bit too, because I'm sure there's a lot more there than what I just briefly went over.
Tanner Weston:Yeah, well, as you had so kindly introduced me, my name is Tanner Weston. My bar background or, I guess, service industry background started mostly after college. Mostly after college I graduated UCLA for theater and then was doing a lot of odd jobs, for the most part working promotional gigs for radio stations, weird theater pickup work, a lot of, as I like to call it, kind of nomadic journeyman jobs. And a friend of mine who I did theater with had a bartending job at Wood and Vine out in Hollywood and from there I was still doing a promotional gig through a radio station that no longer exists in LA and he was saying that Wooden Vine needed more barbacks. And at the time I was just kind of making cocktails on my own in my house, more or less just hosting parties for friends and trying to make a fun and pleasant experience, especially after theater parties. And you know, opening nights, closing nights never see a night because that's constantly working and so I went in the barback stage.
Tanner Weston:It was also during the time that Arcade Fire, I think, re-released Neon Bible or just released. So there was a huge party at the Capitol Records and what was supposed to be like a four-hour stage became a full, almost 10-hour shift because they just got dumped. And then in that period I just did what was asked of me. I just kept going bussing glasses, doing dishes, resetting the bar, restocking things, washing glasses, doing dishes, resetting the bar, restocking things. And by the time you know two, three in the morning rolled around the bar manager's like the job is yours, if you want it, please, please, don't leave. And I was like no, I definitely will take this. This is really cool. And cracked that first after shift, beer and sort of the interest there was set. So from there what ended happening was um, I proceeded to work my way up from bar like bar back to bartender, which took an immense amount of time and a lot of uh, a lot of back and forth. Uh, especially because you know, becoming a bartender can kind of become a coveted experience, like people want specifically uh, a look, uh, brand. Someone who already has years of experience becomes that just like acting where it's like if you have no credits, if you have no bartending experience from another place, you probably won't get it. Uh, so I fought tooth and nails go from bar back to bartender and then from there became bar, lead bar manager and I went from Wood and Vine crossed the street to Lost Property, which is a fun little speakeasy on the corner of Hollywood and Vine, cut my teeth there after Wood and Vine for a very, very long time about five years became their supervisor and lead and manager and then I had a short-lived period at a place called sora, which was a rooftop experience out and uh, off of el centro and selma, if I'm not mistaken.
Tanner Weston:Most of my my period was a lot of the hollywood area and it was a fun time. I mean, obviously, being a bartender and a bar manager and, like your early to mid slash, getting into the late 20s, was, yeah, I mean, the world was your oyster. You would see so many things, experience, so many interesting people, um, quite honestly, than the stories that would come of it. I mean, uh, during that period I was writing a lot. I had a lot of short stories, one--act plays, poems and things that I would either get published or start putting on because of these experiences with, just you know, the literal characters that you meet in this industry. And then from there, I had a little stint in downtown LA with here and Now that's no longer with us guide for life spirits distillery, which kind of mirrored and married that whole, uh, you know storytelling in the industry, together with theater and fun and avant-garde kind of wackiness, but then at the heart of it would be of course, entire, um, you know, strong uh distillery behind it I mean the, the, what, what brian was doing, marrying uh, his Burning man and artistic aesthetics with making quality liquor was actually something that I really, really enjoyed. And it's a shame to now find out that due to staggering COVID debts and moving out to Vegas that they're no longer in business. It wouldn't have hurt if they sold more of their liquor.
Tanner Weston:But from there I kind of kept floating about the city. You know, from there I kind of kept flowing about the city Before COVID was going to be the Ever Bar at the Kimpton Everly Hotel, be their bar manager for Ever Bar, the Pool Bar and J&Q, and then sadly, covid happened. From there, the last sort of anecdotes of my resume, if you will Lincoln House out in West Covina has a lovely little speakeasy called the Utility Room that I kind of helped reestablish and direct and push forward. And then, lastly, where I'm at currently is the Disneyland Hotel. I'm a guest experience manager at the Disneyland Hotel and I oversee primarily all of the outlets, but my main focus would be the new Palm Breeze Bar at the Discovery Tower. And then also we are redesigning the former Steakhouse 55 Lobby Lounge Bar that's right now just called the Lounge into something new and unique. That's going to be very, very exciting.
Chris Schneider:That's exciting and it's interesting in your background because not everyone has this, but I know a lot of the folks that are good in this industry. Do the combination of kind of small business with big business right, because some of these folks are talking about they're no longer there, because they're small, little independents, but now obviously, with disney, that's one of the largest hospitality companies in the world yeah, it's, it is.
Tanner Weston:You know it's wild, because my wife would say this a lot to me too when I would, you know, not necessarily complain, but just kind of bemoan the fact that you know you work for mom and pops and they're great because they are willing to do whatever you want. Things can be fudged in any way. You know there's more of a camaraderie there, but it is always the well, we're just going to kind of pay in exposure in a way. Going to kind of pay in exposure in a way. So again, still mirroring that lovely little bit of theater where you work with mom and pops and you kind of cut your teeth, you get the experience, you create that family and familiarity, you create a good customer base that those guests now then maybe travel with you, whether they come to see you at the bar. But yeah, if you level up and you go extremely corporate sure, there is now the money that you've been complaining about, like I'm not getting paid enough. Now they're like how much do you want? We'll write you a check. But at the same token there is so much more structure of rules and things that you were used to kind of improvising or flubbing or like, ah, we'll fix it later. They're like it needs to be done now. I need it six months in advance, otherwise why are we paying you? And you know, with that, like that's a nice bit of security, but you know at what cost.
Tanner Weston:In a way, the reason why I like our service industry is that it does mirror a lot of theatrical arts, because it is an art in itself. You know, create experiences and create moments and memories for our guests. You know it comes with the cost of financial gain. Sometimes you go and you work at mom and pops and you can do the wildest things because you have carte blanche. But you know, if it still doesn't sell, it's why it's just for the art. You know, when you go into the corporate world it becomes. Can we justify it? And if not to a wide, blanketed commercial audience, then we're not going to take the risk and that's where you kind of have to make those little sacrifices.
Chris Schneider:Podcast are independent, so they have that more wide range ability and how they approach storytelling and guest experiences and all that.
Chris Schneider:But I find a lot of places they have issues weaving storytelling into their steps of service. Right, we're all really good at saying drop a drink, come back two minutes later, check on them, then get their food order and then drop their food and come back two minutes later and check on them, then get their food order and then drop their food and come back two minutes later and check on them. Right, everybody in the business independent or big corporate, we have that part now. But where people have a lot of issues, training their staff is how to tell a story. Right, how do you make the guest mood better?
Chris Schneider:How do you impress the guest beyond just those simple take a drink, do this, then put this in the pos yeah so, as you have managed different bars and restaurants, how do you approach the subject of storytelling with your teams, because that's, again, not something that everyone in the industry is necessarily used to.
Tanner Weston:It's true. I mean, yeah, obviously, where I'm at now, storytelling is very paramount. In that way it's a little bit easier. Everyone's kind of a lot more willing, if you will, to get into the storytelling aspect In the places that I found it maybe a little more difficult, but then, once have earned the trust and the respect of the rest of the staff to go into it, I think it really has enriched not only their experience as bartenders, barbacks, servers, what have you, but it's also really brought joy and value to the guest.
Tanner Weston:The way that I usually go about it is, I mean, again, in the case of over at Disney Trader Sam's's, it's literally a show like you go into the, the tiki bar, the enchanted tiki bar, um, you order like a krakatoa or an oa or something like that, and there is a full-on button. Things blow up, lightning and thunder, rain, you're getting hit with water, people are yelling and screaming. So of course people want to go to that show. Um, but what I have found? That by doing a lot of more of the speakeasy things and I know that they, you know it was kind of a rampant trend with, uh, the emergence of craft cocktails and their discovery, or the rediscovery, if you will, of you know, uh, craft cocktails and mixology and uh what Dale Dagroff kind of re ignited with you know rediscovering Thomas's Bartender's Guide. You know, in that way I think speakeasies became a little bit easier to create that storytelling ambiance because initially, whether it was you know, something small in the back room that you just kind of opened a door and walked in, or as ornate as some friends of mine that have, you know the obscure in downtown, where it is like a full thematic experience, much like Las Fieras, where you make a reservation, you get like velvet lined invitations with secret codes.
Tanner Weston:You have to walk down kind of maybe not so safe feeling streets and back alleys and wrap on a door like PDT. You went into a phone booth and hit, you know called somebody and then they would, you know, more or less tell you where PDT. You went into a phone booth and hit, you know called somebody and then they would, you know, more or less tell you where to go. You would show up the doors, discreet, everything. It creates an ambience and it creates an adventure and a sense of adventure that I think that as guests you know, want more out of their experience when they go out. I mean, we can all go to a restaurant and have an amazing dinner and great drinks, so we can all go to our favorite fast food or dive or what have you and just have an amazing time.
Tanner Weston:But I think that, as we equate value cocktails that are being sourced by natural ingredients and handmade and handcrafted and they're going to be priced at so high a value, I think that as we create a story or create the ambience or the environment that allows people to fully immerse themselves into what we're creating, they're more appreciative or more understanding of where our price and value is at, because we've essentially led the trail of breadcrumbs to make it as exciting as exciting. We've given them hints and tastes the whole way so that by the time that they sit at the bar top or at the table with that server, they're already so enamored and so engrossed with what we're designing, what we're building, that when we do table touch for a second, drop that drink or drop menus and greet our friends, we greet them genuinely. We greet them. We get to know their names. We retain that information, information. We make them as personable.
Tanner Weston:Where the experience now is that you've come to a swanky bar. Here's our swanky drinks. They're costing you an arm and a leg. Watch me, you know, shave ice with like 30 different katanas and then drop a drink and walk away and you're like, I mean for the shock and awe of it. It's amazing. I mean no one's going to be upset, going to like japan watching that dude chisel diamonds out of ice in the most dramatic way and light the bar on fire. But I would also argue, if that spot wasn't as tight and tiny as it was and it felt like that show was so personal to you, if you were at like table 57 in the back corner, near kind of the bus station, would you still have that same experience? Would you still have that feeling like, yeah, I'm spending $40 for entrees and spending 30 something for apps and another 20 plus on cocktails?
Tanner Weston:Does it equate or my staff, depending on where I'm at, to understand that people are coming here not only to drink drinks and escape and all that? But we must build the escapism, we must build the vacation, and if we are more or less I like to call it, you know doing the dance behind the bar, I mean I look like an octopus because of how my fluidity of movement and grabbing my tools and bottles becomes the show as I talk to my guests and I kind of weave them into the experience and I'm grabbing tools and I'm understanding their flavor profiles. I'm understanding what they like to drink, what they don't like to drink because I think that's the biggest sort of pratfall is that we immediately just try to push things on people that they don't know what they want. But if I'm immediately engaging with that guest, figuring out who they are, asking what they're interested in, what are their favorite flavors, what are their favorite spirits, I can easily work them into the menu that's already created, which makes all our lives easier. But it feels less of like I'm gonna either read you the menu or point to a drink and say that's what you want.
Tanner Weston:It feels personal, it feels like we've created this adventure together and by the time I'm done creating this cocktail it feels uniquely their own, even if it is like a gin gimlet or a last word or a hanky panky or whatever hanky-panky or whatever.
Tanner Weston:At the end of the day we've discussed this in such a way that it feels like I know what they were expecting or what they wanted from this experience and have crafted it for them and when they take that first sip or that first bite. If it's food, it's always that bliss of like, yeah, thank you so much. And I think that's the best way of how we can incorporate that storytelling Because, you know, it can be as personal as just figuring out who those people are and explaining a little bit about yourself and creating that familiarity. Or it can be as thematic as going to something like the Obscure or a Speakeasy and creating more nuanced dialogue or even dialects. You know, obviously I wouldn't be like, yeah, you're going to go up to like Long Beach and there's this fun Irish bar. When they just do singsong accents, I would argue that if you know you're going to, in this example, like a really authentic, like Irish pub tavern, feel and vibe.
Tanner Weston:I'd want the smells and the food and the environment to echo that same feeling as if I walked into, like you know, dublin or or any any like true irish bar out in ireland and not to say that they have to speak in accents, but if those bartenders look and feel and explain cocktails and and drinks in the same way that it feels like as if I'm transported there. That's where storytelling really creates that whim.
Chris Schneider:One of the things that I noticed as you were talking there was a lot of this comes down to creating, essentially, an immersive experience.
Chris Schneider:Right, because, to your point, a cocktail is a cocktail, right, in old fashioned. It may be a little bit better here, a little bit worse there, they might use a better whiskey or a better bourbon, they might tweak it this way or that way, but it's still just an old-fashioned. What people are paying for is more than that drink. They're paying for the experience, yeah, and so it's interesting to me because, as you talk through that no-transcript, and how can we make that immersive guest experience work for our guests and improve their time? And so, obviously, disney makes it easy, speakeasies make it easy. But now let's just say I am the neighborhood bar on the corner outside the city, a little bit in the suburbs, right, because that's most of the bars in the us are probably that, yeah, um, and they don't have a cool way to get in. They don't have anything like that. Where do you think a bar like that could, could try to weave in some of this storytelling and immersive experience?
Tanner Weston:um, I think I would say the easiest and the biggest win there would be to honor and soak up as much of its surrounding area. If we are honoring our local heroes, honoring our local sports teams, if we are creating that true home bar where it's like we are of the neighborhood Because that's always the biggest fight too. When you're establishing your own bar and restaurant or just a bar, you're going to have that pushback from the community that's going to say how is this going to benefit our area? Because obviously you're bringing sin and vice, you're bringing in alcohol that is going to inevitably have fights or drunk driving. There is a correlation that as bars and restaurants come into areas that they do studies about how property value decreases because there's a rise in vagrancy, there's a rise in what have yous would say.
Tanner Weston:If you're the way to win that storytelling element within a small, like neighborhood local kind of eatery dive or maybe a little more upscale, but just still, the neighborhood watering hole is to be of the neighborhood, is to let the neighbors know that this is your community as well and you won't stand for that kind of riffraff. You won't stand for that way. The things that we are trying to create here are the like in line with the neighborhood, and I think that you know, when you, when you get that on board as the main through line is like the story and the theme, you get the staff to start understanding it too and they start protecting the place and start protecting the neighbors, the locals that continue to come in every day like your regulars. They're the ones that when you know you have uh, creepy patrons hitting on women that don't want to be hit on and trying to buy drinks, that you know a bar staff that kind of comes in and goes like yo steve, I need you to go, like you have people now taking pride in what they are representing because again, the story, the story becomes less of. You know it's a bar down off of, you know, 4th and Main, or like off of Cherrybrook or whatever. You know. Now it's like. You know that's like Mama Sal's. That place is the best. I mean we've hosted Little League games there because they've got great pizza or whatever great beer on tap. It's all local and fresh. They work with my name. Pizza or whatever a great beer on tap, it's all local and fresh. They work with my name.
Tanner Weston:By creating that, you know, then your, your staff is sitting there going like this is a home. This is a forever home for a lot of people. Whether some come in kind of put their hat up, work and then come out and go, you know more often than not you're going to have people that are going to set up you know stakes for a long, long time and especially if they're you know, working in that kind of environment, that storytelling, your guests that come in every day become more and more regular. The locals recommend it all the time because now it is a place of business that brings business to the city or to the area.
Tanner Weston:You know you would see the pendulum shift and swing in the opposite realm, where you know a bar might bring down property value, a bar might bring down the cultural morale of the area. Now it's swinging up where more people want to invest in the area because it is so well-maintained and so captioned. There is a thirst and a hunger here that could be capitalized by diversifying, you know, spaces more to incorporate more restaurants, more uh, bars, relaxation spots, because I think that you know what gets lost is obviously in big cities. We we create experiences by building restaurants for people to go out to be seen to be, whether the food is good or not. It's like you go out to be seen. So for your local neighborhood area, it should be more about welcoming everyone in, like we're all a part of this community, you always have a spot at this table, you always have a voice to be heard and by doing that, I think, realistically, that sort of storytelling and immersion becomes the cornerstone of what makes a long-term business.
Chris Schneider:I couldn't agree more. That was really well stated, by the way, as well.
Chris Schneider:Now, one thing, too, that I was thinking about is that there are a lot of folks, and really myself included. Before I got into the bar business, I was not necessarily the most extroverted person in the world, right. And so you're out there, you have to interact with people, you need to tell stories and you need to really manufacture this immersive experience for folks. But do you have any tricks from, say, the acting side of things that people that are not used to being that forward or not naturally extroverts, can latch onto to help them create this more immersive experience?
Tanner Weston:Yeah, I mean, if I'm just being glib about it, like take a couple shots, but no, no, but in all seriousness, like from a theater standpoint, yeah, I get it. I'm a very gregarious, boisterous person. My brother would always say it's like it's just easy for you. I'm like it's not. I would. I would argue that you know theater people though, we are the most like showy and out there we are probably the most anxious, insecure and frightened things, and so we we make a lot of large movements and banging sounds as a way to kind of be like avoid me, don't look over here. It's very like the man behind the curtain, if you will. But from a theater standpoint, some ways to kind of ease, you know, talking to guests or pulling information out without it, feeling like an interrogation really stems a lot from you know improv and I would argue that anyone with some time go take some improv classes.
Tanner Weston:You don't have to be great at it, you don't have to, you know, aspire to be one. But I think what the service industry and hospitality has a lot of similarities with theater and improv is that it is based on like a yes and concept. I mean, nothing kills hospitality or a scene more than if someone's like can I get, like you know, a Guinness and no, ok, well, why not Just know we're out? Ok, can I get this burger? No, that's 86. Do you have anything today? So those are those things in which you know if we're saying yes and like can I get a pint of Guinness and a shepherd's pie? You know, definitely going to get you the Guinness. We have that. The shepherd's pie, unfortunately, is only a Sunday option. It allows you to stay, you know, easy and close.
Tanner Weston:You don't have to be like weaving a giant story but by by just doing the simple thing of yes and like hearing someone's complaining, going fully understand, totally, get it. Uh, we are having some kitchen troubles at the moment, like if we're bringing in our clientele in into what's happening without it being like a five alarm fire, like they don't need to know, like well, the power's out and the kitchen is unoperable or whatever, and they don't need to know that we can at least give you know, just a simple like hey, friends, so sorry, I know it's, it's taking a little while, the kitchen is a little bit backed up, but is there anything I can do in the meantime? Grab you another cocktail, freshen anything up? No-transcript, I don't know what to do, so I'm just going to say a lot of funny things and hopefully you don't remember that this was awkward. Um, you know you don't have to go that route, but if that's how your personality uh, you know, kind of hues towards, use it. That's what's helped me when you know there's some guest issues or things are going through. It's also a way to soften the blow of someone's cards being defined. You know we can very easily come like hey, so sorry, friends, do you happen to have something else? This is just not going through. It might just be your bank, you know what, yeah. Or if they're like hold on, make some phone calls, yeah, no worries, take your time.
Tanner Weston:Obviously, now we're watching them, but it's, you know, it's still one of those things where, if we are listening to our guests if we are actively responding and not trying to premeditate an answer. You know you don't have to be the loudest, biggest thing in the room. You could be the softest, quietest thing. That provides the most excellent service because it is more intimate. You do come in and just go, and what is it that you guys need today? Well, how can I help you? For sure, we have many, many options like that, and then again you just fall back on what you're most comfortable about. Speaking about the menu, you know what are in the drinks, you know how that food is prepared, you know how we serve, deliver and everything like every aspect of that menu.
Tanner Weston:So bring yourself into the like, have that confidence to bring yourself back to those moments it's like kind of a strong ground, and then build that relationship from there, like at first you're walking up to a table or a new bar patron. It's intimidating, it's like I don't know what they're like. Drop your menus, welcome in. How's everything today? Any cool things you guys have going on it just had you know I understand traffic is miserable when I was coming here. Oh the worst thing like.
Tanner Weston:and now we are creating that story. Now we're creating that environment where there's dialogue and we're listening to each other. And now that person and may have come in kind of angry and upset is having that beer, drinking that cocktail, having those french fries or whatever, and they're starting to relax. We're providing the escape that they sought. You know it's been a hard day at work. I just want to come to my local you know suburban bar that's just up the street from my house and just sit there, John, another taxing day, God. You know suburban bar that's just up the street from my house and just sit there, John, another taxing day. God. You would not believe.
Tanner Weston:You know like it becomes easier when we just have the simplest of conversations and continue that yes and instead of just me like I don't want to talk to that guest, this, my day is terrible, I don't want to say anything. When we go into things with that no mentality or just kind of short answer mentality, it stops the story from growing. But if we're open to listening to where it goes and ask questions on it, then that conversation, that sort of extroverted nature, becomes naturally Like even introverts are able to hold a conversation with their friends and family, without it feeling strained or whatever. So if we do the same with our guests, they feel more intimate and we are like creating that story.
Chris Schneider:That's a lot to think about right there, because, as you were talking, I mean I'm not taking notes as we're doing a podcast, but as we're talking I'm like I just wanted to write down a bunch of things, but let's pivot a little bit, because one of the ways that I know you like to tell stories, especially because of your speakeasy type background, is getting into history.
Tanner Weston:Yes.
Chris Schneider:And really exploring why cocktails are what they are, how things have developed over time, because I think for a lot of us we don't necessarily always think every day okay, why is a gin and tonic a gin and tonic? Why, why do we put egg whites in drinks? You know, like there are a lot of these things that we do that we don't necessarily ever think about. Why did this happen? So I'll kind of let you go wherever you want on this one, but.
Tanner Weston:But let's just kind of dive into the history of foods yeah, um, I mean, for me it's, it's why I I do what I do is because, uh, as a history nerd and sort of buff, I guess, um, it really informs a lot of my storytelling. Uh, the reason why I enjoy theater and storytelling is because history is just that, it is his story, whether you can take that in a positive context or a negative context, it is the fact that there is a life and a longevity to what we have created and everything, whether it be cocktail or a bottle of spirit, has a story to tell and has a time and place. And that's what really got me involved. So when I started as a barback, I was very, very confused and kind of like how does anyone know these drinks? How does anyone just look at a bottle and go, I can make 13 cocktails out of this. How can I? How do you look at liqueurs and go, that tastes like this and this is how it's made. And so my bar sensei my bar senpai, if you will, who finally noticed me, was like if you don't, if you don't know what something tastes like, if you don't know where it comes from or how it's made or smells or looks, it is on you to drink all of these bottles and figure that out. I'm not saying, go get drunk at work, but I am saying that take the time to taste all these things and write notes, research them and figure that part out and then it will kind of open up to you. And so I took that very, very literally and for a long period of time I would start my shift from one end of the back bar and just to have little tipples out of three or four bottles and then stop for the night and continue that for the next, you know, three years. I would just research all these back bar bottles, research all these liqueurs, taste everything. That's how I got to taste the entire Pappy line, by the way. But I was able to then start to understand how things are made and where that goes. And I would also, if it's not too much of a shameless promotion, say Bar Smarts is a great resource for this. Their extensive historical knowledge from David Wondrich really really helps sell this.
Tanner Weston:When I look at cocktails or when I look at bottled spirits, I'm looking more or less at a historical time japsal that talks about the social, political and economic environment of its time, the fashion trends, the artistic trends, the you know, sort of joie de vivre, if you will, of that period, you know, when you look at things like. You know. Like rum, I mean it's summer and rum's fun. Like rum, I mean it's summer and rum's fun, you know rum. What I love about rum is that it is a cultural melting pot of ideas and experimentation and stories because it spans all over the place. As much as people would love to believe that whiskey is America's spirit, I mean it has become so, especially because I would argue that you could say that full-heartedly, because it is the truest of the American experience.
Tanner Weston:Whiskey being made in the original 13 colonies was predominantly rye. Not until we had the Irish and Scottish immigration and manifest destiny movement west do we have much more push into that. So again, the story of immigrants coming to America, starting their own farms, starting their own places of business and using their own historical context and stories and recipes from families of old, or how we are creating the bourbons that we love today, the Irish immigrants that sought to make something new and unique in America but use what they brought with them from the old country, is uniquely American. But before all that I mean the Americas were a sugar plantation. We were essentially a refining factory for the entire Caribbean coast and we would just, like, you know, jamaica and Ghana and all the Caribbean areas that just had a large surplus of fermented molasses. You know, we were pushing that back off to the kingdom and had all this stuff hanging out. We were in love with rum and we like you know the North American colonies were the biggest rum drinkers, to the point that by the time we became our own country, I mean George Washington ordered I think it was like 25 kegs of Barbadian rum because quote, it's the good stuff. So I mean, right there, it's like that's such a rich history to understand that.
Tanner Weston:Like, what was that story? What, looking at a? You know, I know Boston has privateer that does more traditional American-style rums. You have Onis in New York making American-style rum. You even have out here in Pasadena areas. You've got Stark Spirits making American-style rum that's going to taste uniquely different than Jamaican, then Barbadan, then Ghana, puerto Rican, cuban, etc. And in that way, though, they all have similar things like, yes, it is all rum, but it's telling an entirely different story. It's showing a different political environment, a different societal environment, economic, artistic. And I feel like every time I open a bottle like that or create a drink using those spirits and creating that new story, that new experience, I'm understanding where it's come from and I'm able to create something new to show where we're going to go with it.
Tanner Weston:And I think that's also for me at least, like some of the most exciting aspects of craft cocktails, of mixology, if you will, bartending, is that you know we are stewards and custodians of a rich, rich history, of a more or less wonderful and dynamic living history that changes rapidly. But in creating these cocktails we are able to bring them back to life. We are able to make our guests experience something that for a time could only be experienced back then. And I know, as practices and health things and all that sort of changes, you know, is it the truest form of the experience? Like, case in point, the argument of the Ray and Nephew 17 year, the illustrious Holy Grail of the Mai Tai Rum. You know that's what Trader Vic made it with, that's what we drank it until it went extinct.
Tanner Weston:So, yes, everyone hunts down to recreate that bottle, to redesign that experience, but I would argue that by understanding those flavor profiles, understanding what Trader Vic was doing and using new product that has a harken back to the flavor profile.
Tanner Weston:We are able to honor what was, build on what is and create what will be, and in that way we are creating sort of a living time capsule where everyone that comes to that bar can transport themselves, whether you're a Peaky Blinders fan and you're like, oh, I just feel like I'm there with Thomas Shelby, or if you're just a normal person thinking I wonder if this is how it felt to go to a bar during the 20s, during the speakeasy era where flappers and the nightlife were wild and you can almost take yourself back, you know, in this transformative property when you imbibe these things and you hear how these things are made and you understand how, like, who makes them and why they made them, and then you sip this drink and it pulls you into that. It it's, for me it's. It is such a unique experience in that way it is.
Chris Schneider:And, to me, one thing that's always struck me about the history of booze and in relation to the history of america is, if you I'm sure you've done this before, but like, if you dig into, uh, the alcohol requisitions by the continental congress, yeah, those guys were drunk all day, every day. Oh, yeah, right, you look at, america was founded by a bunch of drunk guys that hung out in bars. Probably some people will not like that I said that, but that is a historical fact. There was a rebellion. The only time a president has ever led troops into battle was George Washington leading troops into battle against some guys in pennsylvania because they didn't want to pay tax on their whiskey.
Chris Schneider:Yep, right, so much of our early history is about booze. Yeah, and then, as as you were brought it forward and obviously I'm in the 1920s, yeah, the the whole, the whole 20th century, essentially, was formed by booze and crime that went along with it and the lifestyle and the culture that we have kind of brought back in to your point. But, thinking through all that, is there any particular story or a particular brand or particular cocktail that stands out to you as having a really cool history or something that you just like to talk about with this.
Tanner Weston:Well, yeah, I say one one go-to is you know, obviously people love egg whites. People love, love egg whites um as much as they love fire on a cocktail. But I think that the the the stories that's most fascinating is when people try to figure out what the difference between a new york sour or an egg egg white sour are. Traditionally, most people are going to go for the egg whites. But then when they see the new york sour, like well, why, why are you floating red wine on this? Like, why, why is there red wine and not egg white?
Tanner Weston:And the idea is that you know, before refrigeration, to have raw eggs and a cocktail in the city where you don't know how clean it is.
Tanner Weston:I mean, you're asking for salmonella, you're asking for a bad day, but if you're at the local tavern that grandma's farm is out back and you're able to cultivate those fresh eggs and crack fresh raw eggs, you have less chance of getting sick and now it's more of a fun delicacy.
Tanner Weston:And so the reason why our New York sour uses claret or red wine as opposed to an egg white is that it was more sanitary for us to float more booze in your cocktail than it is using egg white. And this like to some point this from a religious standpoint of, like Jesus turning water into wine, it's. It is an actual healthy fact. Jesus turning water into wine, it is an actual healthy fact. The aspect of washing wine with water the wine alcohol was killing the bacteria in the water so that you could drink water and not die. So that alone it's not a divine miracle or magic or what have you. It is literally science of if I pour some alcohol into this water that I need to hydrate myself with, I will kill bacteria so I can drink my water.
Tanner Weston:But then that's why you have, throughout history, where you know, children were drinking beer and wine with their parents, because that's that's what allowed them to drink water. Um, they weren't drinking to get drunk, they were drinking just to sterilize it. And so it's those little like kind of historical tidbits that you know, we learned so much through modern medicine because of the fact that at one point we decided to take fermented alcohol and vegetables and fruit and imbibe on it, and though the effect became a relief for the burdens of the world, the simple medicinal aspect is that it made people live longer. You know, food was sanitized, water was palatable and able to be drank. There was so much more that could be, you know, pickled and saved by the creation and drinking of alcohol than ever before and then only after did with refrigeration and modern technology and science. That's you know, to your point.
Tanner Weston:Yeah, our, our history is heavily washed with drinking. I mean, the seal for the first, seal for your protection, is the bottled and bond act and literally was like don't, moonshine, stop killing people, we'll give you to you tax-free, we'll only you only pay taxes on the bottle sold. So let's just do that. And people were like okay, sounds legit and we wrote that in the Constitution. That's why we have what the recipe for bourbon and rye is. It's because we were that drunk that we're like we don't want people to die anymore. Let's write it in. This is the recipe.
Chris Schneider:If you do it anything else, it's not called bourbon, it's not called rye, you can call it american whiskey, you can call whatever that's that. Those are those stories that I find to be the most fascinating, and I'm right there with you because it's you cannot separate. At the end of the day, you cannot separate any piece of human history from the history of alcohol. Yeah, and and again, I know that annoys a lot of people, but it's not, it's not true to think otherwise, right?
Chris Schneider:I mean you can go all the way back to the romans who drank a lot of wine. Oh, yeah which I don't know. If you've ever looked at what roman wine is, it's probably very vile, and it kept them alive because, to your point, it wasn't the nasty water. Yeah, uh, but they also sweetened it with lead, so that's why they all went crazy when they got old.
Announcer:So there's, you know you know, it might make more sense just trying to live my life right.
Chris Schneider:But I think that that's really important though for everybody, and especially, getting back to the context of storytelling, that we have stories about our products to tell people, because I think you know to tie it in also with what we were talking about with introverts if you're introverted, you don't want to talk about yourself, you don't want to necessarily do any of that, but you can talk about history of something without it being about you or personal, or scary really, and so I think that kind of wraps us up for the day. But did you have anything else you wanted to talk about or anything you wanted to, um, add to any any of the conversation that we've had?
Tanner Weston:I would just say that, um, whether you have established a bar in your life or looking to do so, or anything that, as much as it is a business that needs to be run, as much as it needs to be a game of balance and checks and all that stuff, don't forget that you know why you want to do it is because you want to tell your story, whether it's through your food, that you're a chef that you want to create and serve to people, or whether you're a bartender that wishes to just have a place to escape with friends. At the end of the day, you know everything comes back to in our industry is that simple aspect of escapism storytelling and hospitality, and it's all synonymous and so that if we are telling our story truthfully and vulnerably, we will succeed far more, you know, financially in the long run, than we would if we just focus on numbers. So that would be that'd be the thing I'd end on. The most is that storytelling is inherently the cornerstone of hospitality.
Chris Schneider:Yeah, that is a great spot to end our conversation. So, tanner, I have to say thank you so much for being here. No, thank you. This has been a very engaging conversation and, like I was telling you before, we even started recording something different, because these guys are used to me yelling about numbers.
Tanner Weston:Yeah.
Chris Schneider:And now we're talking about stories and history and stuff. That's a lot more fun than did you make a profit.
Announcer:Yeah right, why didn't?
Chris Schneider:you make a profit Right. So again, thank you for being here, of course, and for everybody listening. That will wrap us up for today. If you enjoyed things, make sure you like, subscribe, leave a review. There are links in the show notes for the Bar Business Nation Facebook group, where we're bringing bar owners together as well as to talk to me for a strategy session, if you want to, and with that guys. I hope everyone has a great day and we will talk again later.
Announcer:And with that guys, I hope everyone has a great day and we will talk again later. Thanks for listening to the Bar Business Podcast. Make sure to subscribe so you don't miss any future episodes. Check out our website at barbusinesspodcastcom and join our Bar Business Nation Facebook group for more strategies and tips.
