I headed out this weekend, I wont lie it did take some arm twisting from my girlfriend But it was a nice night in Montreal, it was Nascar weekend so the Main was closed for a sidewalk sale. I figured there will be patio’s meaning I do not necessarily need to go into the actual nightclub.

We settled on going to one of the usual nightclubs we used to attend. Walking down the street we noticed a lack of people on the street and most noticeably in the actual clubs. Typically this weekend is loaded with street traffic and the bars and restaurants are usually well over capacity.

We easily got into what once was a real hot nightclub. We noticed the crowd was full of 30 somethings like ourselves enjoying a drink outside. To be honest I did enjoy not having to fight for space and enjoyed the arm room to speak freely. 

What I did mind was the fact that these older nightclubs where not staying true to what made them popular in the first place. There were tacky themes and a facade that just was not natural. I understand they need to evolve to stay current, but what seemed to have happened is that they have all changed into the same thing. A retro style music list mixing old dance, catchy rock, and even a Clash song here and there. With all the new great music coming out today I was shocked to not hear anything currently lighting up the charts here or overseas.

They all seem to have found a safty net of 80’s revival and drinks circa the rat pack. I am all for embracing the past but its up to todays nightclubs to bridge that past with the new and current times. Till that is done I will continue to search for the club that breaks the mold and gets this generation to look at itself and say forget the past and live in the present.

Taking you liquor inventory should be the backbone of your bar business. Having proper counts will enable you to manage you costs and keep an eye on your staff.

There are 3 vital processes that need to be monitored to have a proper inventory.

1. Receiving: This is very important and if is not done correctly will effect all your other numbers afterwards. Upon reception of your liquor orders. Verify that all bottles ordered have been delivered. There are many tools out there that can help expedite the process and even give you and individual tracking of each bottle received. The tighter the receiving is the better you can sleep at night knowing your money is not coming in one door and going out the other.

2. Requisitions and Transfers: This is the bridge between your stockroom and your bars. A proper Requisition process is vital in maintaining control of your liquor and knowing what and where the liquor is going on any given night. What should be done is the bar tenders should fill out Requisition sheets. Which are then given to the bar backs. Once the liquor is received at the bar a manager should sign off on the sheet to make sure what was requisitioned was delivered to the bar. Keeping your inventory levels on track. Again there are many software’s out there that can expedite this process and give you tighter control and cleaner reports over your transfers.

3. Balancing the bar is the last and final step to the ideal inventory scenario. Depending on the frequency and how tight you want to run your bar this step is the final reconciliation of all that happened. You should inventory everything that’s left in your bar. Compare the number with what was in inventory prior plus your acquisitions minus the final inventory will give you what was use during the period. With the help of new software tools you can balance to the ounce and even compare it to sales to see what your accuracy, beverage cost and potential losses were.

In summary no bar owner today can think they can get by without taking count of there liquor inventory. With the advancement in technology there are many new software solutions that can help make this process faster, easier and clearer. Do your own research on whats out there and see if you are taking the proper precautions in protecting your liquid assets.

Take Care,

Nick

This was an old Scannabar Video from about 8 years ago

Checkout the latest version and most up to date in what Scannabar has to offer.

http://en.scannabar.com/blog/bid/37247/Selecting-the-right-Beer-Inventory-System

1/3 oz. Bailey’s Irish Cream
1/3 oz. Blue Curacao
1/3 oz. Grenadine
1/3 oz. Kahlua
1/3 oz. Sambuca
1/3 oz. Southern Comfort

Manhattan

Ingredients
1 (1.5 fluid ounce) jigger vodka
1/2 fluid ounce cointreau
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
1 1/2 fluid ounces cranberry juice
1 twist lime zest, garnish

Pour all the ingredients into a shaker with lots of ice. Shake vigorously for several seconds and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lime twist