Indholdsfortegnelse for January - February 2016 i Market Watch

NYC Restaurant Celebrates Avant-Garde Chinese Fare Occupying a historic New York City space that once housed a church and a nightclub, Jue Lan Club is an eclectic Chinese dining and nightlife venue in Manhattan’s Flatiron District. The large bi-level restaurant, which opened in December, is named after a Chinese society founded in the 1930s that secretly celebrated art. Helmed by chef Oscar Toro, formerly of Buddakan, the venue has a raw bar and serves dim sum, noodle and rice dishes, and larger entrées ($10 to $32). Standouts include raw Wagyu beef topped with Asian pear and smoked oyster crema, bone marrow and prawn dumplings, and a lamb rib eye served with spiced carrot purée, heirloom baby carrots and red quinoa. Jue Lan Club’s varied cocktail menu features classics like the…

SweetWater Brewing Co. is “firing on all cylinders,” says cofounder Freddy Bensch. The Atlanta-based brewery saw its volume increase 34 percent to 192,400 barrels last year, and while 2015 numbers weren’t available at press time, Bensch reports continued gains. SweetWater is America’s 18th-largest craft brewer, according to the Brewers Association, and has distribution in 18 states and Washington, D.C. The company’s footprint is mainly in the Southeast—Georgia is its top market—but spreads as far as Connecticut, Illinois, Texas and Colorado. Bensch began working in the craft beer business in the early 1990s as a student at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He and his roommate Kevin McNerney moved to Atlanta in 1996. With loans and help from family and friends, the pair opened SweetWater on the west side of…

Downtown Jacksonville isn’t particularly vibrant at night. Despite years of efforts from city leaders and community groups to boost the appeal of the northeastern Florida city’s center, Downtown streets are largely deserted by the end of the traditional workday. However, that situation could be changing as a number of Jacksonville’s leading restaurateurs and nightlife operators have signaled their willingness to invest in the district. “Right now, it’s an area where people go to work, but everybody leaves at 5 o’clock,” says Matthew Mannick, director of operations at Forking Amazing Restaurants. The company operates three venues and will open a fourth, Cowford’s Chop House, in Downtown Jacksonville, later this year. The group will also unveil a new distillery, Burlock and Barrel, in the city’s Riverside neighborhood this fall. “We wanted to…

Nearly a decade ago, San Marcos, California–based sibling breweries The Lost Abbey and Port Brewing Co. opened for business. Their first products included the brandy barrel–aged Angel’s Share ale and the Bourbon barrel–aged Older Viscosity stout, and the response was overwhelmingly positive. Since then, the company has expanded its use of spirits barrels for aging beers, according to cofounder Tomme Arthur. These days, Arthur isn’t alone: Spirits-inspired beers have become one of the hottest beer trends. “The technique provides an opportunity for one-of-a-kind products,” says Kelly Taylor, owner of KelSo Beer Co., in Brooklyn, New York. “Every barrel-aged beer is slightly different, and each time you use a barrel for aging, its character changes, which means the barrel and the beer are forever evolving.” Sachin Patel, co-owner of the two-unit…

Chicago Nightspot Takes Cues From Downtown Vegas The bi-level nightlife experience Fremont opened in Chicago’s River North neighborhood in December. Named for the street in Downtown Las Vegas, Fremont boasts an eclectic dining room on its first floor and a high-energy lounge and cocktail den upstairs. The space offers a varied selection of specialty drinks and classics like the Sazerac, the Aviation and the Sidecar (cocktails are $9 to $16). Signatures include the Goldilocks, mixed with Nolet’s Silver Dry gin, Lillet Blanc aperitif, Combier Crème de Pêche de Vigne liqueur, Angostura bitters, Fever-Tree Tonic and lemon juice, served over ice with a hibiscus flower garnish, and the Netflix & Chill, a blend of Effen vodka, The Bitter Truth Xocolatl Mole bitters, house-made Ruby Port syrup and lemon juice. Fremont also…

Hyper-Local Wine Bars Wine bars are booming, thanks to increased millennial interest in wine and an on-premise environment that’s finally recovered from the 2008 recession. Many new wine bars around the country will find success in 2016 by dedicating themselves entirely to single countries, regions or even appellations. From Champagne bars like Ambonnay in Portland, Oregon, to Basque tavernas like New York City’s Donostia (pictured), highly focused wine bars will satisfy the millennial desire to explore and learn about wine from true experts. Pulling Back The Veil MGP Ingredients, owner of the massive former Seagram distillery in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, has already made a mark as a supplier of contract whiskey for many craft spirits producers nationwide. In 2016, MGP will make a major push with its own brands for the…

According to many bartenders and mixologists, American whiskies—particularly Bourbon and rye—have more fans now than ever before. “The presence of American whiskey cocktails on menus and the velocity at which those cocktails are being ordered is significantly higher today than I used to see,” says Joe Riggs, brand ambassador for Redemption rye and Bourbon whiskies. “As a Kentuckian, I used to have a hard time finding a decent American whiskey on a back bar that I could drink neat, let alone in a Boulevardier or Sazerac. But today, it’s much easier to imbibe my favorite spirit in every market as awareness and demand are higher than ever. The Old Fashioned is now the go-to drink in many bars.” Schuyler Hunton, beverage director at Saloon in Somerville, Massachusetts, has noticed a…

Like many restaurateurs, Jed Sanford got into the hospitality business on a whim. The Southern California native made his first foray into restaurant management with a family member almost a decade ago and then branched out on his own several years later. He never planned to open multiple units, and he certainly never expected to be at the helm of a budding on-premise empire. Yet, a few years after his first solo project, Sanford is doing just that. His company, Blackhouse Hospitality Management, operates five concepts and six venues in greater Los Angeles, and more growth is coming this year. With revenues topping $15 million, Sanford aims to continue testing the limits of conventional restaurant expectations. “We’re aggressive from a design and food standpoint,” Sanford says. “We serve the type…

In January, Southern Wine & Spirits (SWS) and Glazer’s Inc. announced an accord to join forces and create a distribution powerhouse covering 41 U.S. states, as well as Washington, D.C., Canada and the Caribbean. The deal combines Southern’s $11.8 billion in revenue with Glazer’s $3.7 billion—forming a juggernaut with over $15 billion in annual sales. The new company, Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits, will have roughly 20,000 employees, including a sales force of more than 12,000. It will serve over 350,000 on- and off-premise customers and distribute more than 150 million cases of wine and spirits annually. Southern Glazer’s will have a nearly 30-percent share of the U.S. spirits and wine distribution market in dollar terms. The companies’ biggest spirits suppliers in common are Diageo, Moët Hennessy, Beam Suntory and…

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K&L Moves To New San Francisco Space California specialist retailer K&L Wine Merchants moved its San Francisco unit to a nearby location in November. Joining sister stores in Hollywood and Redwood City, California, the new space has 23,000 square feet of capacity—nearly triple its former location, where it had operated since 2003. The larger sales floor enables K&L to increase facings by about 10 percent and place greater emphasis on spirits and craft beer offerings alongside wine. In addition, the new space features a large tasting bar. “It’s like a dream come true,” says spirits buyer David Driscoll. “The store is huge, and most of the building is actually warehouse space, offices, private lockers for customers and other cool resources.” Driscoll notes that before the move, many unique and esoteric…

“Oregon wine is compelling and thought-provoking,” says Stacey Gibson, wine director and general manager of The Woodsman Tavern in Portland, Oregon. Gibson left a sommelier job at Corkbuzz in New York City to follow her dream and join the Oregon wine scene. “Every Pinot Noir reflects its vintage and vineyard, and Oregon’s cooler climate produces excellent acidity, even in a ripe vintage,” she adds. Wine production in Oregon rose from 1.6 million nine-liter cases in 2004 to 2.8 million cases in 2014, according to the Oregon Wine Board. The last few years have been marked by increasing optimism and investment in the state. That trend has been bolstered by ongoing consumer interest in the state’s top varietals—Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris—fueled by exceptional harvests in 2014 and 2015. And an…

With the current trends in the culinary world ranging from ethnic flavors to seasonal and locally sourced ingredients to communal dining, beer—with its ever-expanding array of styles—is emerging as a popular beverage pairing for many of today’s menus. “The food trends I see most are shared small plates with a focus on local and in-season ingredients,” says Andrew Gerson, chef and head of culinary programming at Brooklyn Brewery. “Beer’s versatility makes it an ideal accompaniment for shared dishes that may have contrasting flavor profiles.” Ongoing interest in ethnic dishes, especially those with an eastern influence, also bodes well for beer. Scott Dolich, chef and owner of Park Kitchen and The Bent Brick restaurants in Portland, Oregon, notes that Asian food styles including Thai, Korean, Japanese and Indian are all compatible…

Though they’re not widely known, fermented Mexican drinks like pulque and tepache are making inroads in the United States, especially in Latino-heavy markets like Los Angeles and San Antonio. While they haven’t found widespread placement, a handful of savvy bartenders throughout the country are experimenting with these drinks and broadening their consumer base. Pulque and tepache—fermented from agave sap and pineapple rind, respectively—are popping up on menus in the Southwest and in major cities with large Hispanic populations. These drinks are low in alcohol and have a rich history in Mexico. Pulque can be traced back to the 15th and 16th centuries, when it was considered a sacred drink. Historically, consumption peaked in the late 19th century and then declined with the rise of Mexican beers in the 20th century.…