Keeping wine at ideal temperatures is obviously a critical element to success for any operations featuring a wine list. That being said, there are different ways to refrigerate wine, and this requires refrigerant. Refrigerant is a substance used to lower temperatures, but there are a range of options to consider. Some are more efficient and eco-friendly than others.

Square footage. It's hard to come by no matter where the operation. Even restaurants in suburban or rural locations have to deal with the challenges of doing more with less in their attempts to maximize profits. Bar and beverage. For many restaurants, it's hard to imagine a menu segment that brings in more revenue, and wine is an important part of this, especially as more and more Americans consume wine.

Eat. Drink. Shine. That's the way life is in Boulder, Colorado, where one of the most established groups in the local food and beverage industry has developed their latest legacy... potions.

On Tuesday, April 24th, Tobin Ellis participated in a Restaurant Development + Design webinar on Bar Evolution. Moderated by Joe Carbonara and attended by fellow panelist, Peter Vestinos, the event recapped important bar and beverage trends such as creating immersive experiences for guests, the balancing act of curating the right bar equipment packages, developing new bar and beverage concepts, and understanding what you want and what it takes to grow.

Whether you want to call it a sodium chloride infused libation, or a simple salted cocktail, the case for adding salt to your drinks is a pretty solid one. And we're not just talking about margaritas, either. Why would you add salt to a cocktail? Our palates can detect five flavors: sour, bitter, sweet, umami (glutamates), and...you guessed it, salt. Adding salt to a drink allows other flavors to more fully develop on the palate. And because we're talking about a very small dose of salt, salted cocktails won't actually have a salty flavor.

You can't judge a wine list by its cover just like you can't judge a wine refrigerator on just the glass. While making a design aesthetically pleasing is certainly important, it's not the only component of a high quality commercial wine refrigerator. Let's take a quick look at some others.

Do you ever wonder where your food and beverage equipment is made? Have you ever seen state-of-the-art manufacturing in action? Would you like to see first hand what sets one beer system apart from another? Take a few minutes minutes, and join us on a short but comprehensive guided tour of the Perlick facilities in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

With their lower initial cost and ease of maintenance, air-cooled beer systems could be an attractive and cost effective option for many operations. Perlick is excited to announce three new factory engineered, air-cooled beer system options. The one that is perfect for your operation will depend on the proximity of your bar to your walk in cooler, the number of beers you want to serve and your style preference.

Looking to build a profitable beer dispensing system? We know what you need, and we know profit is the bottom line. That’s why our engineers have poured over our systems to ensure they run as efficiently as possible. Our systems reduce waste to make sure you get the biggest bang for your buck when you choose a Perlick Beer System.

* The following Art of Bar Design Q&A article with Greg Rodd, Sales Engineer Manager with Perlick, first appeared in the February edition of Foodservice Equipment & Supplies magazine. What makes for good bar design? The bar is a profit center. A well designed, efficient bar has the right equipment arranged to minimize bartender movement, which equals more drinks per hour and translates to higher profits.

Just over 100 years ago, Perlick was founded in a small shop on Reed Street here in Milwaukee. Over the course of the last century, we've introduced mechanical refrigeration to the industry, created the first remote beer system that can carry beer 100 feet, and have evolved into an industry leader in commercial bar and beverage equipment. And we have the Best-In-Class Awards to prove it.

It's your choice. When designing your bar with maximum throughput in mind, you get to decide the features, the quality, and the configuration. These choices will ultimately determine how efficient your bar will be, how productive your staff will be, and how profitable your operation will be.

Vermouth. A classic almost mystical spirit that experienced its heyday in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Its versatility is limited only by the bartender's imagination, as it works in cocktails ranging from the Martini to the Manhattan to the Negroni. But to understand why vermouth is making a comeback, you first have to know why it lost favor in the first place.

As we mentioned in a previous entry, there's a great resurgence in ice cream cocktails in bars and restaurants across the country. In order for beverage programs to make drinks that contain ice cream blended with spirits as efficiently as possible and at the highest quality, the right equipment is required. Up until now, ice cream cabinets and dispensers for bars have either been makeshift units or units that don't meet important Department of Energy standards. Many of them lose energy or don't store ice cream at optimal condition for easy dispensing into ice cream cocktails. Until now.

Does your bar lack space and beer selection? In many cases, these commodities go hand-in-hand. Operators want more space, and today's customers are requiring more and more selections. Thanks to the new Wall Mount Beer Dispenser from Perlick, both are possible. This unit comes in any length up to 96 inches and can hold up to 32 different faucets. By adding additional units, the number of beers an establishment can offer is endless.

Health code regulations and standards can vary from state to state, but regardless of where your bar or foodservice operation is located, health code violations can be catastrophic to your establishment. Bars and restaurants that continue to violate inspections can lose business, get a bad reputation, or even be shut down for extended periods of time.