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Experience is everything when it comes to the pairing of premium spirits with premium entertainment. When you enter a lounge in the late hours of the evening, the lighting is dimmed, the music is consistent, and the bartender has placed your aged whiskey in front of you. At this point, the stage lights come on, and the room’s ambience changes. Wherever nightlife is performed well, the experience is often a combination of what happens with the drink and what happens with the show.
Selecting the correct spirit for the setting will be essential to the overall success of the experience. Not every type of drink will fit every type of venue. A busy sports bar requires rapid consumption of beer and/or simple mixed drinks. A more upscale lounge, however, requires a slower pace.
The Right Spirit For The Right Setting
A premium spirit is usually sipped over a long period in an environment with a relaxed feel for the customer. When a customer has a premium spirit, they prefer to enjoy it as it is poured, and they also like to have their premium spirits available during performances, so they can continue sipping them throughout their visit. As such, premium spirits can be incorporated into the overall rhythm of the evening. For example in the best strip club, a customer’s experience can include having their drinks made in advance (i.e., their favourite cocktails) for them to enjoy while they watch the performance.
Staying Away From The “Just Another Night Out” Experience
There is a tendency in the nightlife industry to treat the entertainment and the drinks as separate experiences. One side is focused on the bar, and the other on the stage.
The better venues tend to blend these two aspects of the experience. For instance, a person may choose to have a glass of Japanese Whisky while seated next to the stage during a late set. The lighting, music, and motion all occur simultaneously. Rather than feeling like two completely different events, the whole room has a unified quality.
This level of integration helps people to remember the event. Examples of the factors that affect memory include glassware, light levels, and sound levels. Attention to detail in service makes a larger difference in the customer experience than almost anything on the menu. A bartender remembering that a client prefers Reposado Tequila to Blanco can create a sense of familiarity.
Even small things make a difference. A chilled glass, a correctly-cut piece of citrus peel, or a clean bar surface signals to the client that the venue cares.
Entertainment also includes elements such as timing between acts, transitions between songs, and seating comfort. All of these elements help to determine how comfortable the patrons feel.
When small service-related items are managed to create a smooth experience, the whole room can have a more relaxed, inviting atmosphere.
Allowing the Night to Develop at Its Own Pace
Most of the best nights out are paced slowly. One drink turns into two. A conversation develops between performances. Someone decides to get another drink after spotting a bottle behind the bar that he/she had never tried before.
Premium spirits paired with premium entertainment work best when customers let the experience unfold naturally. Both premium spirits and premium entertainment have one thing in common: they reward attention.
Ultimately, a successful night out is rarely determined by a single standout moment. It is the small sequence of moments, each one well-handled, that people remember once they exit the venue.