Signature Cocktail Ideas For Making Your Restaurant Stand Out
How do you make your restaurant or cafe stand out from your competitors? By creating something unique that reflects your brand identity and creativity! And take it from someone who has been a part of this industry for a long time: there is nothing better than offering a signature cocktail to your patrons to enhance the unique character and appeal of your establishment.
Are you scratching your head, wondering how to whip up a signature cocktail that’s uniquely yours? Don’t worry, FSIPL has your back! In this blog, we will give you a complete checklist for creating signature cocktails and explain how FSIPL’s beverage brand Marimbula can assist you.
A] Understanding Your Restaurant’s Identity
Before you start creating your signature drink, there is a very important step that you need to consider. That is understanding your restaurant’s identity. If you are offering a signature drink, people are going to associate it with your brand. Hence, the signature drink must reflect your brand values. As a dedicated food company in India, FSIPL has helped numerous restaurants and cafes find their unique identity.
If your restaurant has a specific theme, incorporate it. For example, if your restaurant is pirate-themed, you can use a pirate-themed glass or make rum the primary ingredient. Incorporating your brand colours and local fruits and flavours can also make your cocktail unique. A trendy, eye-catching cocktail would be a good choice for a restaurant whose target audience is young adults. On the other hand, if you specialise in high-end dining experiences, you should focus on more timeless concoctions.
B] How To Create Signature Cocktails
1. Choose The Drink's Flavour Profile
When you are creating a new drink, one of the first two things you need to decide is the drink’s flavour profile. The flavour profile refers to the overall flavour of the drink created by mixing different ingredients. Balancing each ingredient in precise proportions leads to a cohesive flavour profile. By selecting a cocktail flavour profile (sweet, sour, bitter, spicy, salty, and umami), you can shortlist the ingredients and make the process easier. Some drinks can have more than one flavour profile, depending on the ingredients. However, you need to make sure it aligns with your brand image.
2. Which Spirits You Want To Use
The next thing you need to decide is which type of liquor you want to add to your drink. You do not need to pull the top-of-the-shelf liquor to create your signature drink, although you can if you want to. If you want the other non-alcoholic ingredients to take centre stage, you should use clear spirits like vodka and gin. On the contrary, if you want a bold and robust alcohol flavour from your drink, use a dark alcohol like bourbon or whiskey.
3. Find a Local Fruit Flavour That Goes Best With The Drink
A fruity flavour can add sweetness to your drink, balancing the liquor’s bitter taste. Take a stroll through our curated Marimbula products to figure out which local flavour would go best with the type of drink you are trying to make. FSIPL offers a wide range of fruit crushes in Indian flavours like mango, lychee, and guava that you can use in your drinks. These fruit crushes are specifically bottled for commercial kitchens to save time and food wastage.
4. Add The Mixers
Mixers are the non-alcoholic ingredients that you mix in your alcoholic beverages to create cocktails. They enhance the flavour profile of the alcohol and sometimes add a different taste altogether. The primary reason for adding a mixer is to add volume to the drink. FSIPL offers a range of fruit syrups in flavours like bubblegum, kiwi, and peach that can be used as mixers for various cocktails.
Pro Tip: If your cocktail has become too salty, you can add our Marimbula lemon tea to cut the saltiness.
5. Get The Garnish That Best Suits Your Establishment
A good garnish can be the cherry on top of your signature cocktail, quite literally. Choosing the right garnish makes the drink look complete. It can be anything from a simple salt rim to extravagant fruit designs. Make sure the garnish you choose goes well with the cocktail’s flavour profile as well as its aesthetics to garnish your cocktail like a pro.
6. Serve in an Aesthetic Glass
Finally, when you serve the cocktail, an aesthetically pleasing glass with eye-catching designs can work wonders for your brand image. Choosing a colourful or well-moulded glass can make your signature drink more picturesque, prompting people to share it on social media. According to a report, glassware has a significant impact on drinking behaviour.
C] How To Repurpose a Classic Cocktail?
Did the checklist sound like a lot of work? Sometimes, you do not need to reinvent the wheel to make a name for yourself, sometimes, you just need to perfect it. Instead of making a completely new cocktail, you can take a classic cocktail like a mojito or a daiquiri and put your own spin on it. It could be adding a certain syrup to incorporate your logo’s colours or switching out an ingredient to change the taste.
D] How Can Marimbula Help You Create Your Iconic Signature Cocktail?
Marimbula was created to assist mixologists in crafting unique and flavourful beverages while saving time. Marimbula offers a wide range of high-quality fruit crushes and syrups in India to ensure every cocktail is flavourful and mesmerising. Our crushes and syrups have helped a number of restaurants and cafes across the country create classic and unique cocktails and mocktails!
Conclusion
A signature cocktail showcases your restaurant’s unique identity and creativity and can be a valuable tool for elevating your brand experience. To create a signature cocktail, you need to choose the right flavour profile, liquor, garnish, and mixers. You can also put a unique twist on a classic cocktail to rebrand it for your restaurant. Whatever you do, FSIPL with its Marimbula brand is here to support you in creating beverages that are as memorable as your culinary offerings. As the leading HoReCa company in India, we are always here to help you.
Piyush Chhaochharia
Piyush Chhaochharia is the Vice President of Food Services India Pvt Ltd. He has a great sense of entrepreneurship, steadfast commitment, and passion for quality in the food sector. Piyush has played a pivotal role in transforming Food Services India Pvt Ltd into a leading food products supplier, offering a diverse range of high-quality products and services to customers across India. With a background in organizations like PwC and True North, he has played a key role in growing the business and expanding the product portfolio. An avid reader and fitness enthusiast, Piyush continues to drive the company's growth and success.
