3 Cocktail Kits Your Restaurant Should Offer
The drink kit trend really took off in 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic resulted in restaurant restrictions and caused more people to stay home. Even states with strict alcohol laws such as Massachusetts passed new bills to allow bars and restaurants to sell beer, wine, and cocktails to go along with your food order in order to support the hospitality industry with the additional revenue stream.
Offering cocktail kits at your venue adds a new revenue stream to your bottom line and can increase your total offerings if you also include retail items such as custom drinkware, shakers, stirrers, bitters, and other bar tools. Cocktail kits are a huge hit on Instagram — any kit that you add to your menu, share on your account as posts, stories, and make reels out of the bartenders making the kit. You will get a ton of exposure from customers sharing their kits at home with their friends and family.
If you’re looking to add cocktail kits to your menu offerings, don’t forget about the 13 Meal Kits Your Restaurant Should Offer. Together, your meal kits and drinks kits will explode your orders and social presence (everyone loves to share pictures of their to-go food orders).
There are three types of cocktail kits that your restaurant should offer as long as they adhere to the state and local laws that your venue is required to follow:
- The cocktail kit
- The ready to drink now cocktail
- The cocktail gift set
1. The Cocktail Kit
This type of kit typically offers the alcohol and mixers to easily make a drink as soon as you get home with your takeout order. Some restaurants even just offer the house-made mixers to go so that you can use up the liquor you have at home.
Here are three cocktail kit examples:
Margaritas to go from Zarape Restaurant in Marlborough, Mass.
The coconut mint margarita kit from Earl’s Kitchen + Bar in Boston.
The vodka cocktail kit from Cascata Shop in Columbus, Ohio.
2. The Ready To Drink Now Cocktail
What is easier than having a skilled bartender perfectly portion out all of the cocktail ingredients for you to make drinks at home? Being able to take simply walk out of the bar or restaurant with pre-made drinks from said skilled bartender. Welcome to the drinks to go. Yes, beer and wine are technically ready to drink when you buy them, but some occasions require a cocktail. There is nothing better than that first sip of a freshly made cocktail expertly crafted with the finest ingredients.
The ready-to-drink kit examples below show how to combine cocktails and containers that are just right for an at-home happy hour.
Chicago’s Beatrix Restaurants offer their Frozen Piña Express to go.
The Hemingway Daiquiri from Montelupo Market in Portland, Ore.
Does it get any cuter than this gummy bear glass filed with the Strawbeary Spritz from Humble Wine Bar in Lakewood, Ohio?
3. The Cocktail Gift Set
This cocktail set would include everything that you need to make the drink at home, from the alcohol, mixers, and even custom glasses with the venue logo. These kits often come with branded recipe and directions cards as well as suggested meal pairings to complement the flavor palette. These kits are not only the perfect option when planning a date night at home for your significant other, but they make the perfect gift for all of the foodies in your life.
The featured cocktail gift sets below couldn’t be easier to make and enjoy.
Beatrix Restaurants has several options for cocktail kit boxes that include recipe cards, shakers, cocktail mix, and anything else that you need to make the perfect drink.
The Mixing Glass in Costa Mesa, Calif., can customize their cocktail kits for any occasion.
The choices for cocktail kits from Manhattan Zodiac are endless and include birthday gift kits designed for the Zodiac signs.
TripleseatDirect makes it easy for guests to purchase meal kits
Tripleseat’s TripleseatDirect feature allows restaurants, hotels, and venues to offer their customers a seamless and easy way to sell meal kits, as well as the ability to book, manage, and execute any off-site catering, in-house private events, and takeout and delivery services with zero friction or negotiations.
If your venue isn’t using our TripleseatDirect feature yet, head on over to our TripleseatDirect page for instructions on how to get set up. You can also check our TripleseatDirect playlist on YouTube for more information on how this exciting new product works.