By Elyse Glickman
Even when money is no object, customers love to try before they buy— and they often stumble upon a new discovery in the process. That edict applies to orders at the bar, too.
Flights—those increasingly popular samplers featuring three or four similar libations that patrons can compare and contrast—are vehicles that can transport customers on a trip to the “spirit world,” where they can sample (and possibly fall in love with) drinks they’ve never tried before.
Once primarily confined to wine and beer, the flight format recently has taken off in the Mexican spirits arena, as the popularity and availability of tequila, mezcal and other Mexican spirits have proliferated—especially in the premium and ultra-premium categories.
“Tequila’s image and appeal has seen a boost in recent years thanks to contemporary programs using more agave-based spirits,” says Candice Ruibal, beverage manager at Vidorra, a Mexican restaurant that opened in Dallas’ trendy Deep Ellum neighborhood in August 2018. “Providing a guest a sampling through flights opens a dialogue, as long as the staff has the knowledge to guide the guest through the experience.”
Flight-Planning Tips
Like any capable pilot, bartenders and bar managers must put a “flight plan” in place to ensure a smooth journey. Offering different classes of flights—something to appeal to different tastes and budgets—is one way to organize the itinerary.
With that in mind, Vidorra offers four different tequila flights with four half-ounce samplings tailored for everybody from the newbie to the connoisseur.
The Primero Flight offers Milagro Silver, Espolon Reposado, Casa Noble Añejo and Illegal Mezcal Joven for $20, while the Humoso Flight takes more experienced mezcal fliers a step up with tastes of Alipus San Juan del Rio Mezcal, Casamigos Mezcal Joven, Illegal Mezcal Reposado and El Silenco Joven for $35. For $40, the Favorito Flight features Fortaleza Blanco, Codigo Rosa, Clase Azul Reposado and Ambhar Añejo. And the Prima Flight is, as the name suggests, for first class customers willing to pay $145 for samplings of such rarities as Casa Dragones Joven, Don Julio Real Extra Añejo, Patron Grand Purdeos and Clase Azul Añejo.
Pricing Parameters
Ruibal and other managers acknowledge that pricing is the most challenging aspect of the flight proposition due to the wide variety of products available as well as the objective each individual beverage program has.
As Ruibal explains, “There is a much greater profit margin in a flight than a single serving of wine or bottle of beer. However, there is a higher likelihood [of selling] more units of beer or a margarita versus a $145 flight. While there are margins to be made from both, they are different in design and serve different purposes.”
While there are no hard and fast rules where pricing is concerned, there are some general guidelines about pours and pricing these pros follow.
According to Ruibal, margins can be 25 percent or more, depending on the pairings selected for each flight.
“A guest may be hesitant to commit to a higher price point for a two-ounce pour but may be willing to try it with less risk at a half-ounce pour [in a flight],” she says. Matthew Doerr, beverage director of the upscale Mexican eatery La Hacienda at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess in Arizona, likes to go with a 1-ounce pour of four spirits—the equivalent of two drinks.
“You determine the cost by figuring out the ‘what it cost per ounce’ part, and then charge accordingly to make sure you are within your budget,” Doerr advises. Chris Pastena, owner of Calavera Mexican Kitchen & Agave Bar in Oakland, California, opts for half- or 1-ounce flight portions. “We price the flights just a little lower than a shot or half a shot because we want our guests to experience the flight,” reports Pastena, who says he encourages customers to sip responsibly and take time to get to know the nuances of each spirit. Anthony Joseph, owner of Añejo in New York City’s Tribecca neighborhood, says making flights a little less expensive than what the typical cost per ounce is may be worth the risk in the long run.
“We want to encourage people to try different types of spirits to expand their palate,” says Joseph, who notes that customers usually find flights are a better deal than ordering the components individually— something that’s especially true with rare spirits. Most restaurants, he adds, use flights “…to make expensive spirits more affordable to the common customer.”
Travel Companions
Wine flights are often grouped by color, grape varietals, the wineries they come from, price point, or geographic production regions, though sometimes a sommelier pairs wines that go well with certain foods.
The same pairing techniques can hold true for agave spirts.
Ruibal, for example, considers many factors when crafting the agave flights at Vidorra. Those factors include each product’s flavor profile, tasting notes, the terroir (highlands vs. lowlands), viscosity, how approachable it may be, price point, and how each agave compares to the others in the flight.
“There are a few different ways to decide on which tequilas to pair together,” says Doerr, who sees flights as a way to educate his customers. “You can do a vertical flight—blanco, reposado, añejo from the same producer—to show how the aging process affects the tequila. Or you can do a horizontal flight— three similar tequilas from different producers—to show how each tequila is stylistically different.”
Doerr offers customers the opportunity to travel deeper into the agave spirits world with La Hacienda’s Snake Bite Flight. “We select three different types of agave spirits—sotol, mezcal and tequila—and taste them side by side to show how diverse agave spirits are,” he explains. “Sotol is the gin version of agave spirits, whereas mezcal is the scotch version.”
Calavera’s flights include pours from the same producer, including one that features Dos Volcanes’ blanco, reposado, and añejo. Pastena also creates flights comprised of agave spirits from different producers from the same town— flights of Tequila Ocho, El Tesoro, and Siete Leguas, for example—which gives Calavera’s customers the chance to compare different styles and learn about how each variety is produced.
Joseph takes advantage of the flight format to sample some of the myriad agave spirits at Anejo and, in the process, to broaden customers’ knowledge of the category.
“Out of our 260 different agave spirits that we have in house at Añejo, we have a large collection of items that are either in short supply or not available to the general public,” explains Joseph. “One approach we take is featuring different types of wild agave, what’s used to create mezcal, to focus on the differences between each species of agave plants.”
One feature on the flight menu is what Joseph describes as “a high-end Extra Añejo flight consisting of Fuenteseca 7-Year Aged Extra Añejo, Clase Azul Ultra, Tears of Llorona and a Fortaleza Extra Añejo that not many people know about.”
Whatever flight path bartenders follow, the journey must appeal to customers who might not understand, at first glance, what the experience is about and ultimately, where the trip will lead.
“Part of the flight experience has to do with the guests’ ability to trust the host,” Ruibal of Vidorra concludes. “They rely on the host to navigate them through the experience— and when we do that, it becomes a win for everyone.”
Elyse Glickman is a Los Angeles-based writer and the regular At the Bar columnist for el Restaurante.