During the preparations for the Q-Beach House, they were looking for a way to simplify manual operations when making cocktails. The Q-team soon found DORST and they decided to give cocktails on tap a chance.
The Q-Beach House often hires students who have no bar education or cocktail experience. So, it is important for the cocktails they sell to be as easy to make as possible. "We wanted to sell Mojito and Strawberry Daiquiri this year, but these are cocktails that are complex to make and they are very popular,” says Xander. "Students without any bar training can easily make mistakes, especially during busy times. By working with DORST's cocktail kegs, we can now serve quality cocktails much easier and faster".
At the Q-Beach House you can still order a few cocktails that are made on the spot. "But we notice that it requires more cocktail knowledge and experience," says Xander. "Manually, it’s easy to add a little too much or too little of something. Especially inexperienced students. Cocktails on tap solve that problem and it's much more practical to work with. The taste is also more accurate. We notice that our customers are very satisfied with the fixed recipe of DORST cocktails," says Xander.
DORST also offers an extra advantage in terms of stock management. This is demonstrated by Xander's experience: "When you make cocktails manually, it’s hard to estimate exactly how much of each ingredient to order. There are all the right quantities of spirits, syrups, juices and so on to think of. Behind the scenes, this is a lot of calculation, a waste of time, and we often have to throw products into the dustbin. Or we run out of one ingredient." The DORST cocktails in kegs offer a solution to these problems. "We have a better overview of which cocktails are needed just by looking at the barrels," Xander explains.
When they first heard about DORST cocktails at Qmusic, they weren't immediately convinced: "At first I was quite sceptical about the concept of cocktails on tap, but I have to admit: they are very tasty, we can guarantee quick service and the customers are very satisfied. So, we’re happy too, of course!”
Qmusic looks for well-known cocktails for their assortment. In addition, each year they have a certain theme, so they like to have cocktails that fit in with this theme. This year, the Q-Beach House was immersed in Mexican vibes.
“We were able to expand and refine our cocktail menu for the first time. Thanks to DORST we have been able to serve complex cocktails easier and faster. This made it possible for students to work at the cocktail bar without having to compromise on the quality of the cocktails," says Xander. And it paid off: the best-selling cocktails that summer were the DORST Mojito and Strawberry Daiquiri and their own Q-cocktail.
Cocktails are usually the main reason for very long waiting times and delayed orders, but not at the Q-Beach House: "This summer, there were no more delays, thanks to cocktails on tap. Until last year, we had to have an assembly line to make cocktails during busy times, but now we can complete orders on an order-by-order basis because the drinks are so easy to make. As a result, we also need less staff.
For the Q-Beach House, the busiest nights are the Sunset Concerts. "In previous years, a lot of preparations were required for such a concert," Xander explains. "For example, the bar team had to put out up to 400 prepped Mojitos and the staff had to start the preparations hours or even a day in advance. Now we just work by the order. That makes a huge difference in staff working hours. What's more, we can easily sell three times as many cocktails during a concert, because they’re so quick to make!
- Less staff needed, including during busy times
- Complex cocktails in flash
- Shorter waiting time; much faster service
