Bar, restaurant and pub group, Solotel is expanding its range of healthier and non-alcoholic cocktails as consumers look to moderate their alcohol intake, but still enjoy a night out with friends or a long lunch with colleagues.
Solotel’s Experience Director, Tara Sullivan, told Bars and Clubs that she is passionate about delivering drink alternatives across the group and that working with the Lyre’s range of products to make quality, non-alcoholic cocktails was really engaging the bar teams.
“Our guys are loving working with Lyre’s, they are impressed with the products in the range, with the flavours and with the depths they can actually go to with their creations. So many people have said they can’t believe the Espresso Martini we’re doing doesn’t have alcohol in it and that’s just one example. It’s great.
“It’s also a lot more fun for our teams as well, these guys are wired to make cocktails and they would much rather do that than just pour people a sparkling water or anything else from a bottle.”
Available in all Solotel restaurants and large format venues the Lyre’s range includes Sweet Vermouth, Gin, Italian Orange and Coffee Liqueur as well as a number of other non-alcoholic alternatives to spirits. Solotel is using Lyre’s to create non-alcoholic versions of classic cocktails, which Sullivan said was an easier option for consumers to understand, although she did say that the group’s bar teams are already working with some of the Lyre’s products and coming up with new drinks.
“I’m seeing a lot of people who are making the choice to drink less, but they also don’t want to miss out on social interactions which are important,” Sullivan said.
“I’ve been quite passionate about delivering health-based cocktails into the group. The focus is on fresh ingredients and minimal interference, so seeing products like Lyre’s is a really important step in being able to deliver a drink that is of quality and is an alternative.”
Lyre’s Co-Founder and Managing Director, Mark Livings said it was great to see Solotel embracing Lyre’s.
“It is forward thinking groups like Solotel that are showing the rest of the country how to do it right, how to do it to a really high quality, how to delight people when they come into a venue. The rest of the industry does look to groups like Solotel and to venues like Smoke to set the tempo,” he said.
“It was pretty special seeing Lyre’s at Opera Bar. It has to be one of the most iconic venues in the country and for us to have secured a ranging so early is incredible.”
Sullivan added: “It’s really great for us as well, it’s a great partnership. We’re both in it for the right reasons, but I think it’s the quality as well, that’s the really important part and we are both driving that quality.”
