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Thoughts

Thoughts

How to tackle inflation

With everyone being financially crunched, Danny Murphy suggests some ways to help keep bar costs low and customers coming in.

Thoughts

Fat equals flavour: Monica Berg on oils in drinks

Monica Berg outlines why fat washing is a favourite method of adding indulgence, richness and softness to a drink.

Thoughts

Jake O'Brien Murphy on bar snacks: oysters

Jake O'Brien Murphy continues his quest to find the perfect bar snack - this time he ruminates on oysters.

Thoughts

Jake O'Brien Murphy on bar snacks: bread & butter

Jake O'Brien Murphy has begun his mission to find the best bar snacks around. His opening gambit is a staple - bread and butter.

Thoughts

Jake O'Brien Murphy on his quest to find the perfect bar snack

Introducing a new series of articles, Jake O'Brien Murphy sets out his mission to find the best bar snacks around - but he needs your help too. 

Thoughts

Jake O'Brien Murphy on the language of flavour

Jake O’Brien Murphy gets the troubling issue of how to best describe flavour off his chest.

Thoughts

Cash is dead, card is king

If your bar is still taking cash, you're definitely haemorrhaging money. Mike Baxter explains why. 

Thoughts

Bartending by the book - what is the industry's required reading?

There is endless information online, but the bartender's best friend remains the book, says Danny Murphy.

Thoughts

Private media: Should your employer have influence over your social media?

There are often blurred lines between the personal and the professional when it comes to social media. Anna Sebastian investigates whether the two can work together.

Thoughts

Don't forget the positives - Ryan Chetiyawardana on the benefits of bartending

Ryan Chetiyawardana asks if it’s now time to refocus and talk up the benefits of bartending as a career.

Thoughts

What St Patrick's Day means to me

With St Patrick's Day nearing - Thursday 17th March - Aaron Wall from Homeboy tells us what the celebration means to him.

Thoughts

Will April be a financial cliff edge for hospitality?

The financial safety nets put in place to mitigate restrictions are being removed, and new costs are adding further pressure. But there are some positives, says Hamish Smith

Thoughts

The Pinnacle Guide - how will it work?

Hamish Smith gets to grips with the plans for a new, Michelin-style bar guide

Thoughts

Getting the most out of a collab

When they are done for the right reasons, partnerships with different businesses can offer all manner of positives, says Monica Berg, whose recent food/cocktail pairing collaboration proved the rule.

Thoughts

The wider constellation - why every role in the bar business matters

A stellar bar operation requires more than the star-tender. It’s time the view widened, says Ryan Chetiyawardana.

Thoughts

Storytelling in bartending - a lost art?

Jake O'Brien Murphy ponders the importance of shared histories and experiences – regardless of whether or not they are rooted in fact.

Thoughts

Surviving the booze-pocalypse

With the supply of bar staples still faltering, Mike Baxter says there’s an opportunity to reshape tastes

Thoughts

How to attract homegrown talent to bartending

Edmund Weil sets out a ‘manifesto’ for  attracting more people into hospitality roles.

Thoughts

Diary of a bar owner during a staffing crisis

The staffing crisis has seen many bar owners becoming more hands-on in their businesses. Danny Murphy of Berry & Rye Group diarises the experiences he and other operators have had, with a little literary licence to disassociate events, dates and the people involved.

Thoughts

Do classic cocktails limit spirits innovation?

Is the bar trade's devotion to classic recipes limiting the space for the next generation of spirits development, asks Ryan Chetiyawardana

Thoughts

Is the bar business still profitable?

Not wanting to get caught out again following the pandemic-induced financial nightmare, Iain McPherson has been busy looking at ways to diversify income and adding revenue streams to the existing business.

Thoughts

Is the ride over? How the pandemic changed the global bar industry

Edmund Weil reflects on the carousel of global travel events that used to characterise the industry – and wonders if it will ever return to its glory days.

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"We're at a critically important moment for the hospitality industry"

Revisiting his home town gave Jake O'Brien Murphy reason to question the way the cocktail scene is constructed and perceived – and left him longing for a more progressive, inclusive future.

Thoughts

86 experience (the freshman invasion)

With experienced staff in short supply, Mike Baxter rethinks the way he trains rookies.

Thoughts

Seated but not defeated: the future of table service

What seemed like a volume bar’s worst nightmare actually proved a valuable lesson in how adapting and evolving could lead to more efficient service and improved profitability. By Mike Baxter of Gonzo’s Tea Room.

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Power in numbers: why I joined a union

Jake O'Brien Murphy has had it with being treated disrespectfully and decided to join a union. He now at least feels backed up against those who are using the pandemic to their financial advantage.

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The hook: how we should be incentivising bartending

Edmund Weil says the industry needs to rethink how it rewards its staff if it is to survive the current challenges – and that goes beyond monetary compensation.

Thoughts

Breaking down the server-guest barrier

There are certain smart moves that a bartender can make to break down server/guest barriers and build new connections, says Danny Murphy.

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The new brand-bar relationship

Edmund Weil looks at some ways in which brands and bars can work together to help each other make the most of their investments.

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Behind the stick but not the wheel

Jake O'Brien Murphy is facing his return to work with a mixture of trepidation and excitement