Happy New Year, Cocktail Lovers!
As January comes to a close, those of you doing Dry-uary are almost there – kudos!
I don’t do a dry January. Though I did a dry February last year. This year I’ve got a big London weekend planned and will want to check out some good bars and restaurants. I also have a friend coming into town for a weekend and we’re going to go out to the newly opened Sister Midnight from our friends at Red House. And, Imma wanna have a drink on both of those weekends! 🙂
So, instead of doing a dry February, I’m just going to do what so many in the cocktail industry strive for: “less, but better.” I’ll keep things calm for the month, but not entirely swear of spirits for four weeks. And, I’m okay with that because part of my outlook for the new year includes avoiding extremes and not being so crazy demanding of myself, my site and other people!
I don’t really buy into extreme New Year’s resolutions. But I do take it as a time to reflect on what I did the prior year and what I want to be doing. I think about my bigger life-goals and also like to think of a few fun or useful things I’d like to accomplish throughout the year. Last year I spent more one-on-one time with friends, upped my cassoulet game and submitted my application for French nationality. This year, for my big goal, I’d like to buy a country house. My little fun goal is to visit all the free museums in Paris. And, maybe work on my lasagne skills…
Which also brings me to thinking about the 52 Martinis site and related cocktail projects and activities. And here is what I’ll be doing and how I’ll be focusing and carrying out my cocktail thoughts, writing and activities for the new year:
Getting more serious about local spirits: I know going locavore isn’t a new concept among thoughtful consumers. BUT…I think there is a lot more progress to be made in drinking local when it comes to spirits. Part of me recognizes that it is important to taste spirits (especially gin) from all over to keep my palette attuned to what’s happening. But a bigger part thinks that booze leaves a big carbon footprint, so I’m going to put more focus on writing about the environmental and eco benefits of drinking locally. I will also work on swapping most of the standards in my bar to local option. I’m going to put my carbon footprint where my mouth is!
Adding value to my content: If you read an earlier Editor’s Letter, you’ll know that I’m still doing lots of thinking about how to handle the content on my site and what directions to take it. When I started writing about cocktails, I was pretty much the only game in town. Now that every Tom, Dick and My Little Paris is in on the cocktail game and many bars have big PR machines behind them, there’s less need for 52M to share the booze news in terms of new bars. BUT….I think now that cocktails have gone mainstream, there are ways that 52M can be useful in delivering thoughtful content about what kind of clientele each bar pulls in. In my iOS app, I’ll be looking for ways to get across the idea of what a bar style is like. Is it someplace you’d take your mother in law? Or some place that you’d take you’re cool young cousin? I’m playing with ideas on how to share that kind of info without breaking bars down by age group or some other category that might not really get the idea across. And, I’m open to hear ideas on how you’d like to see that done!
Knowing What’s On in Paris: As you may know, 52 Martinis includes an events calendar where we curate a list of what we consider to be the best options in upcoming Food & Drink events in the city. I also send a weekly “What’s on in Paris” mail of our top five picks for events over the upcoming seven days. Feedback has been really positive on the newsletter. Plus, I think it’s not always easy to find a fun selection of what’s happening in terms of Food & Drink in Paris. So, this year, I’m going to spend more time focusing on building up the calendar and the weekly mailing. They both need some tweaking in terms of content (more!) and layout that could make them even better, I think.
And, I like to hear from all the Cocktail Lovers out there so I know I’m not just talking to myself. Please don’t hesitate to let me know in the comments below how 52 Martinis could be more useful to you in the upcoming year. Or just let me know what your looking forward to in 2019!
Wishing you all a Happy New Year!!
(also photo credit for my photo is to Caroline Wyatt. I’m having some issues getting the photo caption to work at the moment!)
