The Sensory Set

Beverage · Luxury · New York

Notes on beverage, brand building and the senses, from someone who has worked behind the bar and run the P&L.

The Ledger money & retail
The Lab sensory craft
Feints from the still
Crossings beyond beverage
Sip Well drinking on purpose

Everything here comes from work I've done myself. "Feints," if you're not from the stillhouse, is the part of a run a distiller sets aside and folds back into the next batch instead of bottling. Good distillers pay close attention to it.

Sip WellNo. 06Damp, Not Dry: Designing for the Drinker Who AlternatesDamp drinking and zebra striping, explained. Why the drinker who alternates is the most important guest in the room, and what bars and brands should change. Sip WellNo. 05Do Mood Drinks Actually Work? Adaptogens, Explained by Someone Who Formulates ThemAshwagandha, L-theanine, kava, kanna, lion's mane. What the research says, what's in the can, and how to read a label. From a beverage founder who formulates them. The GlossaryReferenceRegenerative, Organic, Biodynamic: The Sip Well GlossaryPlain-English definitions of regenerative, organic, biodynamic, natural wine, carbon neutral, clean label, upcycled and more, for wine, spirits and non-alc. CrossingsNo. 04The Scent-and-Sip EconomyFragrance houses are pouring cocktails and beauty brands are opening cafés. What that means for the drinks, and who should make them. FeintsNo. 03Sustainability Without the GreenwashAgave that takes seven years to grow, a grain with ten-foot roots, and how to tell a real sustainability story from a leaf on a label. The LabNo. 02The Sensory Lab Method: Five Senses, One BrandWhy every brand decision is a sensory decision, and the five-sense audit I run with leadership teams: sight, sound, smell, touch, taste. The LedgerNo. 01What It Actually Costs to Put a Functional Beverage on ShelfSlotting, free fills, demos and distributor margin: what a launch in natural retail really costs, from a founder who has done it.

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