Business

Look Inside Wirtz Beverages’ In-House Mixology Lab

Wirtz Beverages development manager Eric Hay.
Wirtz Beverages development manager Eric Hay. Photo: Jason Little/Eater Chicago

Now and then we get an item about a mixologist who has given up the working with drunks till 2 a.m. part— you know, the glamor— and gone in-house for some large beverage distributor. You think they’re just looking for security and normal-person hours— and they surely are— but as Eater’s slideshow about Wirtz Beverage’s spirits lab The Alchemy Room shows, it’s a mistake to assume that they’ve stepped out of the game. Eric Hay, formerly of Bar DeVille and Bangers & Lace, is the mad scientist of this laboratory, and in it he’s probably exercising far more influence on the beverage scene than he ever did behind a bar, because he’s helping other bars develop cutting-edge beverage programs (using plenty of Wirtz-distributed product). Located at Wirtz’s massive new office and warehouse facility in Cicero, you’ll probably never see it yourself, but you’ll feel its impact on the bar scene whether you know it or not, so take a look at the slideshow. [Eater]

Look Inside Wirtz Beverages’ In-House Mixology Lab