How To Build Audience Momentum Around A Cocktail Before Competition Day

Every great cocktail has a following.

The Martini. The Manhattan. The Old Fashioned. The Margarita.

Peter Arnone, COO & Partner at Cellar 335

The Road To New York Cocktail Expo helps bars build audience momentum before stepping onto one of New York's most anticipated cocktail stages at New York Cocktail Expo — New York's premier cocktail festival attended by guests, bartenders, hospitality professionals, media, and beverage brands.

Participating bars don't wait until a final cocktail is finished.

Instead, they build a following around the entire process:

• inspirations

• trial versions

• staff feedback

• guest reactions

• successes

• failures

• evolution

• final reveal

Participating bars gain:

• editorial & press coverage

• social media visibility

• audience growth

• spirit brand partnerships

• guest engagement

• ticket-driving opportunities

• hospitality industry exposure

The bar that builds the strongest following can bypass the judges elimination round and earn a direct route to the stage.

Because people don't simply follow cocktails.

They follow stories.

Below, Peter Arnone, COO & Partner at Cellar 335 shares how they built momentum around their cocktail journey, involved their community, partnered with Probitas Rum, and ultimately captured the Tiki Throwdown title.

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Tiki Throwdown is New York's official tropical cocktail competition founded by Shannon Mustipher, author of TIKI: Modern Tropical Cocktails, and Matthew Kourie, founder of New York Cocktail Expo.

INTERVIEW

Q: Tell us about Cellar 335 and your cocktail program.

A: Cellar 335 is a hidden little restaurant under White Eagle Hall in Jersey City NJ. The bar program was designed around tropical ingredients and tiki methods. We studied the history of tiki and use many of the techniques of Donn Beach and Trader Vic. Ultimately we are a place where you can escape Jersey City and mentally be somewhere else while you visit.

Q: What made you want to bring Cellar 335 into the Road To New York Cocktail Expo?

A: I participated in the Cocktail Expo years ago and had an amazing experience. I met a lot of great people and always wanted to come back and win the title. After missing a few years because of competitions and life, it was always on my list to come back and build something special.

Q: Tell us about the inspiration behind the cocktail.

A: Last summer was brutally hot and my mind was already set on escaping somewhere else. Tiki escapism is the easiest way to do that without buying a plane ticket. I started thinking about the opposite of unbearable heat and it hit me: Christmas.

We host a holiday pop-up called Sleighs n Leis, so I thought what better represented our bar program than combining tropical flavors with Christmas spirit? I started imagining Santa on a tropical beach drinking a Zombie and that eventually became The Ghost of Christmas Past.

Q: Why was Probitas Rum the right spirit partner?

A: Probitas was the obvious choice. It's impossible to name a hotter, faster-growing rum right now. The blend already gives me depth without having to reach for multiple bottles and knowing where it comes from mattered too. It's made by two distilleries that sit at the top of my quality list. It was a match made in heaven.

Q: How did Probitas help elevate the Road campaign?

A: Probitas really dove in and helped push us to the top. There were already a lot of eyes on what they were doing and they helped promote me and my team and spread the word that we would be at the Cocktail Expo. That helped sell tickets and gave me the platform to go be wild on stage.

Q: How did guests and regulars become part of the process?

A: Serving the drink at the restaurant for two months really got our regulars involved. They were able to taste something that was headed to competition and feel like they were part of the process. They had something they could cheer for.

Q: What actually helped build momentum?

A: Posting on personal and restaurant social media helped get the word out, but inviting people into the restaurant to experience the drink was huge. Then talking with them about supporting and following the journey made people engage.

Think about it — we sold the most tickets for a NYC event and we aren't even located in NYC.

Q: What advice would you give to bars entering the Road To New York Cocktail Expo?

A: Dive in. Don't hold back. Just serving an amazing drink may not be enough anymore. Bring what makes your bar special — the service, the excitement, the passion. Bring everything you do every day and let people become part of it.

Now the next stories are being written.

Bars and spirit brands entering the Road To New York Cocktail Expo don't simply enter a competition — they build momentum, involve their communities, create content, and invite people into the journey before ever stepping on stage.

The question becomes:

What story will your bar tell?

What following will your cocktail build?

Road To New York Cocktail Expo entries are now open.

Bars, spirit brands, and partners interested in joining the journey can explore opportunities below.

Bars Tap here.

Spirit Brands Tap here,