さて、松本市のイベントに出店できる品物がまだ1点しかないのに、時間はどんどん過ぎ、出店要項が送られてきました。何を展示するか、主催者に報告しなくてはなりません。 うーん。困った…。んで突然閃きました！ソルトレイクブースでなく、姉妹都市ブースにして松本市のフルーツを使ったソルトレイクシティのラム酒とのカクテルを販売したらどーだろー？ アメリカは空前のクラフトスピリッツブームで小さな蒸留所がここ10年で3020軒以上もできています。ラム酒以外にもスピリッツならいくつか揃えられるかも？
August 2016 came and went, but we still couldn't get more than one item to exhibit for the Matsumoto Craft Festival. Time kept slipping through my hands and we were facing the deadline for submitting exhibit items to the organizer of the event. Geez, what shall we do? We can't just display the rum! That's when a light bulb sparkled in my head. What if we changed the original concept, which was setting up a SLC booth, to something like a Sister City booth which allows us to include both elements? What if we come up with a cocktail using fruits from Matsumoto and the rum from SLC?? Wouldn't that be cool?
The craft spirits market is huge now in the United States. Over 3020 micro distilleries were established in the past 10 years. Importing Spirits is a lot easier for me, and we might be able to source few more local spirits from SLC if we were lucky!
August 2016 came and went, but we still couldn't get more than one item to exhibit for the Matsumoto Craft Festival. Time kept slipping through my hands and we were facing the deadline for submitting exhibit items to the organizer of the event. Geez, what shall we do? We can't just display the rum! That's when a light bulb sparkled in my head. What if we changed the original concept, which was setting up a SLC booth, to something like a Sister City booth which allows us to include both elements? What if we come up with a cocktail using fruits from Matsumoto and the rum from SLC?? Wouldn't that be cool?
The craft spirits market is huge now in the United States. Over 3020 micro distilleries were established in the past 10 years. Importing Spirits is a lot easier for me, and we might be able to source few more local spirits from SLC if we were lucky!
ということで、松本商工会議所の方々に相談したところご賛同頂けましたので、すぐにソルトレイクにある他の蒸留所にアプローチ。同時に松本のフルーツカクテルを考案すべく、カクテル本を買いあさりました。むか〜しサントリーのカクテルスクールに通った経験を活かせる日がついに来たか⁈ とニヤニヤしながら。。。
So, I consulted with the Matsumoto City of Commerce people, explained our situation, the challenges we were facing and what we could do. They liked my idea and encouraged us to take that direction, the Sister City Booth. So we made approaches to few other distirellies in SLC and I bought a few cocktail books, and experimented with trying to come up with a Matsumoto-SLC cocktail recipe. I'd been to a cocktail school when I was younger, so coming up with a cocktail recipe or two shouldn't be so hard, right?
So, I consulted with the Matsumoto City of Commerce people, explained our situation, the challenges we were facing and what we could do. They liked my idea and encouraged us to take that direction, the Sister City Booth. So we made approaches to few other distirellies in SLC and I bought a few cocktail books, and experimented with trying to come up with a Matsumoto-SLC cocktail recipe. I'd been to a cocktail school when I was younger, so coming up with a cocktail recipe or two shouldn't be so hard, right?
しかし、色々混ぜ合わせてみるも、どーにも上手くいかず。困った…。素人が簡単に作れるほど、甘いものではありませんでした。するとボスが当日バーテンダーを雇ったらどうかとアドバイスしてくれました。どうせなら松本市のバーテンダーさんにしようと商工会議所の方に相談すると、探してしましょうと引き受けてくださいました。
Well, of course creating a new cocktail was not easy and here I was facing another wall.... That was when my boss suggested that we should hire a bartender for the event. Yes! That's a brilliant idea! I talked with the City of Commerce people and they said they would see if they could find someone local for the event.
Well, of course creating a new cocktail was not easy and here I was facing another wall.... That was when my boss suggested that we should hire a bartender for the event. Yes! That's a brilliant idea! I talked with the City of Commerce people and they said they would see if they could find someone local for the event.
クラフトスピリッツの方はウオッカ、テキーラ、スパイスウイスキー、イエガーマイスターのようなハーブがたくさん入ったスピリッツなど、面白いものが見つかりました。食品なので検疫所と相談しつつ、メーカーに成分表など依頼しつつ、同時進行で出店準備。カクテルとなるとコップ、氷、ストローなど材料をどの位準備してよいものか？残ったらどーしよ？どこに頼んだらよいのか？やる事があり過ぎてややパニック状態。おまけに週末は出張したりで大忙しです。
Meanwhile, my boss found few unique craft spirits like vodka, tequila, spiced whisky, and herbal spirits. So we communicated with those makers and crossed our fingers hoping to get documents in place for some of those spirits before the Event. Also, I would need to start preparing materials for making and selling cocktails, things like plastic cups, ice, drinking straws, fruits and so on. I'd never exhibited at a food related event and felt a bit lost as to where to go to get this stuff and how much I would need for the event, how to deliver the things to the booth, and what would happen to the left over products and supplies if we couldn't sell all of it. I didn't have much time to spare for this event because there were so many other things going on at work.
そんな時に商工会議所から連絡が来て、松本でバーを2つ経営されている方がイベントバーテンダー引き受けてくださると！バーテンダーのコンペでたくさん賞を取られた松本市内でも有名な大御所がお出ましになる事になりました。商工会議所の方は、この顔の広いバーテンダーさんに誰か紹介して貰えないかなんかというつもりだったようですが、ご本人がお手伝い下さると。私ってすごく運がよくね？…という事ですぐに会いに伺うためにいざ松本！…続く…。
That was when I got a call from the City of Commerce office, telling me that they found an award-winning bartender who runs 2 bars in Matsumoto. He has won several world class competitions and is a leading bartender in the area. He knows and hires quite number of bartenders and that was why the City of Commerce people went to him, hoping he would recommend someone for this event. They didn't expected that he would actually help our booth, yet he decided to step up to work with us? Wow, that's great! Luck was still with me, I guess. I must go to Matsumoto and meet with the bartender! (To be continued...)
That was when I got a call from the City of Commerce office, telling me that they found an award-winning bartender who runs 2 bars in Matsumoto. He has won several world class competitions and is a leading bartender in the area. He knows and hires quite number of bartenders and that was why the City of Commerce people went to him, hoping he would recommend someone for this event. They didn't expected that he would actually help our booth, yet he decided to step up to work with us? Wow, that's great! Luck was still with me, I guess. I must go to Matsumoto and meet with the bartender! (To be continued...)
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