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The men behind America’s Next Top Espresso Martini
We caught up with Nigel Barker and Philippe Roederer, co-founders of The Barker Company, about their desire to “own” the ready-to-serve Espresso Martini space.
Having debuted in the US last month, The Barker Company already has grand goals in the Espresso Martini game, covering all bases in ready-to-serve (RTS) formats (200ml can/US$4.99; 375ml bottle/US$15.99); and 700ml bottle/US$27.99), and with plans in place for further expressions and twists in the years to come.
Positioned as a premium RTS Espresso Martini, one that you might expect from a five-star restaurant/bar, the brand was co-founded by Nigel Barker (perhaps best known for his 17-cycle stint as a judge on America’s Next Top Model and for his work as a photographer in the fashion industry) and Philippe Roederer, who has more than a decade’s worth of brand-building experience in the drinks industry, including Howler Head – a banana-infused Bourbon backed by Campari Group and UFC boss Dana White – and as the CEO for Voss Water.
Speaking to The Spirits Business on how the idea turned into a reality, Barker says the pair have been friends for years and “met each other as dads”, as their kids went to school together. Barker himself ran a podcast called Shaken & Stirred during the pandemic, which eventuated in 135 episodes and many cocktail tastings. “It was very clear that my female guests really loved Espresso Martinis,” he says. “But it was also clear that we didn’t think there was a particularly good RTD on the market, as in, too sweet, too bitter, and mostly they didn’t have a perfect head.”
To correct this, Barker and Roederer, who have always wanted to build a brand together, joined forces to put their own stamp on the cocktail, with a ‘beautiful coffee taste’, and of course, ‘a perfect head’.
“The Espresso Martini was becoming the hot thing”, Roederer observed. “It is very hard to execute, though, and we wanted to be the solution for the consumer at home who doesn’t have to buy vodka, coffee liqueur, make an espresso shot, then mix it all together and hope it all turns out okay.
“Then we wanted to be a solution for operators as well, who might struggle making Espresso Martinis because of consistency issues, because of speed of execution. It’s not easy, by the way – making them is tough, and what we are trying to do is the perfect-looking Espresso Martini, yes, but also the perfect-tasting one.”
Proper presentation
The research and development stage turned out to be two years of work, where the pair road-tested various versions with their wives, friends, family and bartenders around New York. There wasn’t any need to rush things, Roederer felt. “We have had plenty of time to talk to on-premise operators, off-premise operators. We worked with tons of mixologists to figure out the perfect flavour profile. As again, working with coffee is extremely difficult.”
Barker lived in Milan as a fashion photographer and reminisces on his “perfect” morning espressos, which were never bitter. Going through his favoured profile that was routine in Milan, he explained: “It was always chocolatey and with a slight vanilla undertone and a mocha vibe, and it went down really easily, even though how powerful it was, so we wanted to make sure we created an Espresso Martini that matched that, and had a great kick, and also looked beautiful – because it’s the whole thing. The presentation.”
Stressing the importance of good visuals, and considering he has an eye for aesthetics, he explains: “First of all with many RTDs, you don’t get the shaking, you don’t get any of the prep, you don’t get any of the fun and games. You just get the drink. But if the drink also doesn’t present well, then you have a very average product that won’t last.”
Barker said the aim is to give consumers the same experience they would have in the bar but at home, and “deliver a solution” for high-volume bars.
Barker Company uses 100% organic Colombian coffee, after the team looked at beans from all over the world, alongside six-time-distilled vodka and caramelised sugar.
To create a ‘wow factor’, Barker describes his Espresso Martini as having a “beautiful black base with an inch of crema on the top”. Unlike some other brands, which Barker says can have an “insipid airy head and just fall through”, the crema used in his serve gives the ability to balance the beans on top.
“It’s one of those things where a lot of drinks, you could make them and they start to disintegrate fast, and that kind of appeal is important. So the drink looks good and holds itself – we’re really proud of that aspect.”
A solution for bartenders
Beyond the make-it-at-home-yourself aspect, poured as one might receive at a top bar, a focus is also the bar scene itself, where Barker and Roederer are looking to make life easier for bartenders, while not shortchanging quality.
There are a lot of moving parts to consider when putting an Espresso Martini together, as Barker explains: “Interestingly enough, while the Espresso Martini has become the number-one, fastest-growing cocktail in the world, and in the US it is the number-three most-ordered cocktail, it is also the number-one most returned cocktail to the bar, because someone hasn’t made it right, right? This goes back to the consistency for us, speed of execution and all these things, because it takes a long time for a bartender to make one.”
The pair say it takes around 15 seconds make a Barker Company Espresso Martini, starting with shaking the liquid in a shaker with ice, pouring into a Martini glass and then garnishing with the coffee beans.
“[In the bar] half the time you have to be a barista and a bartender,” Barker says. “You have to say ‘Okay, I’m going to make a shot of espresso. Well, I’m going to batch it, I’m going to use cold brew.’ You have to make a decision on that, and cold brew really doesn’t make an Espresso Martini”.
For Barker, an espresso shot is the best solution, but it’s not easy for bars that don’t have access a coffee machine. “You have to have a coffee machine relatively nearby, which most bars don’t because they’re not a coffee shop.”
Owning the space
For expansion, the pair are taking things slowly. “It’s state by state,” Barker says. “We don’t want to rush the next stage, which is getting it into people’s hands, letting them try it, taste it, trust us, know what we’re talking about, get that feedback, and move on steadily.”
The UK is on the radar too and Barker claims that they are “getting calls from people all over the world to buy it”. “You’ve got to have proper distribution, and you’ve got to be able to actually have the production in line, and all the rest of it is ramping up to that level, that scale.”
A cappuccino flavour is also set to launch in January next year.
Barker, however, does note that beyond the classic Espresso Martini, “the sky’s the limit, as it’s such a popular drink”.
“Even with ours, people are talking to us about adding some pumpkin spice for fall, maybe for Christmas, whatever. Who knows what we might do down the line,” he teases.
“Some people have asked for a virgin version as well. Maybe. We can figure it out. We’re here to be a solution when it comes to Espresso Martinis and we want to really own this space. It’s a very fun place to be.”
Barker emphasises that for vision: “We’re not looking for a one sale, one-off, one moment type of deal”.
“We’re looking for people to go ‘I know where to get an Espresso Martini’ and hopefully we’re looking for people to go in and then say, ‘I’d like a Barker’, and order it by name, because we hit it to that point where people know, there’s a differentiator, there’s everybody else’s and then there’s this.”
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