Thursday Club

With the Bank Holiday it may be a short week, but they always feel longer than they should! As Henry said yesterday there have been a few production problems that got me thinking...

Is my current job (with as many titles as I want to give myself - Production Director, CEO, Co-Founder, CIO etc) really that different from the old days as a Project Manager in the Investment Banks?

In the 'old' days I'd be wondering where that $100 million trade had gone in the system, now a days I wrestle with where our juice supply is being stored. These dilemmas are no longer interrupted by screaming traders, but by Henry asking whether that is the right shade of red on our POS (how am I supposed to know?).

In the 'old' days I'd be part of groups that would go out in the City every Thursday... something that was quickly christened 'Thursday Club'. This involved going round all the City bars and spending my former companies money. This year I'm commuting in to town on a Thursday night and blowing my companies money (aka mine).

In reality though the similarities are minimal, the beauty of running your own show means that you get the definitive view on everything and I mean EVERYTHING. From how the invoices look to whether to order 3,000 litres of juice or 10,000. With no bureaucracy it is just a case of phoning Henry and saying I'm doing this or that. The beauty of working at home is also hard to argue with, I have a 2 second commute from my bed to my desk and although we are largely keeping office hours its nice to know that I can lie in a bit in the mornings and catch up on the weekend or whenever.

When the lorry load of Muddler Cocktails turns up.... it'll be this flexibility that allows us to spend every waking moment plodding the streets getting the pubs to taste it.

What I'm confident of, the deeper I get into the world of Muddler the more confident I am that this is going to work. As any Thursday night in the City shows, you still spend a lot of the time at the bar whilst women (sorry but it is mostly the ladies) decide what to have. I do believe that our product will answer this dilemma . We have a great looking, great tasting product we just need to get it in front of people and things should look after themselves! Well I'm hoping anyway!

Well this week is almost over... just a lazy Friday to go (Friday afternoons do tend to be quite laid back at Muddler Towers).

I won't finish on a quote... I'll leave that to the wannabe academic!

One step forward two steps back

Well what can I say it has just been one of those days. Just as we thought we were about to go into production, at the last minute it's postponed. It's funny how nothing in life ever goes exactly to plan and how this is particulalrly true with business! Something always crops up that you're just not expecting. What from the outside can look so simple, when you actually get into it suddenly becomes so complicated.


Well today we found out that the bottler wants to push our timings back. It's only by a couple of days but we soooooooooo want to get our hands on it, it's like telling a 5 year old that Christmas has been postponed!

But deep down I'm quite philisophical about all of this. It gives us an extra couple of days to sort out our sales material and, lets face it, whose in the mood for cocktails when it's pissing down with rain.


No, I reckon the wait will be worth it. We will just build the anticipation some more and make even more of an impact when we launch.


As Charles Haddon Spurgeon said
'By perserverance the snail reached the ark'.

Bank holidays, stag dos, government health warnings and other great thoughts!

Having challenged Henry to write a post... he has hammered out three, good on him for doing that. As we write these, feel free to post comments (just click the little link below each post) or drop us an email (rupert@muddlerdrinks.com or henry@muddlerdrinks.com). We can then try to write post about things that people want to hear about, rather than what we deem to be important to you.

Lets be honest, it may well get to the point when we are struggling for ideas on what to write. Today this has not been the case for me, the subjects are the most varied yet: stag dos; bad weather; politics; producing a drink; life on the TV screen; and any other random thoughts that I have.

Some production issues at the end of last week caused Henry and I to keep on our toes. We had to re-jig some of the production dates and the order in which the product is put together. The bad news is that this has put back our expected delivery date for the final product by about a week. The good news is that it re-assures us that the work we have done over the last few months putting together a team of various suppliers (rum importer, juicer, bottler, label printer, box printer, freight company and guys that put our fancy sleeves on) has been well spent. It was the suppliers commitment to quality and getting this product right at launch which allowed them to catch the issue. They all being very flexible and many have had to change dates around to make sure that we get the best possible drink out with only the slight delay. Its all pretty amazing considering that they measure the Muddler production volumes in the thousands of bottles and they are much more used to dealing with MILLIONs.

Having got all the production re-arranged I then ran off to perform some intensive research into the European alcoholic drinks industry, also known as Steve's stag in Madrid. Determined not to repeat my mistakes of a couple of weeks before I managed to catch both flights this time! I'm not sure there is any conclusion to my research other than a belief that an all natural drink should produce easier going hangovers than shots of sambucca or the filth they put in cola and other mixers. I'm sure time will tell as people throw themselves into the world of natural alcoholic drinks.

Like the governments announcement today (on alcoholic labelling) I don't suggest anyone drinks to excess, but the reality is that people will (and we all have at some time in the past). I think it is right that people get the information they need to make educated decisions on what to do to their bodies. At Muddler Drinks the conversation on whether to include the number of units on the bottle (1.8 units) took less than 10 seconds when it came up a couple of months ago.

People deserve to get the information they require and with bottles/ measures of varying size and strengths the legal requirement to have % strength on the bottle does not seem good enough. Sales of Muddlers are being focused on the pubs/ bars/ clubs (the 'on trade') first and after watching the news today this raises a couple of questions:
1. Bottled drinks are always stocked in a fridge located behind the bar with the majority of the label out of sight. How are people supposed to make educated choices when they can't see the label?
2. Are spirits and mixers or draught products just going to be ignored? The TV news I watched earlier today had video footage of 'binge drinking' that included people 'downing' pints of lager and slamming shooters. My understanding is that there will be no extra information for these products.

What is clear is that all this will be voluntary and not legislation based (at the moment). As the details become clearer and we consider future production runs we will certainly be looking to see what Muddler Cocktails should be doing. We have already adhered to the voluntary code of conduct that the Portman Group puts forward and have every intention of being a provider of a responsible product. My nerves are that I'm not sure where all this info is going to go on the bottle. The size of the required logo would be enough to break up any packaging design, let alone a small bottle:
I just really don't want to see this go the way of the cigarette packets where the message seems to dwarf the other information on the label. Well lets see what happens... your thoughts are always welcome on this and any other subject.

As I look out of the window and see the rain pouring down, it is not a time for me to think only of Bank Holiday blues (it's so nearly over now) but also of the number of weddings I have coming up this year and the joy that some Muddlers could bring! With the sun beating down (hopefully) is there a better way to start off a wedding reception than with a real fruit cocktail served over ice? I doubt it.

If you're getting married we're happy to supply to your caterer or hotel, just let us know. Think of something that's great tasting and will get people talking at the start of the reception on your special day! Not just the same old Pimms or Champers.

Henry has come up with one of those bright ideas again today! These are always frightening moments for me... the last one he had made me give up work and start on my quest to find the ultimate alcoholic drink! He's suggesting we apply for a business reality TV show thing and I 've now agreed. This may be the best way we have of showing everyone what we're up to. The frightening thing is that they may edit it all together and make us look like bigger idiots than we are managing ourselves! Anyway, we're only dropping them an email so there is a long way to go before anything may happen, and we'll be sure to keep you updated.

Well it must be the weather, but I seem to have written another load of incoherent rubbish... certainly don't expect them always to be this long. So the pressure is on, will Henry continue his initial blog excitement and post another 75 pieces or will our freelance designer (Alex Smee) who has already contributed so much to the company step up and write a piece? He is threatening to do so, and I think many of you may appreciate some insider info on the design and what it is like to work with Henry and I. He has already done so much... will he publish the thoughts that go on in his head from behind his Apple Mac?

Our Bottle!

Over the last few months we have been working tirelessly on creating Muddler cocktails. This has meant touring the country in search of bottles, fruit, rum and bottlers to produce a delicious tasting drink and designers and labellers to produce the Muddler brand and image.

We are currently at the stage where all of this is in the process of coming together. The Rum from St Lucia and the unique combination of fruits have all arrived at the bottlers.

The bottle designs that Alex Smee our designer has worked relentlessly on, and you can see below, are currently being printed. All going well what has until now has been a virtual product on the screens of our computers will be a finished product in the palm of our hands and very shortly yours!

We hope you like the designs. We did lots of research with our friends to decide upon the final look and feel of Muddlers Cocktails. This was often done in parallel with some taste testing as well which always helped! Ultimately we wanted something that reflected it's natural contents and at the same time its sophistication and premiumness, after all it is a cocktail!

A Campaign for Real Cocktails

So what is it exactly that we have set out to do?

Well we have set out to produce a new alcoholic drink which we believe will give you the opportunity to drink real fruit cocktails in the places you drink, such as pubs bars and clubs for the first time.

Why have we done it?

We had the idea because of a recurring theme every time we went for a drink in a pub or bar with our friends. We'd all walk into a pub and the first question would be, 'who would like a drink?'. Most people would default to a beer or glass of wine but there was always at least one person who wouldn't know what they wanted, at which point one of us would start going through the list of drinks behind the bar.

From talking to more people about this we found that it wasn't just isolated to a few but that it was amazingly common. We also began to understand why people couldn't decide what to drink. It wasn't because they were indecisive and couldn't make their minds but because sometimes there just isn't a drink behind the bar that is alcoholic and really appeals.

One night we were talking about this when one of us said 'what if we could come up with an alternative drink that people really loved? Then there would never be this problem again'!

So we set about trying to find what this drink could be and it wasn't long until we found it, the muddled cocktail.

Muddled Cocktails are cocktails that have real fruit crushed in them by a Muddler, releasing their full flavour, before being mixed with the alcohol and ice. People love muddled cocktails because they're not only alcoholic but they are natural and taste delicious too. But there was a problem, currently you can only get muddled cocktails in cocktails bars where you have to wait half an hour to get served and then pay exorbitant prices for the privilege!

Our mission was simple 'To create muddled cocktails for bars, pubs and clubs' and this is what we came up with....

It took months of development and some serious taste testing, which believe it or not was really tough…. before we came up with our first Muddled Cocktail in a bottle. Each 275ml bottle consists of: Raspberries, blackberries and blueberries which are muddled and shaken together with 100% pure cloudy apple juice and a generous helping of oak barrel aged sugar cane rum.

That means no added water, no preservatives, flavourings or sweeteners but 100% real fruit, with a few bits, and good slug of alcohol, just the way a cocktail should be.

Just like any refreshing cocktail Muddler's is served best ice cold, you know the type your tongue would get stuck to if you licked the bottle. Due to it’s natural ingredients the bottle needs a good vigorous shake to mix them together with the alcohol. (We except no liability for flying bottles if you let go half way through!) Then you take a medium sized glass, fill it full with ice, pop the lid and pour it in. As you do this you can add a swizzle stick and straw that no cocktail is complete without. Finally, there should be just enough left over to have seconds, but not quite enough that you wont be tempted back for another!

Sound good?

Well hopefully Muddler Cocktails and 'The Campaign for real Fruit Cocktails' should be coming to a place near you soon.

Scary

I have to be honest and say that I wasn't sure about this whole blogging thing, but, having done it I've actually found it quite therapeutic!

So Rupert and I are doing what alot of people talk about which is to set up your own company and do your own thing.

It sounds great, like moving to the countryside or living in a remote place by the sea, you think it's going to be a scene of tranquil bliss.

At last you can make all your own decisions, there will be no more company politics or restrictive regimes to hold you back. Of course the reality is very different, and suddenly there are a load of other problems that you have never encountered before.

There's no one to support you when you're not sure which way to go, or fall back on if it all goes wrong, and most importantly there's no cheque at the end of the month to scrape you back into the black for at least a few days. But the worst thing of all is just not knowing whether what you are doing will actually work and that is bloody scary!

But there is something that makes it all seem worth while. For years I have had two separate lives, a work one and a personal one. For some reason the job I was doing would make me behave in a different way to the way I was as soon as I stepped outside the office. When you start working for yourself and most importantly doing something that you are really passionate about and really enjoy suddenly you feel as if you can be yourself all the time. There's no need to create another persona for work. Work becomes your life and life becomes work. I know that sounds a bit scary too but it's not it's an amazingly liberating experience and despite the inevitable ups and downs I've never enjoyed working as much as I am now.

So Rupert and I have decided to write our experiences down and hopefully you will enjoy the experience too, along with some delicious real fruit cocktails!

Blogging and hay - all in a normal day at the Muddler HQ

Welcome to the first post on the Muddler Cocktails blog.

Everything is work in progress for us: the website; publicity material; the label printing (or technically speaking sealing); sorting storage space; and many more things. So the look and feel of this blog is not quite there yet... but it will evolve around these posts and eventually (within a couple of weeks I hope) come close to fitting in with the rest of the website (when we have one).

Please check back most days to see what we've been up to. We won't guarantee to post every day and they wont always contain loads of photos... but we hope to make this vaguely entertaining (possibly even informative!) and will get stuck in to updating it most days. I'm sure you'll all soon realise that it is actually us writing the blog because of the appalling spelling and grammar (there are no fancy PR/ Marketing guys helping us out)!

Anyway, enough introductory waffle, let me get onto what we've been up to today.

Basically, we are trying to prepare everything for when we have the actual Muddler Cocktail bottles in just 4 working days time. Then we're off on the road to get this into Freehouse (or small chains) Bars/ Pubs/ Clubs as soon as possible, so that you all actually get to taste the finished product!

I spent the first few hours of the day ripping my hair out trying to balance the books, but with a little manipulation (enough said) they all add up now! Then I was interrupted when the motorcycle courier that is my business partner (aka Henry) hit the buzzer to the flats and said 'Got a delivery for a Wupert'.

Having trekked down to greet him, be amazed (again) at his monster of a motorbike and snigger at the fact that he drove for an hour and a half into London with a hay bale strapped to his bike:

(The observant ones among you will notice that this is actually an opportunity for me to publish a photo of my legendary Clio on the Internet)

Not believing that the mentally taxing work I had been performing that morning was enough, he roped me in to carrying the hay bale into my flat:


Yes this really is a hay bale! What the hell do we want one of those for? It's all to do with the marketing for the pubs that we are initially focusing on. We've had made up some amazing looking wooden promotional boxes that are currently in the Muddler store room (also known as my living room). We are going to fill them with goodies and give them to some trade customers. All the goodies will be laid on a bed of natural Welsh hay (thanks Rod and Rachel the hay was perfect - you know who you are!).

The first items that we had ready are Muddlers (not the drinks but the real things), some stickers (for the Muddlers) and the hay. So in the spirit of being prepared it was time to put all this together so they can just be finished off with a piece of printed material (known as the Cocktail Menu to those in the know) and a bottle of 'The Real Fruit Cocktail' when they arrive in the next few days.

So having debated the merits of how much hay you put in a wooden box we set off filling 100 of the things.

This picture of Henry trashing my kitchen does not show you the full impact... this was right at the start, by the time he was done the kitchen was effectively a farmyard:


Henry was so amazed that we only used a fraction of the hay that he told me about 75 times. So the spare stuff is now tucked round the corner of my block of flats (aka Muddler HQ)... hoping that we get to the situation where we need some more!

We did do some other stuff today (I managed to write this post) ... but most of it was Henry waffling.

I think we should make Henry post tomorrows blog post for a couple of reasons:
1. I can spend most of the day laughing at his technical ineptitude, then the rest of my day trying to explain how it works over the phone and pulling my hair out.
2. He is bound to write about the fluffier stuff so it will be a good mix. Possible topics include how the labels look, creating our first Press Release, the joys of creating a brand, the tough decisions we face on designing Point of Sale (POS) material, explaining what a Muddler actually is, Muddlers on Facebook, or maybe we should just say who we (and Alex) are etc

Henry.... that should be enough hints to get you started for the first day!

Everyone - feel free to post your comments. Helpful or just plain fun, get involved with the Muddler experience and enjoy the ride (we are)!

Cheers

Rupert