“5-6 months left”: how bars will survive without imported alcohol

The supply of its beverages to Russia has been suspended or limited by the American company Brown-Forman, the British Diageo, the French Pernod Ricard and LVMH, and the transnational Bacardi. The Carlsberg and Heineken companies did not completely separate, but stopped the production and sale of the beers of the same name. And this means that the bar list of restaurants could be drastically reduced in the very near future.

St. Petersburg restaurant Ante seafood&bar head bartender Roman Kachanov tells socialbites.ca that there are already problems with everything from beer to strong alcohol. He explains that all the drinks coming from abroad are given to the bars at different prices or completely disappeared from the Russian market. “Stocks are left for 5-6 months,” he said.

The bartender thinks big companies like Bacardi are a little better off with enough stock to last a year or two. For example, such a drink as Campari Aperol, in his opinion, will be enough for two years in Russia. But most hard drinks produced abroad won’t be in bars.

“There will be no English whiskey. Bourbon is American – you can forget that too! It will either be smuggling or it will be Duty Free but at a completely different price. All the iconic and very cool French liqueurs will be gone forever – they are long gone. No more imported beer. We cannot order. If something comes in then it comes in small lots, there are twenty pieces, but it’s not serious,” he says.

According to Kachanov, elite alcohol, especially drinks from holdings Pernod Ricard, LVMH and Diageo, ended in bars in May 2022.

“And we’re talking about three of the five possible big companies. It is unclear what will happen to the other two. There’s something from Bacardi so far but you won’t find the same Tequila Boss,” he says.

The bartender doesn’t see a real alternative to the leaving brands. According to him, any alternative is a waste of quality. “It is impossible to replace Chartreuse and Baileys Irish Cream liqueurs,” says Roman Kachanov.

In Moscow, the situation appears more optimistic. The departure of a number of spirits brands from the Russian market has certainly taken the bars out of their comfort zone, according to Alexander Shevelev, head bartender of the Rocky bar, but industry workers “will not suffer” about it. They see hope in that. “The current situation forces us to look for a substitute or alternative for the products that have been released, which increases the ‘vision’.

The bartender admits he doesn’t have any alcohol shortages today, but he often encounters situations where suppliers don’t have specific drinks. “The reasons likely violate established import logistics chains,” Shevelev says.

Denis Millionov, the brand bartender of the Modus restaurant, plans to replace the alcohol from the Russian market with traditional Russian liqueurs and liqueurs as well as local brands. He believes that over time, the market will adapt, new brands will appear, including Russian ones.

“I hope they simplify the law on alcohol production. This will give a great impetus to the renewal of the market. Now starting the production of any alcoholic beverage is a big problem. Therefore, the legal framework needs to be changed for the emergence of small craft distilleries. And there are no problems with the original product in Russia,” he said.

Millionov believes that the simplification of legislation will stimulate the development of the industry, where unique Russian vermouths, liqueurs and gins can emerge. “Maybe they’ll get better at making whiskey over time, and I don’t see an incredible problem with that,” he says.

It is the end consumers, not the bartenders, who suffer, in his view, from the separation of imported brands of alcohol. He believes it’s just a matter of time, although some drinks are difficult to replace, according to him.

“We are trying to replace some drinks, but we will make them ourselves. There is alcohol that cannot be replaced with anything, but firstly, it is a higher quality product that is already expensive, and secondly, you cannot make a gross profit from such products. Yes, there are problems, but they can all be solved. So this is both “It’s a test for bartenders, bar managers for their skills and self-organization, but partly for guests. It’s going to be a tough but interesting time,” he sums up.

A similar position is held by the chief bartender of the “Chinese Gramota” restaurants. Bar and Food” Sergei Bakhtinov.

Now that stocks of imported alcohol are depleted and bars face global supply problems by the end of the year, the bartender currently sees more pluses than minuses.

“The domestic market is beginning to develop actively: domestic brands are coming to the market. In addition, many bartenders are already preparing their own products for creating cocktails, for example, liqueurs. Of course, it will take time, but he is confident that it will open new doors for the development of the bar and alcohol industry in Russia.