HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) – Bars and restaurants across Alabama are dealing with liquor supply disruptions that are making it harder to keep popular brands in stock and driving up costs for businesses.
At Stella’s Elixir Lounge in downtown Huntsville, General Manager John Longo says some of the hardest products to get are the basic liquors used in everyday cocktails.
“Right now, some of the hardest things for us to obtain are what we call our well liquors or our standard liquors that we would pour in a standard cocktail,” Longo said.
The shortages follow the Alabama ABC Board’s move to a new distribution warehouse in Montgomery. The transition has disrupted shipments, leaving some businesses struggling to get products they regularly order.
Longo says the availability of those basic liquor brands has become unpredictable.
“We’re talking about our basic liquors or what we call in our business our well liquors, the liquors that are the most popular in your basic drinks. And we’ve kind of been on pins and needles about whether or not we can get these from week to week,” he said.
For Stella’s, the supply problems are also affecting how the business serves its customers. Longo says they’ve been able to make some substitutions when certain brands aren’t available, but changing ingredients can affect the consistency of a drink.
“We’ve been able to improvise by maybe getting another brand name of something that we typically put into a drink. But in our business, as just in a restaurant, it’s about consistency. You don’t want your recipes to vary. A craft cocktail is a recipe,” Longo said.
Longo says the business is continuing to adjust to what’s available while trying to provide customers with the drinks they expect.
The Alabama ABC Board has acknowledged that the warehouse transition disrupted shipments. The agency says restoring reliable deliveries is its immediate priority, and the new facility is intended to increase storage capacity and improve distribution.
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