Is It The Product? Or The Packaging?

Today, in a liquor store that shall not be named, I conversed with a wine lover (who shall also go unnamed), about the CBTA event I was at on Monday with Licor 43. An interest comment ensued from my conversee. The conversee found it interesting that Licor 43 was being marketed in Calgary as this smooth and sexy drink, when the packaging didn't match that look at all. It's an amber coloured liquid in a clear bottle.

And yet, it's interesting to look at the website and image that's been built up around the brand. The website is dark and sleek, mysterious silhouettes of women in backlit doorways, golden light shining down on the bottle. It looks like sexy marketing to me.

Is it that the conversee is used to seeing more effort put into the bottle itself, so as it sits there on the shelf with the dark glass, the art and design of the label does the speaking for the brand, calling and enticing the potential drinker to imaging what flavours and adventures lie within the realms of this sealed container?

Really, it's all in the art of marketing. We all have an image to uphold, and when we haven't the slightest idea as to what we're drinking (be truthful now, most of us haven't the foggiest idea), we listen to the brand, to the marketers. We experience a product in a certain setting and learn to associate it with specific feelings and beliefs about ourselves.

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Monday? Who likes Monday? For most, it's the start of the work week and a reminder that the weekend is still another four days away. Many of us are happy to get the day over with and out of the way. Or so goes the mentality of a lot of folks out there working to live, spending 8 hours in a box doing something they'd rather not be doing. 

While a job or career change may not be on your horizon, there are plenty of events and activities going down in our pretty city to inject a whole lot of fun into any day of the week – even a Monday.

Last night, in particular, I found 43 ways to love my Monday night. And the best part? It came pre-packaged and ready in one bottle at the April meet of the Calgary Bartenders Association. 

The insiders say its a bit tricky to mix with and still create a balanced drink because Licor 43's own taste is so strong. But with the two sample cocktails on-site, you'd never know it. Nathan with Milk Tiger was pouring up an engaging Sour, and Stephen with Model Milk had the Oh Julius on hand for guests to enjoy. Topped with a bit of froth (is that a raw egg he dropped into the mix?), he was peddling it as an adult version of the Orange Julius. Move over mamosas, there's a new hangover cure in town.

Moving beyond the drinks,Diner Deluxeprepared some nibbles. Chocolate-filled pastries, bite-sized oatmeal in a spoon, and mini-eggs benny were the highlights for me. 

And the egg decorating station over by the window was a cute touch.

The Calgary Bartenders Associationis an association of hospitality minded people in Calgary, Alberta and Canada. Every month, they host an event open to the industry and the public to educate and open the palates of imbibers in a fun atmosphere. 

Care to try some Licor 43? You'll find it in most Calgary Coop locations, Crowfoot Liquor Store, Highlander Liquor Store, L Store, Willow Park, Zyn and Canadian Liquor Store. For the location nearest you, visit LiquorConnect.com.

EnterLicor 43,a liqueur out of Spain made from 43 natural ingredients, with fruits and herbs from the Mediterranean basin. On its own, I'd call it a sweet sipper. It's a wee bit thick in its consistency, which in my mind makes for a lovely glass to sup slowly. I wonder what it would taste like poured over ice cream, or used in some ridiculously delicious dessert that would soak up the flavours?