You’re sitting at home enjoying a cocktail and as you admire your handiwork a thought crosses your mind: “This is good…really good. I bet people would pay me to fix them a drink.” The idea is fleeting, disappearing before the ice melts in your glass, but you’re not alone—many drinkers share the fantasy of becoming a professional mixologist or distiller. So, how do you land a spirited job?

Bartender:

It’s more than possible to go from serious home bartender to pro. A common route is to find a job as a barback at a fine establishment and work your way up. Get a head start by taking a mixology class like the ones at Bourbon & Branch’s Beverage Academy in San Francisco, or enroll in the new Bar Academia in New York City, which offers an intensive 50-hour beginners’ course. The school is headed by Dushan Zaric, a Liquor.com advisor and co-owner of Employees Only and Macao Trading Co. (If you’re interested, email info@employeesonlynyc.com.)

Brand Ambassador:

Many spirits brands hire ambassadors to travel around the world making drinks, giving tastings and promoting their liquor. Generally, you have to be an expert bartender to score one of these coveted positions, but Belvedere Vodka is currently running a Dream Job contest that will award one lucky entrant a $100,000 brand ambassador contract.

Master Distiller:

Getting a job at a distillery is very tough. It helps to have a degree in science or some experience brewing beer or making wine, but neither is a prerequisite. Try to find a distillery that will take you on as an intern. Dry Fly Distilling in Spokane, Wash., even runs a school, and the American Distilling Institute offers a six-day workshop in Petaluma, Calif.

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Highlight Reel: September by Liquor.com

Seemingly in the blink of an eye, summer is over. Gone are the long days of sunshine, warm weather and leisurely weekends. So just in case you’ve missed anything while adjusting to the new season, here are some of Liquor.com’s best cocktails-and-spirits features from the past month.

An Apple a Day:

The apple is practically synonymous with autumn, and bartenders around the country are now using the fall fruit’s flavors in a range of comforting cocktails, including the Alfie’s Apple and the Cidertini.

Behind the Drink:

The Mojito is one of today’s most trendy and frequently ordered cocktails. Learn about its humble origins and rise to popularity.

Cocktails for White Wine Lovers:

Use the leftover bottles of white wine you bought for the summer in some inventive cocktails. The story includes recipes and tips for working with four different vinos.

One for the Road:

While Colorado has developed a reputation as a beer state, a bustling cocktail scene is emerging in Denver and nearby Boulder. Mixologist Simon Ford explores this new drinks frontier.

Gourmet Shot:

With two James Beard Awards (and nine total nominations) to her name, Traci des Jardins is a culinary giant in San Francisco. Read our profile of the famed chef, which includes recipes for one of her dishes and a cocktail pairing.

Wirtz Beverage Wisconsin employees donated $1900 to their local food pantries this month.  This donation was distributed to four food pantries in the four communities Wirtz Beverage resides in – Milwaukee, Madison, Eau Claire and Green Bay, Wisconsin.  This semi-annual contribution was raised by a 25 cent per bottle fee for products purchased through employee sales.  Sincere appreciation goes out to the employees of Wirtz Beverage Wisconsin!

Diageo held their annual distributor awards gala on Monday July 19^th at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.  The Golden Bars are known as the Oscars of the beverage alcohol industry, recognizing excellence in performance and execution of all Diageo Beer, Wine, and Spirits distributors across the United States.  Wirtz Beverage of Illinois Regal team took home the “Spirits Distributor of the Year” award, the most coveted award of the evening.

The “Spirits Distributor of the Year” award recognizes outstanding performance in delivering all of the Diageo plan: Innovation, display execution, menu/feature execution, teamwork, etc.  Regal VP of Sales Kevin Roberts said, “Every person on our team did their part to bring this home.  This is the award we were after.  Having achieved this goal only makes me want to repeat it again next year.”  This was the first time WBI has been recognized with this award.

In addition to the “Spirits Distributor of the Year” award, WBI Regal took home the top honor for the Jose Cuervo Brand Excellence Award and the Ketel One Brand Excellence Award for their outstanding performance across both of those iconic portfolios.  They also received nominations for 3 Brand Excellence awards, for Smirnoff, Baileys, and Innovation.

Rocky Wirtz was in attendance for the festivities and was honored by Diageo CEO Ivan Menezes and US President Larry Schwartz for his outstanding leadership in the industry and for his history making transformation of the Chicago Blackhawks into 2010 Stanley Cup Champions.

Congratulations!  An outstanding accomplishment for the entire Regal Team.

Are you a WSWA member? Have a child entering secondary education? They can apply for one of three $2,500 scholarships. They can apply online at WSWA’s site Need more information? See the flyer and details below:

Dear WSWA Members:

We write to remind you that your employees’ children have one more month to apply for the WSWA Educational Foundation college scholarship program. The deadline to submit applications is July 15, 2010.

Children of WSWA-member employees attending undergraduate college during the 2010-2011 academic year have a chance to win one of three scholarships in the amount of $2,500. Please share the attached PDF flyer with your employees. We encourage you to display the flyer in your break areas and where you post notices to your employees.
The application is available on the www.wswa.org web site or via an e-mail request to: collegescholarship@wswafoundation.org. Questions can be submitted to the noted e-mail address as well. The WSWA Educational Foundation is pleased to present this potential benefit to your employees. With your continued participation, we hope that this scholarship program will grow.

The Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America, Inc. (WSWA), headquartered in Washington, DC., is a national trade organization of the wholesale tier of the wine and spirits industry that represents its members before Congress, executive agencies, regulatory bodies, courts, and other alcohol beverage industry organizations.

This annual joint event is an opportunity for WSWA member companies to “fly in” and meet with Members of Congress in order to help educate and influence Capitol Hill on our industry issues and any current legislation. This year’s top priorities are taxes, taxes and more taxes and their plans to pass comprehensive tax reform.

Executives pictured at the “Toast of Congress” reception are Bart Masi, Director of Operations/Marketing, WBN, Craig Wolf, President and CEO, WSWA, and Don Pydo, Vice President of Operations, WBG.

Wirtz Beverage Wisconsin and Brown Forman partnered together with Fetzer wines January  thru April of this year in support of Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity.  Case sales and account distribution goals were established  for the  southeastern Wisconsin on-premise sales division during this period.  Thanks to the efforts and contributions of everyone in the division , both goals were achieved and a check for $1000 was presented to Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity.

A date will be schedule later this Summer for all individuals that would like to volunteer building a home with Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity.

With more than 3,000 employees and $1.5 billion in annual sales, Wirtz Beverage Group is one of the leading alcohol beverage distributors in the country with interests in wine, spirits and beer wholesalers. Focused on technology and innovation, Wirtz Beverage Group helps deliver industry leading growth with many of the world’s top luxury and premium spirit, wine and beer suppliers. The company is committed to providing customers and suppliers with a best-in-class model for continued success.

Wirtz Beverage Group is a division of Chicago-based Wirtz Corporation, having diversified interests in banking, real estate, insurance, sports and wine, beer and spirits distribution throughout the United States. Founded by Arthur Wirtz in 1926, his son William took the helm in 1983 and led the company to increased prosperity. Today, the privately-held Wirtz Corporation remains family-owned with Arthur’s grandson, W. Rockwell Wirtz, leading the company as President.

In an ever-changing marketplace, Wirtz Beverage has been successful in adapting to those changes by finding innovative approaches to meeting the demands of the industry. With a clear vision towards the future, we are dedicated to the needs of our customers and suppliers; to protecting the integrity of the three-tier system; and are committed to our community mission of encouraging responsible adult consumption of our products.

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