How do you build a more profitable bar? How can you create a bar and beverage setup that is more efficient, more appealing to customers, and easier on the staff? What do operators need to think about before they design their bars or before renovating them?

For many sports fans, October is arguably the best month of the year. The football season is in full swing, basketball and hockey start back up, and playoff baseball has entire cities worked into a frenzy. We know that postseason baseball means packed stadiums on crisp autumn nights, seas of rally towels waving in unison, and cold beer keeping fans satisfied, no matter the score.

And Perlick knows playoff baseball. That's because Perlick beer systems are pouring and storing baseball fans' favorite beverages throughout the postseason.

The history of baseball and beer goes back well over a century. Today, baseball stadiums have expanded their offerings to wine, liquor, and dozens upon dozens of craft beer options.

We all do it. In the morning on the way to work, we stop in our favorite coffee shop for that jolt of caffeine. At the end of the day, we meet up with friends for happy hour or a post-dinner cocktail at a local bar.

Now, what if we could do both at the same bar? It’s a question that some bar operators are answering with a profitable trend – the coffee-to-cocktail bar hybrid.

Your beverage program is all set to serve draft beer, draft cocktails, or wine on tap. You’ve got the kegs, but they are locked by a keg valve. In order to extract these beverages from the kegs, you need the “key” to that lock. That key is a keg coupler. And the right coupler can unlock your beverage program’s full potential.

With so many quality bars around the country, it means a great deal to be labeled as “the best.” From the menu and cocktail quality to the atmosphere and bar teams, a lot goes into being recognized at the top of the industry. Tales of the Cocktail’s Spirited Awards have become one of the most prestigious and coveted honors a bar can attain.

“Whoa. That’s Instagram-worthy.”

In today’s digital age, there’s no higher compliment. That’s especially true in bars or restaurants. When a colossal-sized cheeseburger, an artistically presented slice of cheesecake, or a glowing craft cocktail arrives in front of us, our first instinct might be to reach for our phones and share these creations with the world. 

"We've noticed the non-drinker has evolved," said award-winning bartender and founder of London's Dandylyan said in a recent article in Forbes. "It means you have people not drinking for a multitude of reasons, but they still want to socialize."

If you stop and think about it, you can probably come up with a few cocktails that incorporate vegetables -- Bloody Mary's, Mojitos made with cucumber, or even a jalapeño-infused Margarita. And while fruits are still far more popular than vegetables when it comes to cocktail flavors, don't count out the veggies just yet.

Summer is here, and one of America's greatest pastimes is traveling the country in search of the Great American Ballpark.