Molly Horn is the Cocktail Strategy Manager for Total Wine & More, the country’s largest retailer of wine and spirits (Forbes). Molly’s responsibilities include tasting, recruiting, branding, and marketing new first-to-market spirits, as well as educating sales floor team members on spirits and mixology.
Before the pandemic, spirit sales accounted for ~27% of Total Wine’s sales. As a result of the pandemic and a growing national interest in spirits and cocktails, in some stores, spirits now account for as much as 50% according to Molly. The company created her role to help them keep up with demand and enthusiasm.
In this conversation, we talk about additive-free certifications in tequila, the NA movement, some of her guilty pleasures, how she thinks about training her staff, and more.
To the NA movement, according to Total Wine’s internal numbers, ~80% of NA sales are made to people who also drink alcohol, which helps highlight that its growth is being fueled by people who are enjoying NA products at times instead of or in addition to products with alcohol.
Do you know someone who might enjoy this? Feel free to share it.
Molly came to Total Wine with more than a decade of expertise developing and managing bar programs in the D.C. Metro area. She was head bartender at Farmers Restaurant Group. She is a Certified Sommelier and a judge for events like the IWSC (International Wine & Spirit Competition).
Thanks for reading. Subscribe for free to keep up with my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit decodingcocktails.substack.com
Popular Podcasts
Joy 101 with Hoda Kotb
Joy is essential. And it's also elusive. You can't order it, borrow it, or simply hope it into life. But now, there's a new and exciting way to start your journey toward a more joyful existence: The Joy 101 Podcast with Hoda! Best known for her Emmy-winning work and co-anchoring Today, Hoda Kotb infuses her authenticity, curiosity, and warmth into conversations with the world’s most fascinating people. Entertainment legends, sport icons, wellness experts, and everyday folks will share how they find, allow, and experience joy. Hoda will offer her own tips and takes on seeking a more balanced, harmonious life. If you're craving inspiration, support, and useful tools to maximize your joy, tune in to these candid, uplifting, and moving on-air chats. Joy after a breakup, joy as an empty-nester, joy after loss, joy as a caretaker — Hoda's new podcast will speak to you. Joy 101 with Hoda Kotb, an iHeartPodcast.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com