Drink Slingers event partner spotlight ~ Liber & Co.

Full disclosure: we love cocktail syrups. They are remarkably versatile which means they can lend all sorts of complex characteristics to cocktails. This, of course, makes our job as the maker of cocktails easier. But good cocktail syrups made with real ingredients are hard to come by.

Which is why we love Liber & Co. Essential Cocktail Syrups.

Liber & Co. are makers of craft cocktail syrups right here in Austin, TX. Each of their syrups are made with the same style, formulation, and attention to detail as the syrups made in-house at the world's best cocktail bars.

We love this.

After getting off the ground in late 2011, Liber & Co.'s syrups have found a wide audience - from home bartenders looking for the best tools for making serious cocktails at home, to bars and restaurants seeking help with their cocktail programs, and at events where hosts thirst for that "something special" in their signature cocktail experience. The latter, of course, being our domain.

We asked Adam Higginbotham, Chris Harrison & Robert Higginbotham the co-owners/co-founders of Liber & Co. how they got their start:

"We started out as recent college graduates with an entrepreneurial itch and an enthusiasm for the fun and exciting things happening during the craft cocktail renaissance. Throughout college, we had all exercised this enthusiasm over backyard barbecues and homemade cocktails, and developed a sense for adventurous drinking (along with our bartending skills)! After college we each went our separate ways, with Chris taking a post-grad position in a genomics lab in Kansas, Robert heading off to D.C. to work at a boutique lobbying firm, and me (Adam) staying in Austin to wrap up my degrees. The hobby stayed alive, however, and after Chris discovered a local Lawrence, KS bar making a house tonic syrup, he and I began exchanging ideas around our own recipe, and whipping up test batches in our respective kitchens. It didn't take long for the light bulb to go off, as we all quickly recognized that enthusiasts like ourselves did not have commercially available options for these fun and engaging bar ingredients, hence why were forced to make our own. We decided to try and produce a scaled batch of our own tonic syrup to shop to local retailers, and Robert funded the first ~$1500 production run on his credit card. As luck would have it, Chris' neighbor in Lawrence was an executive chef who generously offered to let us use her hotel kitchen for production if we would sell our tonic syrup back to the hotel bar-- and so began Liber & Co. Essential Cocktail Syrups!"

Like us, the Liber and Co. guys love their jobs and the fact that no two days are the same. Growing a brand in the beverage/alcohol industry means every day is dynamic and somewhat unpredictable. And they find this equally challenging and fun!

And it's at events where they have the pleasure of witnessing people’s reaction to their products. Honest feedback from imbibers provides the necessary validation to remind them that they are on the right track with their syrups.

But we could have told them that.

We asked them what their favorite piece of advice is that they give to their clients when planning their event.

"Know your clientele! Cocktail preferences vary widely so you definitely want to do a bit of research before creating custom drinks. This ties into the service aspect of the industry – hospitality is part of the job and that means taking care to tailor the experience for your client’s preferences."

We absolutely agree, which is why we always have a conversation with our event hosts about their party and their guests before consulting with them on their cocktail menu.

Wanna feel the love? You can purchase Liber & Co. syrups at retailers and sip on cocktails made with their syrups in establishments all across the US.