Where you live and the type of establishment you frequent might answer that question. Generally, a bartender serves a beverage at your request. But a mixologist could be viewed as being more experimental and invested in marketing to you some special concoction.
Okay. You’re now either rolling your eyes or looking for a comment section in which to correct me. But hear me out.
A friend in the fuel business is figuratively asking himself if he will stay a mixologist or become a bartender. You see, he’s a successful supplier of fuel products in northern Minnesota. He operates his own fuel-blending bulk plant. He also operates a handful of retail stations.
When he’s able to cost-effectively obtain petroleum and renewable components, he makes a profit blending – ah, hem – mixing fuels for his retail and fleet customers. He’ll tell you that means customers also save a few cents per gallon.
Recently, he’s been thinking about offering E15. He knows if he relies solely on fuels drawn from the large pipeline or refinery terminals, a 400-mile round trip, he’ll have little advantage over competitors. The prices are dictated by the terminals. Transportation from terminals to his bulk plant to his fleet and retail customers is no small or inexpensive consideration.
It’s more complicated than that and, of course, the larger you are, the better your market ‘position’ tends to be. The scenario is like a bartender reaching into the cooler to fetch you a 12-ounce longneck. The price one pays is based on wholesale price, an establishment’s operating costs, transportation and ideally, profit.
He reminds me that unlike a bar, his stations post prices on giant street signs for everyone to compare.
Recently, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) published a request in which they asked for input on an upcoming grant program for those upgrading equipment to offer higher blends of ethanol and biodiesel. Specifically, it mentions E15 and B20 and seems aimed at improving availability of cleaner, made-closer-to-home, renewable-based fuels.
I asked the fuel mixologist what might trip the trigger on him applying for a grant to buy down the cost of equipment to blend E10, E15 and E85 flex fuels at his stations. He’d be first in this neck of the woods. He put it another way, “What will it take me to tear up and remodel stations if the cost of onsite blending equipment is partially covered?”
He argues if all competitors purchase wholesale pre-blended E15 at the same price, he become a bartender. As we see in gas stations today, all have about the same price. That’s tougher for a mixologist and it’s tougher to gain a return when investing in new blending equipment. Instead of being first, he might wait until E15 is as common as E10.
That’s where the tortured metaphor ends‒Will he survive as mixologist or will he settle into a role as bartender?
But I suspect he’s watching USDA to see what they will offer this election year.