Leading Bartenders to Look Out For in 2020

Via - Bartender Spirits Awards

2020 looks to be a promising year, and here are some of the best Bartenders from around the world.

Bartending is not an easy job, it takes years of practice to become a bartender worthy of recognition. Let us move into 2020 by recognizing some of the best bartending talents to be found globally.

Here are 21 top Bartenders of the world (Listed in no particular order):

DALE DEGROFF:

Known as one of the best mixologists in the world and "King Cocktail," Dale DeGroff is a true expert behind the art of cocktails. He built his talents and techniques through tending at New York’s famous Rainbow Room in the 80s where he mixed classic and great tasting, ready to drink cocktails.

ERYN REECE:

Hailing from Portland, Oregon, Eryn Reece has worked in the restaurant industry since she was 16, Eryn is excited to raise awareness for female bartenders, and is a founding member and secretary of LUPEC NYC, and a Dames Hall of Fame Inductee by Tales of the cocktail. She has been featured in numerous publications, including Imbibe, New York Times, Millennium, Cosmopolitan, and Maxim to name a few. Eryn is a Speed Rack National champion, graduate of the BAR 5-day program and is currently working on her BAR Masters.

NATASHA MESA:

Natasha Mesa is the head bartendress at Portland hot spot, Deadshot PDX. She has been two time cocktail fight champ. She is also a national competitor and Speed Rack finalist with international bartending experience at high profile cocktail bars. She is a very active trend setter and community leader in Portland with a fan following of her own.

TOM WALKER:

(Image Credit: Bar Magazine)

Tom Walker is an internationally renowned bartender, public speaker and drinks writer who has been in the food and beverage industry for over 15 years.

He is best known for winning the Bacardi Legacy Global Cocktail Competition with his drink the Maid in Cuba. A career bartender for over ten years, Tom has worked at some of the top bars in Edinburgh, London and New York, and has consulted on drink strategies for brands such as Monkey Shoulder, Dewars and Boodles Gin.

At the end of 2014 Tom moved across the Atlantic to work at the world-famous Attaboy, the acclaimed bar that occupies the old Milk & Honey site on 134 Eldridge Street in Manhattan, and went onto work some of New York’s best bars including Fresh Kills, Dutch Kills, Sunday in Brooklyn and Donna Cocktail Club

Outside of the bar, Tom has featured in publications such as The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Vice,and has conducted seminars and workshops in cities as far as Singapore, Moscow, and Mumbai.

These days, Tom works at the Fontaine Bleau Hotel on Miami Beach.

JACOPO ROSITO:

(Image Credit: L'Italo Americano)

In 2016 Jacopo Rosito was nominated by the Golden Gate Restaurant Association for a Saucy Award as Manager of the Year, and the following year the San Francisco Chronicle honoured him as a “Bar Star.” In 2015, Rosito became the National Italian Champion at the Bols Around the World competition, and in 2016 he won the Disaronno Mixing Star and represented the US during the Bar Convention in Berlin, where he presented his winning cocktail The Magic Oak.

“The key for me is the hospitality we provide,” says Rosito of his role as Bar Manager at Le Sirenuse Bar at Four Seasons Hotel at The Surf Club, Miami, which he assumed in early 2018. “If you’re at a great bar, an amazing cocktail is just one element of it. At the end of the day, it’s the way a bar makes you feel special that you’ll remember.” 

IVY MIX:

Currently, she is the Head Bartender and Owner at Leyenda, Ivy Mix maintains her position as one of the best bartenders in her field. Her home bar, Clover Club, is Brooklyn’s revered craft cocktail establishment spearheaded by Julie Reiner, and where Mix returns to when she’s not making the world a better place.

PAULA LUKAS:

(Image Credit: Chilled Magazine)

A few years ago Paula entered her first cocktail competition and was chosen as a national finalist for Rhuby Liqueur Pink Your Drink, She has also competed in the Queen Bee Cocktail classic and was a Northeast Regional semi finalist in The Copper and Kings Mixtape Competition. She was an international judge at The Rhuby Liqueur Pink Your Drink global final in Sweden and also judged The Marie Brizard Masters here in New York. Paula has traveled extensively and loves to meet bartenders from other countries and trade recipes and industry tips.

Paula Lukas was chosen as one of Chilled Magazine’s featured mixologists and her cocktails have been in the New York Post, Huffington Post, Food and Wine, Drinkwire.liquor.com and Gotham Magazine. She also has been featured in The Bartending Masters, Featured Eats NYC and Bartend.com

She’s been able to use her creative flair to create a variety of specialty cocktails. She also teaches private home cocktail classes, has worked as a consultant and is an active member of the United States Bartenders Guild of New York. She loves the hospitality industry and feels very lucky to be a part of it.

Benchmarking America's Bar & Restaurant Menus

PATRICK WILLIAMS:

(Image Credit: Daily Detroit)

Seasoned barman Patrick Williams’ passion for inspired cocktails stems from a focus on the fundamentals, ensuring even the smallest details are accurate, creating an all-inclusive experience in both product and service. He runs the national beverage program for Punch Bowl Social, a Nation’s Restaurant News Hot Concept award winner with 15 locations (and growing) across the country.

Extensively trained, complete with certification from the renowned BarSmarts Advanced program, a Certified Cicerone?, and a two-time Punch King - Patrick is known for his humble approach and his passion for teaching and training. In his travels and growth of Punch Bowl Social, he’s tasted over one-thousand beers, hundreds of spirits and had the pleasure of tasting with dozens of coffee roasters all over the country.

A true beverage professional, Patrick enjoys simplicity and harmony with flavors and a genuine, perpetual approach to hospitality.

MARIAN BEKE:

Marian Beke, bar manager at one of London’s most notable speakeasy bars, The Gibson Bar, is well regarded among drinks aficionados for his extensive cocktails and spirit knowledge, as well as his extravagant garnishes. The Slovakian-born bartender pioneered Nightjar’s use of vintage barware, the iconic nightjar bird vessel, and cocktail recipes which “use garnishes as an extension of the cocktail.

JUYOUNG KANG:

Lead bartender at The Dorsey at The Venetian Las Vegas, Juyoung Kang has become an industry icon by working her way up in the ever-expanding world of mixology, while also using savvy networking acumen to establish herself as one of the top tastemakers in the country. Kang began her career in her hometown, Philadelphia, shortly before making her way to Los Angeles, where she worked at prestigious luxury resorts including The Peninsula Beverly Hills and Thompson Beverly Hills Hotel.

Combining innovative mixology techniques, an impressive resume, and a passion for cocktail culture, Kang has garnered a considerable amount of acclaim. In 2017, Wine Enthusiast named Kang on its list of "40 Under 40 Tastemakers," and was nominated by Eater Las Vegas as "Bartender of the Year." In 2015, she was the Nevada Restaurant Association's "Bartender of the Year" and, in 2014, won recognition as GQ and Bombay Sapphire's "Most Imaginative Bartender." Other professional accolades include recognition at The United States Bartenders Guild 2015 and 2016 Shake It Up, Liquor.com and Woodford Reserve's 2014 Manhattan Experience, and Bacardi Legacy 2014.

CRAIG SCHOETTLER:

Schoettler’s dedication to his craft and astounding creativity has led him to win several awards including “Beverage Professional of the Year” from the Chicago Tribune and “National Bartender of the Year” from Eater National. His groundbreaking concepts have also been recognized through titles his bars have received such as Best New Bar from Time-Out Chicago, Ten Best Whiskey Bars in America 2013 from GQ Magazine and Outstanding Bar Program from the James Beard Foundation. In 2014, Schoettler received Eater National’s “Young Guns” award, a prestigious recognition that acknowledges the best culinary talent across the country.

In his role as Executive Director of Beverage at MGM Resorts International, Craig Schoettler uses his extensive culinary and beverage knowledge to position the company as a leader in the hospitality industry. Here Schoettler leads all corporate beverage initiatives for the company’s portfolio of national and international resorts ensuring every outlet aligns with the company’s core philosophy. He leads menu development for new and existing concepts, training for all beverage employees on product and service standards and determines brand standards for design, layout and equipment specifications for all new beverage outlets and infrastructure.

MONICA BERG:

From London Monica Berg is known for her inventive and immaculately-crafted cocktails at chef Jason Atherton’s Michelin-starred Pollen Street Social restaurant. Combining the worlds of food and drink chef and mixologist, Norwegian Berg’s concoctions certainly have a gastronomic edge, complementing Atherton’s wonderful Pollen Street food menu.

DANIEL PARKS:

(Image Credit: Alta Online)

Daniel Parks has had a very extensive career in as a bartender and bar manager, working with celebrated groups such as the Hakkasen group. He has been with the Future Bars Inc. group for over 5 years now, and is currently acting as the Beverage Director at Pagan Idol of Future Bars Inc.

Daniel has also been the 2017 San Francisco Chronicles Bar Star.

SIMONE CAPORALE:

(Image Credit: Drinks World)

From Artesian Bar, London, Simone Caporale joined the Artesian team in 2010 and under the guidance of head bartender Alex Kratena, has grown to be one of London’s top bartenders, whose personal creations are often featured in the national and international press. Such cocktails, created in collaboration with Kratena, include the Unfinished Business, an aged cocktail which is a mix of Woodford Reserve, Martini Rosso, bitters and galangal, and Secrets & Lies, a mix of Glenmorangie Ealanta, Noilly Prat, pomegranate, rose and citrus.

MATTHEW TALBERT:

Matthew Talbert has been developing craft cocktails and bar menus around the United States for more than two decades. Matt started working in restaurants at the age of 16 in the suburbs of Chicago where he worked his way up through the ranks in a number of establishments, honing his skills in both the front and back of the house.

During his first bartending gig in 1999, Matt became hooked on the art of the cocktail, learning everything he could on the subject from a scientific standpoint down to studying flavors, researching the history of spirits and distilling and creating hundreds of his own unique libations, liqueurs and bitters for customers, colleagues and friends. In 2010, Matt made the move to the Bay Area where he took a role with celebrity chef (and DJ) Hubert Keller as Beverage Director and Buyer at Burger Bar. There, he was responsible for creating a relevant bar program for the restaurant and implemented several new events including a monthly prix fixe beer dinner series with local brewers.

In his current role at Scoma’s in San Francisco, Matt has taken the restaurant’s bar program to a whole new level, pushing the boundaries of the modern cocktail while expounding upon the classics. Matt’s passion for the business and this art form is completely self-evident in his infectious knowledge, endless creativity and the smile that comes across his face whenever anyone wants to talk shop.

RYAN CHETIYAWARDANA:

From White Lyan, London Famed UK bartender Ryan Chetiyawardana, formerly of 69 Colebrook Row, Purl and Worship Street Whistling Shop, has never been afraid of testing industry boundaries. At his recently opened Hoxton-based cocktail bar White Lyan, Chetiyawardana swaps cocktail theatre, ice, and citrus for pre-bottled mixes, non-perishable ingredients, and freezers.

JOHN SWARTZ:

Before joining the The Battery team as Lead Bartender, John Swartz first demonstrated his passion for the hospitality industry at the tender age of five years old. His family’s hotel business in Playa Del Carmen, Quintana Roo allowed him get an early start practicing his hosting skills at the reception desk. John grew up knowing everyone in the local tourism industry, it was during this time that he says hospitality “became a part of him”. 

John left Mexico briefly to study film in Texas, however, he continued to gravitate toward the hospitality industry by tending bar throughout his college years. His sustained interest in food and beverage eventually led him to take bartending courses in Mexico City, at the Centro de Capacitation Pata Negra. The specialized school for mixology was the gateway to his career in the Pata Negra group, where he managed and helped open new tapas bar locations.

In 2014, John moved to San Francisco with his wife. He was bartender at Café de la Presse, Serpentine and La Urbana before returning to a management role at Absinthe Brasserie & Bar. Later on, he helped Parranga drink program which includes a hand selected list of beers and wines influenced by John’s knowledge of Mexican flavors and mixology.

He hopes that his passion for hospitality will reflect in the quality of service and friendly atmosphere at The Battery. 

LINDSEY YOUNG:

Lindsey Young is a certified advanced sommelier from the Court of Master Sommeliers. She has been the Beverage Director at the Park Tavern in San Francisco, California, since 2014. She is in-charge of their entire beverage program.

ALEXANDRIA BOWLER:

(Image Credit: ChefsFeed)

Alexandria Bowler is a highly organized and personable Manager/ Bartender/ Server with more than 14 years restaurant and 11 years fine dining experience exceeding guest expectations while maintaining poise and a sense of humor in fast-paced, refined environments. She is experienced in all facets of restaurant industry including FOH and BOH and ranging from high-volume nightclubs to white-glove service.

COLIN PETER FIELD:

Among the best mixologists in the world is Colin Peter Field. Ranked as one of the best bartenders in the world by Forbes and Travel + Leisure magazines, Field is a successful mixologist who managed to master the art behind cocktail, drinks, and everything alcohol.

JASON WILLIAMS:

A Sydney-based bartender who was crowned the winner of the Beefeater 24 global cocktail competition last year. Jason Williams, the bartender at The Rook, impressed the line-up of judges, including Beefeater master distiller Desmond Payne and world-renowned mixologist, Tony Conigliaro, with his signature Beefeater 24 cocktail Werewolves of London. The drink was a winning mix of Beefeater 24 gin, orange and peach liquor, lemon juice and frankincense bitters, finished off with a green tea mist.

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