In celebration of World Bartender Day (February 24, 2021) we're revisiting some of our favorite interviews with renown mixologists and bartenders from around the United States. To receive articles like this to your inbox, subscribe to our Weekly Newsletter!

Bartender Tommy Ho Shares His Secrets to Beverage Success

Tommy Ho, General Manager/Partner, Anvil Bar & Refuge and Penny Quarter, Houston

Houston native Tommy Ho did what most college kids who need to pay their bills do when in school – he bartended. Soon, it became more than a side job; it became something he fell in love with. So, when he finally got a job at Anvil Bar & Refuge, acing a tense training program which required blind tasting and correctly identifying 47 of 50 spirits, he thought it was almost too good to be true. [continue...]

Jillian Vose on the Experimentation, Exploration and Education of Mixology

Interview with Jillian Vose, Beverage Director/Managing Partner, The Dead Rabbit NYC

Jillian Vose doesn’t have a favorite cocktail. “It’s a tough choice choosing,” she said, “As it differs depending on the occasion.” In her 17-year-career, the bartender turned Beverage Director/Managing Partner (now at Dead Rabbit in NYC) has overseen hundreds of drinks, all of them composed of different spirits, juices, syrups, bitters, fruits, veggies, you name it (even granola!). Though a lot have been memorable, what she loves is the experimentation, exploration and education. [continue...]

Evan Milliman "The Mixology Sorcerer" on the Complexity of Spirits

Interview with Evan Milliman, Bartender at Ticonderoga Club, Atlanta, GA

Evan Milliman was finishing his associate’s degree in digital media at the Art Institute in Atlanta and working small jobs at restaurants when he began working with a friend “back when Atlanta had no cocktail bars at all.” “My friend was running a small program in the fine dining arena, trying to bring classics to the forefront and I got hooked doing the same,” he said. That friend would be Greg Best, co-owner of Holeman & Finch, one of Atlanta’s most lauded restaurants – and it’s where Milliman cut his teeth, first as a server and later as a bartender. [continue...]
 

Joaquín Simó on the Seasonal Ingredients Driving Beverage Innovation

Interview with Joaquín Simó, Co-Owner and Mixologist at Pouring Ribbons in NYC

Joaquín Simó is no stranger to Symrise, he sat down with us early in 2019 to talk about his life and cocktails. We invited him back for another round of questions, this time focusing on seasonality. [continue...]
 

Mixologist Angel Teta on What's Trending in Cocktails

Interview with Angel Teta, Bartender at Atula in Portland

Angel Teta, who bartends at Atula in Portland, loves the way someone's face lights up when they take their first sip—even if it’s a mocktail or a glass of wine. “Bartending,” she said, “Lets me be creative, and tap into the human condition. Everyone eats and everyone drinks, and to line things up for them so that they experience that basic everyday need on another level, that's the reward. [continue...]

Thirsty for more? Subscribe to the Weekly In-sight Newsletter to receive beverage articles to your inbox!