In the six years since we first launched Best New Bartenders (formerly known as Bartender in Residence), the program has evolved from an intimate takeover of our office test bar for the New York trade community to an editorial franchise with national reach. As it continues to grow, so does its ever-expanding network of alums, which now includes over 30 bartenders who have gone on to create their own programs, advocate for a more equitable industry and launch a variety of nonprofits, all while producing inspired cocktails.
Each of the bartenders represented in the Class of 2023 possesses a deep well of passion, creativity and dedication not just to the pursuit of crave-worthy original cocktails, but also to a new type of hospitality that flows both ways between staff and guests; inclusivity and the imperative to have a good time come before any staid rules for the way drinks ought to be built or served. Among the signature cocktails from the Class of 2023 are those that break with conventional formulas such that their effect can be hard to discern from only reading the ingredients on paper—rye, gin, butternut squash and citrus, for instance; others bring fresh attention to the time-tested blueprints, like a G&T with hidden layers of fruit and spice; still others seek to understand the classics through a hyperlocal lens, down to purpose-built spirits made on-site to reflect a distinctive sense of place.
Asked to describe their drink-making styles in a single word, bartenders’ answers ranged from “raucous” to “intentional.” Taken together, that sentiment captures more than just an approach to cocktails, it encapsulates the driving force of the entire class of the Best New Bartenders of 2023. Here, now, meet the future of bartending.
Meet the future of bartending.