As bar manager of New York City’s Paradise Lost, Kitty Bernardo goes long on storytelling in their typical R&D. “My guiding focus has been: How do I represent myself and identities I hold dear more authentically?” The answers could entail loving nods to Bernardo’s native New Jersey, “because everyone rags on New Jersey,” or to their Filipino heritage, or to queer culture.
Previously the bar manager at Donna, a tropical-leaning, worker-owned establishment in the West Village, Bernardo has been behind the bar at Paradise Lost since it opened in the fall of 2023. With its tropical hellscape atmosphere, demonic décor and psychobilly soundtrack, Paradise Lost belongs to a growing wave of modern tiki bars that have shed the appropriative iconography that plagued earlier iterations of the genre. There, Bernardo sees in their role an opportunity to reclaim Filipino culture within the broader tiki narrative. Their Attack of the Banantulas, a frozen banana Daiquiri, for instance, pays homage to the Filipino condiment banana ketchup. “I love the challenge of how to present something like this to people who may not have the specific sense memory [and still] get them to buy into it,” says Bernardo. The drink is an effective example of how Bernardo seamlessly blends personal narrative within familiar classics, an approach they call “weird and adventurous,” but ultimately still accessible.
Filipino flavors shine in this banana Daiquiri riff.
Kitty bernardo
New York, New York
Get to know Kitty
Hometown: East Brunswick, New Jersey
Years as a bartender: 11
Favorite classic cocktail: Adonis
What’s the most underrated cocktail? I personally feel it’s a 50/50 Martini. I feel like a lot of people in the bartending community have really leaned into the super dry classic Martini or the 5:1 Martini, and people outside the industry really love a super dirty vodka Martini. I really love a gin 50/50; I love classics turned lower-ABV.
What part of your job do you like most? I get to meet different people every day, and even when I’m not, I get to re-establish connections with people I’ve met before. I think that speaks to the sense of community with me; that’s instilled in me with Filipino values and cultures.
The drink that got you interested in bartending:
I got really obsessed with absinthe and the absinthe-making process and the absinthe-louching process. It was so cool and weird and magical and mysterious, it brought me to cocktailing.
Best piece of advice you got when starting out: Try to approach everything you do as if you’re going to make it the best possible thing ever. Whether it’s the most amazing drink you could possibly make, to cleaning shelves or cutting lime wedges—have the cleanest shelf, make the prettiest lime wedge, make the most well-balanced drinks. You can find learning opportunities in the mundane. We’re learning every day. If we’re not, we’re just stagnant.
The one thing you wish would disappear from drink lists forever: Drinks made without intention.
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RECIPE
Attack of the Banantulas
Attack of the Banantulas
Kitty Bernardo
Tom Liu
Justin Brody
Jackson Mercier
Allison Everitt
Shaun Williams
Manny Hernandez
Thi Nguyen
Antonio Jimenez
Jordan Valls
New York, New York
Los Angeles, California
Mystic, Connecticut
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Detroit, Michigan
New Orleans, Louisiana
Monterey, California
Washington, D.C.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Portland, Oregon
As a former cook for renowned restaurants such as Seattle’s Canlis, Justin Brody has no problem playing around with savory ingredients. In fact, olive oil, Calabrian chile and Parmigiano-Reggiano all make an appearance in a cocktail he’s “currently aging on the shelf like a fine sangiovese” at The Port of Call in Mystic, Connecticut, where Brody is head bartender.
This experimental streak is perfect for a bar that’s equally acclaimed for its adventurous kitchen, which plates fresh and fermented local seafood under the care of chef Renee Touponce. Together with beverage director Jade Ayala, Brody slings creative, food-friendly cocktails like the Last Night by the Jetty, made with tequila, celery syrup, lemon juice and an absinthe rinse, with a brackish finishing touch in the form of a brined kombu garnish.
When he’s not at The Port of Call, Brody runs a pop-up called Overcast with his partner, Jocelyn, showcasing modern Portuguese food and eclectic tropical drinks. “I like working on a concept,” Brody explains, whether it’s a drink or a happening. Bringing these concepts to life has helped make The Port of Call not just a draw for tourists in the popular coastal town, but a staple for locals anchored by Brody and Ayala’s playful yet rigorous drinks.
Justin Brody
Mystic, Connecticut
Last Night by the Jetty
“The love child of a Margarita and an Old-Fashioned.”
Justin Brody
Mystic, Connecticut
As a former cook for renowned restaurants such as Seattle’s Canlis, Justin Brody has no problem playing around with savory ingredients. In fact, olive oil, Calabrian chile and Parmigiano-Reggiano all make an appearance in a cocktail he’s “currently aging on the shelf like a fine sangiovese” at The Port of Call in Mystic, Connecticut, where Brody is head bartender.
This experimental streak is perfect for a bar that’s equally acclaimed for its adventurous kitchen, which plates fresh and fermented local seafood under the care of chef Renee Touponce. Together with beverage director Jade Ayala, Brody slings creative, food-friendly cocktails like the Last Night by the Jetty, made with tequila, celery syrup, lemon juice and an absinthe rinse, with a brackish finishing touch in the form of a brined kombu garnish.
When he’s not at The Port of Call, Brody runs a pop-up called Overcast with his partner, Jocelyn, showcasing modern Portuguese food and eclectic tropical drinks. “I like working on a concept,” Brody explains, whether it’s a drink or a happening. Bringing these concepts to life has helped make The Port of Call not just a draw for tourists in the popular coastal town, but a staple for locals anchored by Brody and Ayala’s playful yet rigorous drinks.
Get to know JUSTIN
Hometown: Westfield, New Jersey
Favorite classic cocktail: Manhattan
Years as a bartender: 3
Best piece of advice you got when starting out: My first bartending mentor, Adam Robinson of Deadshot and Too Soon in Portland, Oregon, told me, “If I give you something to read, I expect that you’ll read it.” Simple and effective. He took my interest seriously, which I can only hope to offer others in the future as well.
What do you know now that you wish you’d known five years ago: So much, but I try not to think like that. My experiences, successes and failures inform my decision-making so I don’t think about time-traveling cheat codes.
The drink that got you interested in bartending: The Almost Perfect cocktail (Cocchi Americano, Averna, pineapple rum, grenadine, maraschino, Angostura bitters) at Canlis in Seattle. I was a cook there at the time and this was the first serious cocktail I had ever tried. It’s a masterpiece that balances traditional with modern flavors, a template for an approachable and unique cocktail with dimension, something I strive for in every drink I create.
What part of your job do you like most: I like working on a concept. Maybe that’s making someone happy by giving them exactly what they’re looking for, be it a vodka-soda or a bespoke cocktail. Maybe it’s creating a new drink or designing an event series.
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Last Night by the Jetty
“The love child of a Margarita and an Old-Fashioned.”
Allison Everitt
Detroit, Michigan
Allison Everitt has long been drawn to working at a bar. “I remember going to restaurants with my parents and thinking that the bartenders were the coolest people in the room,” she says. She got started pouring shots and making fishbowls at a college dive as a student at Central Michigan University, then later learned the cocktail ropes at a few bars in Ann Arbor. Detroit called to her for its sense of community. She worked at Wright & Co., a restaurant bar with a strong cocktail program, then in 2021, she joined Kiesling, where the list of forward-thinking classics speaks to her precise approach.
“I take all parts of that spec into high consideration. What is the Brix of my syrups? What is the pH level of my acid? What ABV level am I working with?” she explains. Her approach is about more than just consistency in her drinks—whether it be a Bamboo spritz with hopped soda or a sustainably minded gin sour with acid-adjusted whey—it’s also about demonstrating that Detroit’s cocktail bars can stand shoulder to shoulder with those in any major city. “A lot of people don’t know we have this massively growing hospitality scene,” says Everitt, who has spearheaded a takeover series with bars like New York’s Attaboy and San Juan, Puerto Rico’s La Factoría, to introduce outside markets to what Detroit can do. At Kiesling, that means showcasing what Everitt calls a “creative and nuanced” drink list that is at once familiar and unexpected.
Get to know Allison
Hometown: Port Huron, Michigan
Favorite classic cocktail: Negroni
Years as a bartender: 12
The drink that got you interested in bartending: I started bartending at 20 before I was legally able to drink, so it wasn’t a cocktail that got me interested, it was more the job itself.
What part of your job do you like most? The people you meet along the way and the diversity of people you get to connect with is life-altering, especially for someone like me who grew up in a small town.
What’s the most underrated cocktail? Army & Navy
The one thing you wish would disappear from drink lists forever: I’ve never been a fan of the Aviation. I know people can nail it, but consistently it doesn’t hit the mark at most bars.
What do you know now that you wish you’d known five years ago? That it was all worth it. I used to dream of getting the opportunity to do some of the things I’m doing now. When I was fresh out of college, a lot of people questioned my desire to pursue a life behind the bar and not my degree, but I’m glad that I never lost sight of that vision.
Weirdest cocktail experiment you’ve ever attempted: A [milk powder] clarified dirty Martini. We make our own house brine with different savory elements, from a shucked oyster tincture to dashi and nori elements.
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Filthiest Martini
A batchable, extra-dirty take on the classic.
Allison Everitt has long been drawn to working at a bar. “I remember going to restaurants with my parents and thinking that the bartenders were the coolest people in the room,” she says. She got started pouring shots and making fishbowls at a college dive as a student at Central Michigan University, then later learned the cocktail ropes at a few bars in Ann Arbor. Detroit called to her for its sense of community. She worked at Wright & Co., a restaurant bar with a strong cocktail program, then in 2021, she joined Kiesling, where the list of forward-thinking classics speaks to her precise approach.
“I take all parts of that spec into high consideration. What is the Brix of my syrups? What is the pH level of my acid? What ABV level am I working with?” she explains. Her approach is about more than just consistency in her drinks—whether it be a Bamboo spritz with hopped soda or a sustainably minded gin sour with acid-adjusted whey—it’s also about demonstrating that Detroit’s cocktail bars can stand shoulder to shoulder with those in any major city. “A lot of people don’t know we have this massively growing hospitality scene,” says Everitt, who has spearheaded a takeover series with bars like New York’s Attaboy and San Juan, Puerto Rico’s La Factoría, to introduce outside markets to what Detroit can do. At Kiesling, that means showcasing what Everitt calls a “creative and nuanced” drink list that is at once familiar and unexpected.
Allison Everitt
Detroit, Michigan
Filthiest Martini
A batchable, extra-dirty take on the classic.
RECIPE
RECIPE
RECIPE
RECIPE
RECIPE
Hospitality and storytelling go hand in hand for Manny Hernandez, who brings a poetic approach to the bar at Stokes Adobe, an elegant yet homey restaurant with a storied past in Monterey, California. Looking back on his time in the industry and what’s kept him here, Hernandez reminisces about a Watsonville dive bar that left a void in the community when it closed, the ability to make a difference through his work by making guests feel special, and how the Negroni “seems to capture the bittersweetness of life” in a classic yet adaptable package.
Naturally, the part of his job he enjoys most is telling stories of his own through drinks, including a fervent desire to share his cultural heritage. One of his most daring attempts was a tribute to the taqueros of his hometown, Mexico City, featuring al pastor fat-washed mezcal, avocado orgeat, corn liqueur, pineapple juice and a cordial with lemon, cilantro and onion, plus a spicy tincture. The Jackrabbit, one of his favorite drinks on the current Stokes Adobe menu, points in a similar direction, combining mezcal, green chile, mint, cilantro and cucumber. Once the drink crosses the bar top, how guests experience his cocktails is out of his hands, but for Hernandez, that’s part of the fun. “Each drink has a unique character ... with a story that can be enjoyed and interpreted in so many ways,” he says. “I hope [they] can inspire others in the way they inspire me.”
Get to know Manny
Manny Hernandez
Monterey, California
Hometown: Distrito Federal, aka Mexico City
Favorite classic cocktail: Negroni
Years as a bartender: 5 as a craft bartender.
A bar that’s closed that you miss dearly: Here in Watsonville, there was a cherished establishment known as The Villager, a modest, unassuming dive bar that held a special place in the community. It became a tradition for me to visit post-soccer matches, where I would indulge in a crisp Pacifico beer and savor the distinct taste of Fernet. The bar pulsated with the vibrant energy of the locals, as they reveled in the simple yet profound pleasure of another day well-lived.
Best piece of advice you got when starting out: Never stop believing that hard work and integrity really pay off, and keep learning and doing what you love.
What part of your job do you like most:
I particularly enjoy the process of creating a new cocktail in a way where I feel like I’m telling a story. I enjoy carefully choosing ingredients that work in harmony together.
The one thing you wish would disappear from drink lists forever: I’m not the biggest fan of some of the new cocktails trending, like an Espresso Martini with cheese on top or a Negroni Sbagliato, or some of the more elaborate classics like Ramos Gin Fizz or flip cocktails.
What’s the most underrated cocktail: A Rosita, with a nice reposado tequila or mezcal.
What do you know now that you wish you’d known five years ago: I would not change anything, because the mistakes and challenges have helped me evolve and have led me to some of the best experiences in my life.
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Hana
A floral, citrusy, creamy gin cocktail.
RECIPE
Hospitality and storytelling go hand in hand for Manny Hernandez, who brings a poetic approach to the bar at Stokes Adobe, an elegant yet homey restaurant with a storied past in Monterey, California. Looking back on his time in the industry and what’s kept him here, Hernandez reminisces about a Watsonville dive bar that left a void in the community when it closed, the ability to make a difference through his work by making guests feel special, and how the Negroni “seems to capture the bittersweetness of life” in a classic yet adaptable package.
Naturally, the part of his job he enjoys most is telling stories of his own through drinks, including a fervent desire to share his cultural heritage. One of his most daring attempts was a tribute to the taqueros of his hometown, Mexico City, featuring al pastor fat-washed mezcal, avocado orgeat, corn liqueur, pineapple juice and a cordial with lemon, cilantro and onion, plus a spicy tincture. The Jackrabbit, one of his favorite drinks on the current Stokes Adobe menu, points in a similar direction, combining mezcal, green chile, mint, cilantro and cucumber. Once the drink crosses the bar top, how guests experience his cocktails is out of his hands, but for Hernandez, that’s part of the fun. “Each drink has a unique character ... with a story that can be enjoyed and interpreted in so many ways,” he says. “I hope [they] can inspire others in the way they inspire me.”
Manny Hernandez
Monterey, California
Hana
A floral, citrusy, creamy gin cocktail.
RECIPE
Antonio Jimenez has only been in Philadelphia for three years, but it feels like home. “I fell in love with Philly because it reminds me of Bayamón,” he says, referencing the suburb of San Juan, Puerto Rico, where he grew up and began bartending. Despite the surfeit of talent and generosity in both places, “they’re both often overlooked for the bigger markets,” explains Jimenez. At Bolo, chef Yun Fuentes’ chic Puerto Rican restaurant and rum bar in the heart of Philadelphia, he’s found a blend of both worlds. Here, Jimenez converses with the kitchen via adventurous cocktails like Las Croabas, a dirty gin Martini with chile oil–washed dry vermouth and ceviche brine.
His foray into cocktails began not with a particular drink, but with a specific ingredient: bitters. He counts the bottles in his burgeoning collection. “It’s at least 60 types,” he says. “If I see a new producer, I buy something, and if it’s any kind of cherry bitters, I buy two.” Bitters led Jimenez to the Old-Fashioned, a drink he hasn’t stopped experimenting with since, swapping in new bitters, shifting or splitting the base, and always learning: from mentors, colleagues at former workplaces like New York City’s Tijuana Picnic, as well as from books. “I wish I would have had the desire or drive earlier in my career to be thirstier for knowledge,” he says. But he’s making up for lost time now, building a roster of drinks that honor tradition without being constrained by it.
Get to know Antonio
Antonio Jimenez
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Hometown: Bayamón, Puerto Rico
Favorite classic cocktail: Airmail
Years as a bartender: 16
The drink that got you interested in bartending: I fell in love with bitters and then Old-Fashioneds.
Weirdest drink request you’ve ever gotten: Long Island Iced Tea, light on the liquor. I did something that I learned from a dive bar in Puerto Rico: 151 [and] triple sec, then a bunch of Coca-Cola and sour mix, and they were happy.
Weirdest cocktail experiment you’ve ever attempted: A chorizo fat–washed Jungle Bird with corn whiskey and rum and Ardbeg [Scotch]. I was trying to go heavy on the flavors.
Best piece of advice you got when starting out: Read. You learn more by reading than you think you will. I just finished reading Mallory O’Meara’s Girly Drinks: A World History of Women and Alcohol and I’m currently reading Slow Drinks by Danny Childs, which has become a low-key reference book lately. It’s constantly with me.
The one thing you wish would disappear from drink lists forever: The Mai Tai. If you want a drink with orgeat, I still think the Infante by Giuseppe González is way better. If you want a tiki drink, there are so many more interesting ones to me than a Mai Tai.
What part of your job do you like most: The smile when people take a sip. It sounds trite as hell, but it’s simple. It’s the main reason I do it: instant gratification for both of us.
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Las Croabas
Ceviche brine adds tangy, savory flavor to this dirty Martini.
RECIPE
On the surface, Tom Liu’s drinks look unfussy and laid-back. But that’s only because he favors keeping the intensive hours of prep behind the scenes in order to focus on serving and interacting with guests. This approach makes Liu perfect for a place like L.A.’s Thunderbolt, which delivers innovative, technical cocktails in an atmosphere that’s free of pretentiousness. Likewise, Thunderbolt is perfect for Liu, who has embraced the tools and resources the bar makes available in order to experiment and innovate. “The technology we have ... opens up the possibilities of what we can do,” says Liu, who stepped up from barback to bartender at NoMad Los Angeles before joining the Thunderbolt team three years ago.
One of Liu’s favorite creations so far is his Fu Gwaa Falsetto. The drink is a swizzle built around bitter melon, a flavor evoking strong sense memories for many people of Asian descent, he says. “Everyone has the same story: You’re a kid and your parents force you to eat it because it’s healthy, but it’s bitter so you hate it.” Liu recasts the melon as the star of his cocktail, a delicate balancing act among bitter, salty and sweet notes, made with shochu, rum, gentian liqueur, lemon and salted plum powder. It’s the sort of alchemical result Liu aims for with all of his creations. At Thunderbolt, his desire to push the envelope while creating something accessible for guests—two goals perhaps seemingly at odds—mix together harmoniously.
Get to know Tom
Tom Liu
Los Angeles, California
Hometown: Oakland, California
Favorite classic cocktail: Black Manhattan
Years as a bartender: 5
Best piece of advice you got when starting out:
I’ve learned a few times over as I’ve bartended to relax more. I’m very self-conscious and a little introverted, but I think when you relax, it makes guests relax more, too.
What's the most underrated cocktail? El Presidente, specifically with blanc vermouth. Some places use dry vermouth, because a lot of recipes just say vermouth and people assume dry vermouth, but I tried that and it was like, not it.
The drink that got you interested in bartending: It was actually the old Death & Co. book. I found it in a library and dug in.
What part of your job do you like most? [Because] I’m a little introverted, I became a bartender to practice talking more and making small talk, and I’ve gotten to a point where I can strike up conversations with guests now. And making drinks in general is something I’ve always loved honing. Doing speed trials, going through the motions of that, having control in the room and being able to say “hi” to the guest who just walked in—I love all parts of the job.
Weirdest cocktail experiment you’ve ever attempted:
A black sesame infusion with whiskey. The black sesame was roasted and something about it had this sulfur-like smell... It was not what I was going for.
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Fu Gwaa Falsetto
Bitter melon meets shochu and Suze in this unorthodox, refreshing drink.
RECIPE
Antonio Jimenez has only been in Philadelphia for three years, but it feels like home. “I fell in love with Philly because it reminds me of Bayamón,” he says, referencing the suburb of San Juan, Puerto Rico, where he grew up and began bartending. Despite the surfeit of talent and generosity in both places, “they’re both often overlooked for the bigger markets,” explains Jimenez. At Bolo, chef Yun Fuentes’ chic Puerto Rican restaurant and rum bar in the heart of Philadelphia, he’s found a blend of both worlds. Here, Jimenez converses with the kitchen via adventurous cocktails like Las Croabas, a dirty gin Martini with chile oil–washed dry vermouth and ceviche brine.
His foray into cocktails began not with a particular drink, but with a specific ingredient: bitters. He counts the bottles in his burgeoning collection. “It’s at least 60 types,” he says. “If I see a new producer, I buy something, and if it’s any kind of cherry bitters, I buy two.” Bitters led Jimenez to the Old-Fashioned, a drink he hasn’t stopped experimenting with since, swapping in new bitters, shifting or splitting the base, and always learning: from mentors, colleagues at former workplaces like New York City’s Tijuana Picnic, as well as from books. “I wish I would have had the desire or drive earlier in my career to be thirstier for knowledge,” he says. But he’s making up for lost time now, building a roster of drinks that honor tradition without being constrained by it.
Antonio Jimenez
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Las Croabas
Ceviche brine adds tangy, savory flavor to this dirty Martini.
RECIPE
On the surface, Tom Liu’s drinks look unfussy and laid-back. But that’s only because he favors keeping the intensive hours of prep behind the scenes in order to focus on serving and interacting with guests. This approach makes Liu perfect for a place like L.A.’s Thunderbolt, which delivers innovative, technical cocktails in an atmosphere that’s free of pretentiousness. Likewise, Thunderbolt is perfect for Liu, who has embraced the tools and resources the bar makes available in order to experiment and innovate. “The technology we have ... opens up the possibilities of what we can do,” says Liu, who stepped up from barback to bartender at NoMad Los Angeles before joining the Thunderbolt team three years ago.
One of Liu’s favorite creations so far is his Fu Gwaa Falsetto. The drink is a swizzle built around bitter melon, a flavor evoking strong sense memories for many people of Asian descent, he says. “Everyone has the same story: You’re a kid and your parents force you to eat it because it’s healthy, but it’s bitter so you hate it.” Liu recasts the melon as the star of his cocktail, a delicate balancing act among bitter, salty and sweet notes, made with shochu, rum, gentian liqueur, lemon and salted plum powder. It’s the sort of alchemical result Liu aims for with all of his creations. At Thunderbolt, his desire to push the envelope while creating something accessible for guests—two goals perhaps seemingly at odds—mix together harmoniously.
Tom Liu
Los Angeles, California
Fu Gwaa Falsetto
Bitter melon meets shochu and Suze in this unorthodox, refreshing drink.
RECIPE
At Bryant’s Cocktail Lounge in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, there is no menu. Guests order by sharing their likes, dislikes and current mood with the bartender. They might get an Old-Fashioned or a Daiquiri, but they’re just as likely to wind up with one of the more than 600 drinks that Bryant’s bartenders have created since the lounge opened in 1938. It’s a system in which bar manager Jackson Mercier thrives.
Mercier, who ran the bar program at The Wagner House in his hometown of Freeport, Illinois, moved to Milwaukee in 2022 to work at Bryant’s. He was struck by the bar’s use of only readily available ingredients. “If we make anything in house, it’s to replicate something that is no longer made or we can’t get anymore, like Crème Yvette,” says Mercier, who led the charge in reverse-engineering the recipe from an old bottle so the bar could once again make house cocktails that call for the ingredient. As bar manager, he pushes the team to focus on minimalism as they create new drinks to add to the Rolodex. “We’ll add maybe four or five drinks a year, and they all have to fill a role,” he explains. The results are a roster of original drinks that feel right at home at Bryant’s: simple cocktails done well.
Jackson Mercier
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Stop-and-Go Light
This brandy and rum drink showcases the best of the Upper Midwest.
RECIPE
At Bryant’s Cocktail Lounge in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, there is no menu. Guests order by sharing their likes, dislikes and current mood with the bartender. They might get an Old-Fashioned or a Daiquiri, but they’re just as likely to wind up with one of the more than 600 drinks that Bryant’s bartenders have created since the lounge opened in 1938. It’s a system in which bar manager Jackson Mercier thrives.
Mercier, who ran the bar program at The Wagner House in his hometown of Freeport, Illinois, moved to Milwaukee in 2022 to work at Bryant’s. He was struck by the bar’s use of only readily available ingredients. “If we make anything in house, it’s to replicate something that is no longer made or we can’t get anymore, like Crème Yvette,” says Mercier, who led the charge in reverse-engineering the recipe from an old bottle so the bar could once again make house cocktails that call for the ingredient. As bar manager, he pushes the team to focus on minimalism as they create new drinks to add to the Rolodex. “We’ll add maybe four or five drinks a year, and they all have to fill a role,” he explains. The results are a roster of original drinks that feel right at home at Bryant’s: simple cocktails done well.
Get to know jackson
Jackson Mercier
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Hometown: Freeport, Illinois
Favorite classic cocktail: Daiquiri
Years as a bartender: 6
The drink that got you interested in bartending:
The Cosmopolitan. That was a drink that my dad always made for parties. It was the first idea I had of a balanced drink, like drinks didn’t just have to be vodka-sodas.
What’s the most underrated cocktail? The Wisconsin Old-Fashioned. As much as I love a good classic bourbon or rye Old-Fashioned, you have one of those, maybe two, then have to go to bed. My go-to is a brandy Old-Fashioned sour. It turns something strong and spirit-heavy into something sessionable—it’s a good representation of Wisconsin drinking culture.
Best piece of advice you got when starting out: When you’re bartending, you aren’t just making drinks; you’re a cleaning person that sometimes has to make drinks.
What do you know now that you wish you’d known five years ago? That this is a viable career choice. I got started in this while I was going to school and didn’t fully know what I was doing with myself. So knowing that this is something you can do, that’s not just pouring beers and making the occasional cocktail, there’s a whole world that is attainable.
Weirdest cocktail experiment you’ve ever attempted: I went down a rabbit hole of trying to make a Tequila Sunrise I liked. I had one that was orange juice, tequila, grenadine, lime, Cointreau, St-Germain and other stuff, and I was like, “This has lost the plot so much.”
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Stop-and-Go Light
This brandy and rum drink showcases the best of the Upper Midwest.
RECIPE
As bar director at Moon Rabbit, a contemporary Vietnamese restaurant in Washington, D.C., Thi Nguyen does more than just match her drinks to the cuisine, she imbues them with her personal story, too. Born in Vietnam, Nguyen moved to the Washington, D.C., area in 2013, then to the Bay Area for college. While there, she started bartending at a Tex-Mex restaurant, and later honed her skills under bar manager Watson Barry at the now-closed Oakland Vietnamese restaurant Le Cheval. “He taught me how to create drinks and not just follow a recipe,” she says.
In 2021, Nguyen joined Moon Rabbit, where she incorporates ingredients like fermented purple rice, fish sauce and culantro into her drinks. “I’m intentional with the ingredients I choose and the story behind the flavor profile,” she says. Take her mezcal-guava highball with pineapple–pink peppercorn shrub, which is rimmed with shrimp salt. “If you buy fresh fruit in Vietnam, it’s packed with shrimp salt,” she says. “We make it by grinding dried shrimp with chile and salt.” For Nguyen, the beauty of sharing the flavors of Vietnam is twofold. “It’s a way of showcasing and being proud of who I am,” she says, “but it’s also a way to connect with others on a deeper level than just making them a drink.”
Thi Nguyen
Washington, D.C.
Hết Nước Chấm | Out of
Dipping Sauce
A savory, tangy, tropical vodka cocktail.
RECIPE
As bar director at Moon Rabbit, a contemporary Vietnamese restaurant in Washington, D.C., Thi Nguyen does more than just match her drinks to the cuisine, she imbues them with her personal story, too. Born in Vietnam, Nguyen moved to the Washington, D.C., area in 2013, then to the Bay Area for college. While there, she started bartending at a Tex-Mex restaurant, and later honed her skills under bar manager Watson Barry at the now-closed Oakland Vietnamese restaurant Le Cheval. “He taught me how to create drinks and not just follow a recipe,” she says.
In 2021, Nguyen joined Moon Rabbit, where she incorporates ingredients like fermented purple rice, fish sauce and culantro into her drinks. “I’m intentional with the ingredients I choose and the story behind the flavor profile,” she says. Take her mezcal-guava highball with pineapple–pink peppercorn shrub, which is rimmed with shrimp salt. “If you buy fresh fruit in Vietnam, it’s packed with shrimp salt,” she says. “We make it by grinding dried shrimp with chile and salt.” For Nguyen, the beauty of sharing the flavors of Vietnam is twofold. “It’s a way of showcasing and being proud of who I am,” she says, “but it’s also a way to connect with others on a deeper level than just making them a drink.”
Get to know Thi
Thi Nguyen
Washington, D.C.
Hometown: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Favorite classic cocktail: Old-Fashioned with Rittenhouse Rye
Years as a bartender: 8
What’s the most underrated cocktail? Gimlet.
The drink that got you interested in bartending: A Manhattan. When I started as a bartender I was 21 and working at a Tex-Mex restaurant, so I was making Margaritas all day. When I got an interview at another job and they asked me to make a Manhattan, since all I knew was shaking, I shook the Manhattan in front of them. Obviously I did not get the job. But it opened me up to knowing that there’s more than shaken drinks.
What part of your job do you like most? I have the opportunity of creative freedom and I’m able to bring a lot of my personal experience and Vietnamese culture into my cocktail program and tell a story.
The one thing you wish would disappear from drink lists forever: Anything with smoke, where it’s just there for the wow factor. It’s like, “Is your phone ready? Get ready, because we’re going to burn something,” and that’s it.
What do you know now that you wish you’d known five years ago? That it’s OK to use ingredients that a lot of people don’t know. When I was starting out, I was worried that the ingredients I used were not approachable enough. If I were able to tell myself five years ago, I’d say, “This is the opportunity for you to promote Vietnamese ingredients and culture and showcase who you are.”
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Hết Nước Chấm | Out of
Dipping Sauce
A savory, tangy, tropical vodka cocktail.
RECIPE
Jordan Valls’ position as bar manager of Cuban-inspired destination Palomar is built on years of devoted interest in spirits. Working at his family’s liquor store, he began teaching himself about the differences between specific bottlings within each spirit category. Soon after, he took a barbacking job just to gain enough experience to work at Portland’s Multnomah Whisk(e)y Library. There, he advanced to bar manager while also becoming a certified expert in single malt whiskey, sherry and spirits in general.
This deep appreciation for what goes in the glass underscores Valls’ entire approach to cocktails. For him, there is no drink beyond rescuing or too passé to be given a turn in the spotlight—so long as it’s made with high-quality spirits and thoughtful techniques. It’s an approach that works well at Palomar, where the menu is built on pre- and post-Prohibition Cuban and rum classics, including drinks that Valls says are often referred to as “guilty pleasure” cocktails, like the Piña Colada. “Everyone has their own connotation of what they are, usually associating them with cruise ships and a shit ton of sugar,” says Valls. “I always say, we do your ‘guilty pleasure’ cocktails the correct way.” This means no guest should ever feel bad for ordering the drink they want, he adds. “There’s nothing basic about having a simple, really well-done cocktail.”
Get to know Jordan
Jordan Valls
Portland, Oregon
Hometown: Portland, Oregon
Favorite classic cocktail: Vieux Carré
Years as a bartender: 9
What do you know now that you wish you’d known five years ago? Taking care of yourself in this industry has to be paramount. And that looks different for everybody. Five years ago, I was in the thick of climbing the ranks. I got lost in the sauce a little bit by not taking one second to enjoy the journey. For me it went hand in hand with addiction. I’ve been sober for two and a half years now. Taking time for yourself and whatever you need, whatever that looks like for you, has to be part of this.
What part of your job do you like most? There’s not a lot of readily available information for the average consumer. Fresh 21-year-olds meet their first surly bartender and immediately get discouraged when they try to ask questions. So, I enjoy making people feel comfortable, comfortable being curious.
The drink that got you interested in bartending: I used to run my family liquor store; my dad’s had it for the better part of 30 years now. I was always curious why there could be two bottles of Scotch right next to each other, and one’s $50 while the other one’s $300. So, I tried to make sense of what was going on with different categories of spirits... learning distilleries’ stories, how things were made—it hooked me.
What’s the most underrated cocktail? Trinidad Sour. It’s a cult classic and a favorite of mine, but it does not get enough respect.
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Jordan Valls’ Rusty Nail
Papaya cordial and cocoa bitters put a tropical twist on the Scotch classic.
RECIPE
Jordan Valls’ position as bar manager of Cuban-inspired destination Palomar is built on years of devoted interest in spirits. Working at his family’s liquor store, he began teaching himself about the differences between specific bottlings within each spirit category. Soon after, he took a barbacking job just to gain enough experience to work at Portland’s Multnomah Whisk(e)y Library. There, he advanced to bar manager while also becoming a certified expert in single malt whiskey, sherry and spirits in general.
This deep appreciation for what goes in the glass underscores Valls’ entire approach to cocktails. For him, there is no drink beyond rescuing or too passé to be given a turn in the spotlight—so long as it’s made with high-quality spirits and thoughtful techniques. It’s an approach that works well at Palomar, where the menu is built on pre- and post-Prohibition Cuban and rum classics, including drinks that Valls says are often referred to as “guilty pleasure” cocktails, like the Piña Colada. “Everyone has their own connotation of what they are, usually associating them with cruise ships and a shit ton of sugar,” says Valls. “I always say, we do your ‘guilty pleasure’ cocktails the correct way.” This means no guest should ever feel bad for ordering the drink they want, he adds. “There’s nothing basic about having a simple, really well-done cocktail.”
Jordan Valls
Portland, Oregon
Papaya cordial and cocoa bitters put a tropical twist on the Scotch classic.
Jordan Valls’ Rusty Nail
RECIPE
Shaun Williams has been bartending for two and a half years, all of that time at Jewel of the South. It’s hard to imagine a more auspicious beginning to a bartending career, considering Jewel’s sterling reputation, its presence on the World’s 50 Best Bars list and its 2024 Outstanding Bar nod from the James Beard Awards. But Williams’ already impressive journey was in the works before joining the Jewel team. She has achieved the highest WSET certification in sake, and is one of the first people to receive a scholarship to attend the Sake School of America in order to become a sake sommelier, or kikisake-shi. “I’m so inspired by the Japanese ingredients and techniques of creating cocktails,” she says. “That scene is out of this world.”
At Jewel of the South, Williams brings the same attention to detail and deep interest in ingredients that motivated her sake education to the way she creates drinks. “Cocktails don’t have to have infusions and 20 obscure ingredients to be relevant,” she says. It’s a perspective that fits well at Jewel of the South, where forgotten drinks of the past, like the Brandy Crusta and the Creole Cocktail, are reinvigorated with a fresh, forward-thinking point of view without compromising the simplicity and integrity of the originals. “I used to think you have to outdo everything, every time and do super crazy things,” says Williams about her drink-making process. “And you don’t have to do that.”
Get to know Shaun
Shaun Williams
New Orleans, Louisiana
Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts
Favorite classic cocktail: Martini
Years as a bartender: 2 1/2
The drink that got you interested in bartending: Sake. I wanted to figure out how to introduce it to people.
What part of your job do you like most? Definitely the people, and giving them an experience. It’s more about them than anything else.
The one thing you wish would disappear from drink lists forever: I don’t mind making them and this is subjective of course, but the Gin Fizz is not all that good for its hype. It’s a pretty average drink for all the work that goes into it.
Best piece of advice you got when starting out: Don’t cut corners.
What’s the most underrated cocktail? I couldn’t think of one in particular, but the art of cocktails is really about making spirits palatable... People often write off things they think they don’t drink, like, “I don’t do tequila,” or “I don’t do vodka,” and it’s just about finding the person who will make that drink with the right flavor profile for you. So, I think the most underrated cocktail is the one you think you wouldn’t normally order.
What do you know now that you wish you’d known five years ago? That cocktails don’t have to have infusions and 20 obscure ingredients to be relevant. I used to think you have to outdo everything, every time, and do super crazy things—and you don’t have to do that.
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Deijī
A Margarita reimagined with Japanese ingredients like sake and yuzu.
RECIPE
Shaun Williams has been bartending for two and a half years, all of that time at Jewel of the South. It’s hard to imagine a more auspicious beginning to a bartending career, considering Jewel’s sterling reputation, its presence on the World’s 50 Best Bars list and its 2024 Outstanding Bar nod from the James Beard Awards. But Williams’ already impressive journey was in the works before joining the Jewel team. She has achieved the highest WSET certification in sake, and is one of the first people to receive a scholarship to attend the Sake School of America in order to become a sake sommelier, or kikisake-shi. “I’m so inspired by the Japanese ingredients and techniques of creating cocktails,” she says. “That scene is out of this world.”
At Jewel of the South, Williams brings the same attention to detail and deep interest in ingredients that motivated her sake education to the way she creates drinks. “Cocktails don’t have to have infusions and 20 obscure ingredients to be relevant,” she says. It’s a perspective that fits well at Jewel of the South, where forgotten drinks of the past, like the Brandy Crusta and the Creole Cocktail, are reinvigorated with a fresh, forward-thinking point of view without compromising the simplicity and integrity of the originals. “I used to think you have to outdo everything, every time and do super crazy things,” says Williams about her drink-making process. “And you don’t have to do that.”
Shaun Williams
New Orleans, Louisiana
A Margarita reimagined with Japanese ingredients like sake and yuzu.
Deijī
RECIPE