Rochester’s Best Bartenders share their secrets

Years bartending: 5 (1 at Bleu Duck)

Favorite drink to make: ”Whatever the guest likes the most.”

Favorite drink to drink: ”Currently, it’s a Last Word (a classic cocktail made with gin, green Chartreuse, Luxardo maraschino, and lime juice).”

Memorable behind-the-bar story: ”One that I’ll never forget is when I first started bartending at Newt’s. A guest would come in whose wife was in the hospital, so he was staying in a nearby hotel for 6 to 9 months. He would come in every night to get his mind off things, and it was a cool relationship to build—to be the person who helps him take his mind off things.”

Years bartending: 10 (2-1/2 at Tap House).

Favorite drink to make: ”Old Fashioned.”

Favorite drink to drink: “A good sour beer.”

Memorable behind-the-bar story: “My last year at the Tap House, I was able to work alongside two of my best friends who were bartending with me. I already loved my job, but having my friends with me made it even more enjoyable.”

Years bartending: 17 (3+ years at Bitter & Pour)

Favorite drink to make: “The next one. I’m always looking for the next new and exciting creation. I like playing with things I’ve never seen before, like a new fruit or herb or spice. The less I know about it, the more interested I am.”

Favorite drink to drink: ”If I had a gun to my head and had to choose a drink I had to drink for the rest of my life, it’d be a negroni—a classic, gin-based cocktail.”

Memorable behind-the-bar story: “Bartending in this city for as long as I have, you just never know who is going to walk up on the other side of the bar. There’s been a lot of celebrities—kings and queens, Sean Connery, Tom Brokaw, some Vikings legends. It’s always cool seeing people like that.”

Years bartending: 10 (nearly 1 year at Purple Goat)

Favorite drink to make: “Old Fashioned.”

Favorite drink to drink: “I like spicy margaritas. I’ll make them with jalapeños or serranos.”

Memorable behind-the-bar story: “When I was working in the Cities, I served a couple of Vikings football players. But it’s the friendships that are most memorable. I started bartending for Creative Cuisine, at Newt’s, 10 years ago—and my coworkers have ended up being my best friends to this day.”

Years bartending: 23 (3+ years at Bitter & Pour, where he is one of the owners)

Favorite drink to make: “Any drink that makes the
guest happy.”

Favorite drink to drink: ”I’m a bourbon guy, but I’ve really been digging into mezcal drinks lately.”

Memorable behind-the-bar story: ”For the longest time I always worked Thanksgiving so everyone else didn’t have to. It got to be known by customers that every Thanksgiving, I’d be at the bar. One year, I had nine plates of food brought to me. I ran out of cooler space room because I couldn’t eat it all.”

Years bartending: 17 (12 years at the Eagles Club)

Favorite drink to make: “We’re such a beer and mixed drink place, but I do appreciate making a good Old Fashioned.”

Favorite drink to drink: “I’m a Michelob Ultra-with-a-lemon girl. I learned that back in the day from the Break Room girls (which was where Pappy’s is now.)”

Memorable behind-the-bar story: “We had the Eagles State Convention in 2014, and a lady wrote a note and left it for me after the convention. She wrote, ‘I am 72 years old and you’re the best bartender I’ve ever seen in my life.’ I don’t know who it was from, because people came from all over the state, but I still have it. And, oh my gosh, it means a lot.”