It’s that time of yeah, lurking behind the corner and every new brick & mortar, an unabashed free marketing boost can yield fine returns during a particularly slumpish season. The CityBeat “Best of” List is about to drop onto coffee tables. Reaching denizens of those “outside the core” from soccer moms to weekend Brewwarrior dads, the list serves as short and sweet water cooler fodder. The original click-bait-pre-internet-listicle gives the lesser known, well known, and unknown people, places and things a chance to share a spotlight. Those with enough patience, or a hell of a PR agency can spend months using the God-awful voting page to sway the “popular vote” in their favor. And all system kinks and bugs aside (as there are MANY) people do, because again, it’s a generally free marketing boost. Especially for new brands hitting an oversaturated market.
Other than the obvious debate over these lists, I generally have no problem with them. Except one thing.
Best Bartender Male. Best Bartender Female.
Let’s start with the obvious. The term “Bartender” is graciously, one of the few titles that has been gender neutral since it’s inception. Yes. It’s a male dominated industry, and there are plenty of boys club mentalities in said industry that women have to deal with on an hourly basis. Especially in this town. I also do realize what this is trying to achieve. Giving equal notice to a deserving person of each gender. But, dare I challenge this notion. Dare we actually put them together. And while we are at it, restructure this altogether instead of simplifying a complex industry. Let me break it down very succinctly for you…
There is no one type of Best Bartender.
There are in fact, many. Especially now that Cincy has advanced and opened its palette. Many people should get a nod for continuing to strengthen the hospitality scene here in this little corner of Ohio, not just the two that were invariably picked because someone kept refreshing the page and voted incessantly for days on end. Nope. Instead I’ll offer my completely unglamorous-no-input-required opinion. Y’all have asked me “What do you like to drink?” which is irksome in it’s own right, but I am about to answer, It’s not what, but where. Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you. the Wellies.
The Award for a Local Inspiration, Inspiring a new Generation of Hospitality Workers. When trying to name this, and get the obvious out of the way, we needed an inspiration. How do we look to do at our job everyday? Well. What is it that we stand behind and is our main tool for the job? Well. Who rebooted the cocktail scene here around the time the scene in general was just getting off the ground, and has taught and inspired countless others to do the same? Wellman. Yes, I named the brand after a woman that has been through so much, and asked for so little in return. A woman who had worked for decades and made her name one of every household. Molly Wellman, each of these awards that I will be doling out puts future players into the spotlight that you turned on. I hope that each of them will honor the history, hone the craft, and mentor future generations of Cincinnati Bartender Craftsmanship. So without further ado, the 1st Annual Well Awards presented by Weller (ok, someday, here’s hoping)…
Best Bourbon Bartender
Let’s just get this out of the way upfront. It’s the most popular poison currently, and apparently the only spirit an Old Fashioned should be made of according to everyone that sits at a bar. Oh if only they knew…
Lily Dean @OKBB
There’s not many folks that can get a regular to travel. Bars, as per their wares, are meant to be enjoyed in a neighborhood, more walkable setting. Lily has the best library at her disposal, but she could make me put my ass at one of her seats with just barrel water.
Best Rum Bartender
Ohio. Doesn’t get any more landlocked than that. But that’s the rub right? What started as a playful exploration at Japps turned into a full fledged rum bar in the completely no-water-to-be-found boat bar in Northside with a new turn towards a rum room in OTR. Bourbon ages away in its cast off barrels, and bartenders everywhere want to play with even the lowest grade of pirate potion.
Mike Stankovich @Longfellows
Much like the previous category, this one has a slew of runner ups too numerous to name. Mike is, however, the driving thread in all of the aforementioned rum forward programs listed above. His passions for music playout through his intertwined knowledge of all things rum related, and his Other Room project is flourishing, introducing folks, very intimately, with spirits they may not be otherwise comfortable with.
Best Tequila Bartender
Devil’s Water. Prairie Fire. Redneck Margarita. Felony Juice. No matter what the name, it’s probably always a bad decision. Nonetheless there are no shortages of tacorias in the Queen City, and more and more agave based bar programs are filling a void you didn’t know you had in your life.
Randall @Tacoria Mercado
He comes. He goes. Randall and TM seem to breakup more regularly than the cast of Vanderpump Rules. BUT if you are lucky enough to be served by Sir Randall, be prepared for a master class in large volume margaritas. Quite possibly the only person I know that can get perfect balance by adding a Corona pony to basically any drink.
Best Gin Bartender
Welcome to Gincinnati my friends! It’s going to take a minute, but with the distillation laws all opened up, Cincy will be home to many, many juniper based operations soon enough. Bourbon is to Gin, like Man is to Woman. Takes forever to mature properly and wouldn’t exist without the latter.
Giacomo Ciminello @ Night Drop
Yeah. Yeah. Crucify me later. I honestly would put anyone else here, my own staff included, but truth is I know more about gin than even some distillers in this town, and the collection of absurd gin cocktail variations grow almost daily up in Walnut Hills with no signs of stopping anytime soon. I will gladly yield once more bartenders get gintrified.
Best Tiki Bartender
Tiki is taking its punches lately, but we must recognize those that are truly deep diving into the culture’s past, and presenting not just a drink, but experiences for their guests. This award undoubtedly goes too..
Jeremy Harrison @Japps
While rum bars are starting to make the rounds here in 513, Tiki Night’s at Japps just continues to dominate. It takes a lot to put together popups, let along a regularly occurring one, so all props go to Jeremy for keeping his team honest and unique each time. No seriously, send all tiki related props to Jeremy.
Best Low Proof Bartender
Yes. This is a thing. It’s not a fad. It’s not going anywhere. It has some naming obstacles to overcome (like mockcocktail…its not a joke of some other cocktail) but sober drinking is just as imaginative (if not more than) the norm.
Catharine Manabat @Homemakers
Catharine has a fun, long and well built road in her career thus far . It all starts though, with her love of details, especially when it comes to flavor profiles. She playfully tinkers with ingredients, alcoholic or not, to present mind twisting cocktails with a chefs nuance.
Best Beertender
Pouring beer in a beer savvy town requires a surprising number of skills. Everyone and their grandmother has a home brewing kit in their house. And whether it sits as an unopened Christmas gift in the garage or not, brewing is in Cincinnati’s DNA. Had prohibition not happened, dare I say the vast brewing landscape of the US would be different, if not based out here instead. So basically you need to know your shit, least look like the world’s biggest poser.
Brittney Hansen @Queen City Radio
Adri DeFisher @Liberty’s Bar & Bottle
Our first tie brings in two very different bartenders approaching their job from two very unique standpoints, and notice I chose exactly ZERO people from a taproom. Not saying taproom beertenders don’t know what they are doing, or saying, most do, they are just limited in the diversity that a beer hall or other beer focused program can bring to the table. Both of the winners here have experience from working at a brewery, thus the lingo and language is there, as well as the speed element. Their styles are uniquely suited to their home bars. Adri has an exotic presence and knowledge much more suited to Liberty’s selection of rarer beers and wines. Brittany has a vast national machismo knowledge base, and can throw down with quite literally anyone in regards to hops and barley. Both will nail your palette down within moments. So don’t waste your time or theirs, just tell them what you like.
Best Bar/Restaurant Group
Putting together a successful company with a string of bars and restaurants (that manage to stay open) is no small feat. Some find their niche in a formula, simply plugging in and out certain words like an Ad Lib. Others pretty-fy spaces, slap on a shiny veneer, and call it a day. Meanwhile others yet, go through a storytelling narrative. All their i’s might not be dotted nor t’s crossed, but the narrative is there.
Gorilla Cinema
Jacob Trevino and team en masse have, in short order, simply taken over. Anyone will tell you that sometimes its just that first initial push of the boulder to get it rolling, but Trevino (and team en masse) managed to push that boulder down an 89 degree incline all the while sparking little moments foreign to the likes of the locals. The moments are meant for you to bring your imaginations to, not to have them fill in all the gaps. The moments are meant for exploration and wonder. The fun part is the boulder is still picking up speed, so seeing what’s next won’t take long.
Best Barback
Barbacks. It’s in the name. The backbone of the bar. The muscle to the brain. The radio voice to the TV face. The strongest of barbacks never really want to be much more than that in my experience. Could they? Absolutely. But sometimes not dealing with the crowd and focusing on operations is just as important, if not more so, than passing that drink over the bartop. They are the heart and soul, and handyman and janitor and babysitter and mechanic and parent and tailor and sous chef and bouncer.
Brent Schwass @Mad Tree
I’m not even sure if he is technically a “bar back” by any traditional sense anymore, but ask around, especially in the old guard, “if you were to open up a place, who would you want backing you up?” Pretty much one name comes to mind, and that is Brent. A Jack of nearly Every trade and then some, if you pointed to a hole in the ground, Brent would have that hole setup to serve 100 people in short order. He would even go so far as to rig, marionette style a second bartender to help serve said 100 people when you undoubtedly get weeded. Man’s a savant. I could make an entire Best Barback List called the Schwassies, but he’d take home every one of those awards too.
Best Apprentice
Okay, so if that’s a barback, then what’s an apprentice? In the bartending world, an apprentice is someone on a clear path to learn and study the “art” of cocktailing. It’s all about education, learning, doing, and learning some more. Sometimes you even get to fill in as a bartender, much like an understudy would for an actor. It’s all about trust, and building that relationship as, again, we are part of a brand now.
Rachel Flores @Homemakers
Cincy is fluuuuuush with greenhorns. Unfortunately, the rate of speed in which a new bar/restaurant opens, and the time it takes to properly train people in hospitality (or whether the parent brand even does this at all) are not coinciding. I cannot stress proper training enough. Employees are an extension of YOUR training, they are basically the apparition of YOU when you are not present. Rachel is the embodiment of everything that Homemakers strives to be. Bright. Inviting. and Special. Tending a bar is not easy. We spend 80% of the time not interacting with customers at all, Rachel is always present and ready to impart a smile.
Best New Artist
There’s people who look at bartending as a job. That’s fine. It is. As I’ve said this list breaks down all the types. There is a particular type that goes the creative route, and challenges their own line of thinking to try to create. Look, there’s really only a handful of drinks, and flavor profiles. Breaking that mold requires doing things a little off color.
Steven Clement @Lost and Found
Ok, so Steven isn’t technically “new”. At least not in the traditional sense of the word anyways. But what is new is his long awaited with bated breath watering hole. Steven has always had a flair behind the bar, and his talent was clear from the beginning. With Lost & Found though, we have something truly different. He’s more playful, he has an entire environment at his disposal, and he uses it well. It’s music, it’s fashion, it’s everywhere you want to be.
Best Lead Bartender
Most don’t know what a Lead Bartender is. This is someone that shows leadership strength, inspires others around them, teaches and is in general a strong “face” for your brand. There are some admin duties assigned but basically, they are the Captain to your General Manager (see what I did there). The Lead is someone that will probably have their own bar one day, as they are passionate about hospitality, and everyone knows their name.
Pam Diebold @Arnold’s
A Lead Bartender is a rock. Someone dependable, has faced every storm, swatted away every foreseeable problem. And is there as you grow up, send your own kids off to college and now you can just relax, and sit back, with your favorite Lead Bartender. Pam has been killing it, in one of America’s top 150 bars for years now. Her name is synonymous with Cincy’s Oldest Bar™ and quite frankly, if she isn’t there when I happen to walk through the door, well, a little bit inside of me dies.
Best Restaurant Bartender
People often don’t break down what it means to be a bartender. Thus this list, which basically breaks down all skills needed into various styles. Craft Bartender = chef. Volume = speed & efficiency. Beer bartender = cicerone. Wine bartender = sommelier. Dive bartender = therapist. And your friendly neighborhood restaurant bartender, is all of the above while also being a server. It is no small feat, and has all of my respect, and should have yours as well. Depending on the food and bar programs, this is a niche only a small few can fit into successfully. This is also the most criticized position because so much falls onto the Restaurant Bartender’s position during a shift. So let’s raise a glass everyone, no seriously, higher.
Moira McGuire @Branch & Night Drop
All of the previously mentioned skills and then some are just a fraction of what she brings to the table. A trained anthropologist, no one understands the human condition more so than Moira. She literally makes the clusters%^&k that is a simple 5 hour restaurant shift, look effortless. If you really want to see her in her element, try squeezing into Night Drop on a Saturday.
Best Bar Team
Making sure a bar opens up everyday, takes a village. Each part is integral, Each set of hands. Each face. It becomes a family, built on trust falls, cracking hands and bouts of hunger. A great bar team is one that is having fun. The best is one your regulars keep coming back for.
Northside Yacht Club
Always having fun. When planning events, I look down at my wrist where I have tattooed on it WWNSYCD? From every member of bar and kitchen staff to the various characters they bring in, NSYC is a bar with all the charm, character and a dash of chutzpah that I know embodies all of Cincinnati. It is Cincinnati.
Best Dive Bar Bartender
Cincy has no shortage of dive bars. What’s a dive bar?? You know, bars that didn’t need to pitch to a developer their “concept”. Where bartenders look at you funny for ordering anything with more than 2 ingredients. Where an Old Fashioned order starts a month-long search for some type of sugar. Where the well liquor doesn’t exceed $4…per bottle. A dive bar bartender knows how to traverse the rough seas of all the aforementioned and countless other unstated beliefs. Dive Bartenders, are heroes.
Downtown Scotty Brown @Madonnas
There are many on the list, but only one is constantly called “iconic”. Scotty has fans all over the globe at this point. People far and wide, of whom you will undoubtedly have a random Cincinnati connection with, will immediately ask the followup, “Wait, You know Scotty? Madonnas? Love that guy.” Runner Ups. Basically the entire staff of Miltons
Best High Volume Bartender
Here we go. Things are heating up. The massive amount of bartenders we come across in our early 20s to whenever we decide to grow up, are what I consider a High Volume Bartender. They are fast. They are efficient. They are usually easy to look at (all part of the distraction, how long were you waiting for that drink again?), and they are a different breed. There’s a lovely sense of pride when you talk volume with these folks, its downright competitive. And I love it.
Alex Nord @16-Bit Arcade
The youngest of my list thus far, this little speedster is rick rolling her way through the bar world. Once an apprentice (and eventual bartender) at Sundry & Vice, she has honed her skills of stealthy slinging. She can clear a rail faster than you can attempt to pronounce her full last name, and she will probably insta-story your astonished face in the process. Excited to see what she does next.
Best Craft High Volume Bartender
It’s one thing to pour/open beers, and pour/open highballs all night versus actually having to make 4, 5, 6 three plus ingredient drinks at one time. You know that clock in your head, where you are listening to it tick and all the while silently screaming at your bartender to “hurry the f$#@ up already?” Yeah? Well ours is much faster, with more moving parts, and can hear not only your head, but countless others at the same time. Yes, we have superpowers motherf^&*r. Many a bar, especially lately, have been gutted by the proverbial “drinks took fooooorever” review. Having one or two of these folks behind the bar, evens that. And there’s not many of them out there.
Julia Petiprin @Homemakers
This is a tough category of which I would only put, 3 or 4, total people in. In all of my travels, I’m not even sure this is a category many places can try to fit under, maaaaybe Society Lounge in Cleveland. Maaaaybe Existing Conditions in NYC. It’s a category brought out by necessity really. Small bar. Hot commodity. Can’t sacrifice quality. So you train and train and train and day in and day out you get faster and faster and bam. You have this evolved Craft Barhero. Julia did as such with the team at Sundry & Vice. Now, she’s got her own pen of wild horses to break at Homemakers. She still challenges herself to be faster, and was the first competitor from Cincinnati to attempt Speedrack. She’s fast. I think I might know only one other person faster. 😉
Bar Manager of the Year
While it takes a village to run, someone needs to plan, maintain, paint, build infrastructure, repaint, get the kids off to school, play therapist, pack lunches, repaint, play schedule jockey, repaint, and just be a superhero.
Jennifer Watts @Japps
I’m just going to pause for a minute. Reread who won.
Ok, now clap.
Best Bar Program
Programs need time to settle in. Bars need a minute to shake their butts a little and warm up the seat. It’s a back and forth that you play until everyones comfortable. Sometimes, a bar never gets comfortable, and that’s okay too…it’s a little anxiety driven, but often times that’s where things get interesting. But there’s also the comfy and reliable route, where you trust all the folks behind the bar. It’s money well spent. Reliable. But is it creative? Bars are an escape. They suck up more time than binge watching Netflix, but can it keep you entertained?
The Other Room
If they say the bar is a stage, then this is a true theater. There’s a lot of emotional give and take between patrons and the bartender. None so much as here. Joshua Miller runs arguably the city’s (or even all of Ohio?) most intimate bar space. It’s you and the bartender. Mano a Mano. Well, maybe like Mano a 12 of you but still. The bartender is there to perform. And for a room that focuses on rum, they add whisps of fresh air with pop ups by outside bartenders now and again. Its the bar we all wish we had in our home while still being glad to show off the bar to the outsiders. Cheers to The Other Room. We look forward to what’s next.
Bartender of the Year
The bartender of the year, should inspire. They should be able to lift you up with a wink. They should always know your name. They make others more passionate. They should bring together folks who want to fight to make the industry better. They should create a strong foundation in which to build on, no matter what shock hits them. They should invoke “family” around the hospitality industry. They should without a question, lend an ear, a hand, or a dollar when needed. They make each of us slightly better just by knowing them. They should raise the level up so high, then reach down to pull you up with them. The Bartender of the Year is …
PJ Neumann
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