Behind the Bar

Stick People

We profile the bartenders, bar owners, distillers and ambassadors to know right now, from accomplished veterans to up-and-coming stars. This is a who's who of the drinks world.

Mariena Mercer Boarini

This Las Vegas Bar Pro Runs the Drink Programs at 31 Venues

Hortense Van Der Horst

How Hortense Van Der Horst Is Helping Reinvent Paris' Queer Drinking Scene

There Will Never Be Another Gary Regan

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This Legendary Rum Maker Doesn't Care if You Read This Story

Meet the Man Who Turned San Antonio into a Bona Fide Cocktail Town

Nick Wu's Advice for Making It as a Bartender? Never Stop Learning.

How to Build a Charming Bar. One That Seats Only 20 People.

Meet the Chef Who Makes the Cocktails He Wants to Drink

Tokyo's Gen Yamamoto on the Importance of Balance and Body in a Cocktail

Jim Meehan Is Making the Next Hot Mixer You Didn't Know You Needed

Meet the Bartender Who's Putting Manila's Cocktail Scene on the Map

How 3 Filipina Women Opened the Most Unlikely and Empowering Gin Bar in the USA

The Drink That Changed My Life: Lisa Laird Dunn on the Applejack Drink That Started a Revolution

Meet the Bartender Behind New York City's Hottest Restaurant and Bar Group

From PhD to ABV: How One Distiller Uses Chemistry to Make a Great Gin

This Brand Ambassador's Advice for Bartenders? Learn to Take Care of Yourself.

One Man's Quest to Take Cocktail Photography to the Next Level

Meet the Indiana Jones of Mezcal

Stick People: Shingo Gokan Is Ready to Show How to Break from the Ordinary Bar

This Scottish Bartender Commutes 5,100 Miles to Work

This Boston Bartender Makes His Mai Tais the Italian Way

Victoria Chow Is the Busiest Bartender in Hong Kong. And She Likes It That Way.

How Do You Follow Up a Successful Speakeasy? Turn the Lights Up Bright.

This Barbadian Bartender Is Changing the Way We Drink in Paradise

Maggie Campbell Is the Unsung Savior of American Rum

Asia's Hottest Bar Scene Is Just Getting Started. And You Can Thank This Guy.

Suffolk Arms' Giuseppe González on Paying His Bar World Dues

This Bartender Is Making Wood-Fired Cocktails. But How Do They Taste?

Jerry Thomas, 125 Years Later

Where Do You Go to Hire a Master Distiller? Check the Accounting Department.

What It's Like to Be a Brand Ambassador for Japanese Whisky When Your Cultish Brands Already Sell Themselves

The Perfect Highball: How It Forever Changed One Bartender's Career

Selma Slabiak on Aquavit and Hygge

Writer Alexander Chee on Classic Cocktails and What Makes a Good Bartender

Inside the Mind of Charles Joly, Diageo World Class Winner

This Chicago Bar Owner Is Crazy About Rum—And Thinks You Should Taste These 6 Bottles

The Key to Being a Badass Bartender in Los Angeles? Ignore Hollywood.

Talking Cognac with Hennessy's Oliver Paultes

Meet the Man Who's Shaking Up the Rum Industry

This Is How Chocolate and a Family Business Won This Bartender a Fancy Cocktail Competition