IN THE SPIRIT

CHAD MONTANO, MRM NUTRITION, @BRIEWILLY
Recently, I have become extremely passionate about photography especially food photography. I love the feeling of creating and styling a dish that makes you eat with your eyes first.

ALLISON TORRES, REFINERY ROOFTOP, LEAD BARTENDER
Maybe because I'm an old soul, I've always found beauty in the simplicity of the classics. Trends have never been for me. Classic cocktails, classic white tshirt, classic rock. Stick to what works.

GABBY CIRIGLIANO, THECURLYCUCUMBER, BLOGGER
I get inspiration from other food bloggers and also from walking around the grocery store. Each time I go grocery shopping, I try to find one item I do not generally buy and try to incorporate it into a meal! It is a fun way to try something new.

VALERIE SMESHKO, VALCOHOL.CO, OWNER
I want to share libations that leave my guests and readers with a pleasant, memorable experience. Creating delicious flavor combinations and connecting with others in the industry has brought me so much fulfillment, and I’m looking forward to seeing where this path will take me.

DERRICK SCHOMMER, COMMON MAN COCKTAILS, OWNER
My team and I host and run an online youtube cocktail channel known as Common Man Cocktails. My wife does a lot of the recipe design when working on our own custom recipes (like the ones included here).

JASON PLUMMER, @BARRELAGEDDAD AT HOME BARTENDER
A designer by trade, I've always admired the culinary arts. My wife, a sous chef, expanded my palate and taught me about flavor profiles. This love affair with culinary inevitably carried over to craft cocktails when I had my first proper Old Fashioned. I quickly "fell prey" to the resurgence of classic cocktail culture sweeping the country.

SHAUN TRAXLER, SIDEWAYS, GM / BARCHEF
My entire work history is in Food and Beverage. I've been working behind a bar or in a kitchen since 2001. My biggest passions are food and flavor and my biggest inspiration for cocktails generally comes from kitchen related experiences or techniques.

NICOLE WHITE, WALLINGFORD DRAM KITTERY, BARTENDER
I love renaissance fairs, ❤ animals, concerts, horror movies, and playing video games (Nintendo 64, Xboxone), cosplay, Instagram and gamertag Nicolextayl0r.

JOHN ESPOSITO, WOLFFER KITCHEN BAR MANAGER
Montauk native. Red wine enthusiast, craft beer connoisseur. 13 years behind the pine and still loving every minute of it.

SPENCER SLAINE, HARDING'S & CASA NETA PARTNER
NYC native. Opened Harding's in Nov. 2012 and Casa Neta this past summer.

WARREN BOBROW, NICHE IMPORTS BRAND AMBASSADOR
I'm a reinvention from five distinctive failures. I don't believe that any successes comes easily as I'm a completely self-made man!  My first career had nothing to do with what i do now strangely enough.  (it was a television editor/cameraman in NYC) I'm a classically trained cook, from put scrubber on up...

MASSIMILIANO MATTE, CHIEF MIXOLOGIST AT AMERICAN JUICE COMPANY | FOUNDER & CEO AT UMAMI.bar.CONSULTING
I have been in the bar business for almost two decades now and I'm still in love with what I'm doing.  Over the past years I had the chance to collaborate with some of the big names in the hospitality industry, like Alain Ducasse, Heinz Beck or Daniel Boulud, and working in some of the most prestigious hotels and bars in the world...