Most bartenders today meet Kevin Kos on a screen before they ever meet him at a bar. You’re between shifts, scrolling, and a calm Slovenian voice starts explaining how to get more juice from one lemon, or how to batch an Old Fashioned so it pours perfectly every time.

There are bartenders who follow trends. Then there are those who create them. Simone Caporale belongs firmly in the second category. If you’ve ever poured a drink with a story, crafted a cocktail with intention, or thought of hospitality as more than just service, chances are you’re walking a path he helped pave.

In the pantheon of bartending legends, few names resonate with the same reverence as Harry Craddock. A true icon of the pre-Prohibition and interwar cocktail scene, Craddock’s contributions continue to echo behind bars around the world. Known not only for his technical precision and showmanship but for the meticulous preservation of cocktail culture during its most precarious era, Craddock’s legacy is firmly etched into the foundations of modern mixology.

Tony Conigliaro is one of the few modern bartenders whose influence is visible even when his name isn’t on the menu. Across the last two decades, his work helped move cocktails from “well-made and balanced” toward something broader: drinks that carry a point of view, use aroma like a narrative tool, and rely on repeatable process rather than improvisation.