Home
People

Bartender Stories & Cocktail Culture

History, real-world lessons, and the human side of hospitality.

Explore the people, places, and ideas that shaped cocktail culture. Read stories, background, and industry insights that help newcomers understand not only how drinks are made, but why the bar world works the way it does.

From Philosophy to Pour: The Rémy Savage Playbook

Rémy Savage began tending bar in France while studying philosophy, and that habit of asking first-principle questions soon shaped entire menus.

A portrait of Kevin Kos, famous mixologist and youtuber

Kevin Kos: Engineering Modern Cocktail Education

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.

Simone Caporale: From Artesian to SIPS, a blueprint for modern hospitality

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.

A black and white vintage photograph from the early 20th century, showing a bartender in a white coat pouring a dark liquid from a mixing glass into a cocktail glass. He is behind a dark wooden bar with several bottles and a vintage cash register. The background features shelves of bottles and a wooden cabinet.

Harry Craddock and the Golden Age of Cocktails

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.

A professional portrait of world-renowned mixologist Tony Conigliaro dressed in a sharp dark suit and a polka-dot bow tie.

Tony Conigliaro: The Alchemist Who Changed the Way We Drink

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.

Salvatore Calabrese Portrait: Salvatore Calabrese "The Maestro" smiling behind a high-end cocktail bar in London.

The Legendary Salvatore Calabrese and His Iconic Breakfast Martini

Salvatore Calabrese, widely recognized as "The Maestro," stands as a foundational pillar in the evolution of modern mixology. With a career spanning over five decades, he has redefined the standards of hospitality, transforming the role of a bartender from a service provider to a high-level artisan.

Osmund Bernard "The Hokage" posing behind a bar with a cocktail shaker.

Crafting Art in a Glass: An Interview with Osmund Bernard, Bar Consultant and Cocktail Aficionado

In the evolving landscape of the Southeast Asian beverage industry, few names carry as much weight as Osmund Bernard. Known widely within Malaysian bartending circles by the moniker “The Hokage,”