CONTRIBUTORS
This is where the magic happens…
Marcis Dzelzainis
Marcis’ bartending career spans over fifteen years and has seen him behind the bar at some of London’s most iconic drinking spots including Satan’s Whiskers, Dandelyan, 69 Colebrooke Row and Sager + Wilde. In 2020 Marcis co-founded idyll with Luke McFayden – a consultancy company with its own canned soft drink, made with foraged douglas fir and scots pine. Marcis lives in London with his fiancée Megan and their corgi, Mavis, and is known for his extraordinary ability to make the most delicious drinks, like, ever.
Fany Camarena
Fany is the Commercial Director for Tequila Ocho, and a sixth generation tequilera and agavera. Based in Arandas, Jaliso, she has been involved in the tequila business since she was fifteen, and her family has been making 100% agave tequila since 1890. The daughter of renowned tequila maker Carlos Camarena, Fany is the first woman in her family to take on the family business.
Lucy Pallett-Jones
Lucy was recommended to us by Paige Aubort – and recommendations don’t get much better than that. She has elected to write her own bio, as follows. “My name is Lucy Pallett-Jones. I am a bartender and analogue photographer. My photographic work seeks the moments of power created by people behind bars. Bartending has given me an innate sense of self. I don’t have countless accolades to list for you, but I do have a series called Silk and Grit.’
Jake O’Brien Murphy
A top three contestant for everyone’s favourite northerner, Jake’s impressive CV lists Callooh Callay, Three Sheets, Liverpool’s Present Company and American Bar at The Savoy as his former employers. Newly engaged, and currently more writer than bartender, Jake lives in East London with his fiancé Flora and their dog baby Milhouse. If you’re looking for a funny, informative and entrancing bed time story, check out his podcast ‘over the bar’.
Chockie Tom
L.A born Chockie is a bartender and brand ambassador who recently relocated to London with her cat – Bacon. Connecting her Pomo and Paiute heritage with her advocacy work, she brings a unique perspective to an industry lacking in indigenous presence. Chockie is best known for her innovative cocktail building techniques, event art and her work with Doom Tiki, fundraising for communities dealing with the effects of colonization. Chockie is working on a book which upon publication will make her the first indigenous American cocktail book author in American history. Yeah, makes us feel lazy too.
John deBary
Drinks writer John deBary started bartending at pdt in 2008 before making the move to Momofuku Ssäm Bar – beginning as part time bartender, finishing four years later as Bar Director for the group. He founded the Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation in 2017, launched Proteau - a line of zero-proof botanical drinks - in 2019, and published his first book – Drink What You Want, in 2020. 2021 – world domination.
Image by Naima Green
Chris Cabrera
As Grey Goose ambassador for NYC, Chris (they/them) works tirelessly to drive conversation around equality and diversity within the bar industry, combining activism with on-trade events to challenge preconceptions and drive real change. In 2019 Chris conducted TOTC’s first ever LGBTQ+ seminar and this year was inducted into Drinks International’s Top 100 Most Influential. A San Franciscan, Chris resides in the city than never sleeps with partner (and co-contributor) Ash Haussermann.
Tabara N’Diaye
Tabara is the founder of La Basketry, a lifestyle brand offering handwoven homeware and accessories made in collaboration with female artisans in Senegal. The French entrepreneur turned her back on a successful career in the hospitality events industry in 2017 to launch a business that would reconnect her to her Senegalese roots. La Basketry’s range has been stocked at the world-renowned Victoria & Albert museum and she has most recently released her first book ‘Baskets’, which has since been published in six languages.
Ali Dedianko
Originally from Baltimore, by way of New York, where she spent her formative years bartending, Ali has been in London for nearly a decade. Former Global Brand Ambassador for Belvedere Vodka turned (failed)* restaurateur, Ali now heads up the UK advocacy team at Brown-Forman and is also mother to twin toddlers, an exhausting job for sure, someone get this woman a medal! *this is Ali’s own word – we beg to differ.
Ryan Chetiyawardana
Known as Mr Lyan, Ryan is renowned for excelling at - well - basically everything. Captain at Dandelyan and White Lyan (RIP), Lyaness, Super Lyan, Cub and Silver Lyan, Ryan has two published books, the Mr Lyan Studio, bottled cocktails, a Masterclass tutorial, a load of crystal plates and a cat called Batman. The cherry on top? He happens to be a really nice guy.
Alex Kratena
The bar world is still reeling from Alex’s 4 year winning streak at World’s 50 Best Bars back in 2015 . Never one to rest on his laurels, Alex co-founded p(our) symposium in 2016 and opened Tayer + Elementary with his partner Monica Berg in 2019. Alex has been named ‘Best International Bartender’ by TOTC, ‘Bar Personality of The Year’ by Imbibe, and ‘Innovator of The Year’ by Class Magazine. He has his own liqueur (Muyu), a range of branded sweaters, a cordial (Paragon), and has consulted on projects around the world.
Isis Hernández
Isis Hernández is the general manager at the only independent tasting room in Tequila - La Cata. She has managed restaurants in the United States and Mexico, where she spent the last seven years as captain at Casa Luna.
Isis grew up in Ameca, on the far side of the Valley of Tequila, has lived most of her life in California and Tlaquepaque, and is a die-hard Guadalajara Chivas fan.
Kelsey Ramage
Kelsey worked as a somm in Vancouver before packing it all up for London in 2015. She made her name as a bartender at the multi-award winning Dandelyan while juggling Trash Tiki - a project that took her far and wide promoting the anti-waste movement with partner Iain Griffiths. Last year Kelsey returned home to Canada to open her first bar - Supernova Ballroom. An intro for a bartender who needs exactly none.
Hannah Sharman Cox + Siobhan Payne
As co-creators and owners of the globally envied London Cocktail Week, Hannah and Siobhan have worked with the great and good of the UK bar industry... And everyone in between. Now in its eleventh year, LCW is an integral part of the London hospitality calendar for bartenders and consumers alike. Girl Gang advocates, Hannah and Siobhan can usually be found supping martinis in W1, always wearing black.
Fawn Weaver
The phrase ‘needs no introduction’ is bandied around but guys, we really mean it this time. Fawn is an entrepreneur, historian, New York Times bestselling author, TED speaker and the CEO of Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey, which she launched in 2017 and has catapulted to historic success with an all-female leadership team. In March of this year Fawn was added to endeavor’s board of directors, alongside some guy called Elon Musk.
Marit Brønn
Native Norwegian Marit has been working in the bar industry since the age of nineteen. A former event and club manager for some of Oslo’s biggest venues, she’s now the Trade Activation Manager at Pernod Ricard Norway, a position she’s held for the past six years alongside managing the rum, tequila and mezcal portfolio. She loves snus and negronis and speaks better English than us, which isn’t saying much, to be honest.
Hedda Bruce
Hedda hails from the southern town of Karlskrona, which is split across several islands with the pleasingly Swedish sounding names of Trossö, Saltö, Sturkö, Hästö, Långö and Aspö. Starting her hospitality career in the third worst McDonald’s in Sweden, she ultimately decided bartending was a better fit, working her way up in some of the country’s best bars before settling in at Stockholm’s internationally renowned Little Quarter at Marie Leveau. Now at 50 Best ever-present Tjoget, she splits her time between bartending and consulting, yet still thinks McDonald’s is better than Max Burger, which for those who don’t know, is completely and utterly wrong.
Hannah Lanfear
A committed cat person, Hannah is one of the key spirits educators at the wset in London and the founder of The Mixing Class, a company dedicated to education within the drinks industry with a focus on fostering diversity and socially responsible hiring practices. Clocking in at 21 years of service to the cocktail & spirits industry, her journey has taken her from a teenager pulling pints in a harbour-side tavern in Cornwall, to making fancy drinks for the cognoscenti in some of the world’s best bars.
Minakshi Singh
Co-founder of India’s award winning Cocktails & Dreams Speakeasy (Haryana) and Sidecar (Delhi), Minakshi began bartending over 15 years ago before making the move to marketing and brand management with Diageo and later, Pernod Ricard. Alongside multiple national awards, Sidecar was named India’s Best Bar by Asia’s 50 Best Bars in 2020 – a highlight of an otherwise dismal year. Happier behind the scenes than in the spotlight, Minakshi is a force to be reckoned with and if you’re asking, she’ll have a Margarita every time.
Sacha Bell
Sacha is a publicist at New York-based PR firm, Rachel Harrison Communications. Originally from the Lake District, Sacha studied in London, landing a job at London Cocktail Club in their early days of huge growth (not that they’ve slowed down since). In 2015 Sacha moved to the big apple, working with clients across the lifestyle and hospitality sectors and living with some really cool flatmates, one of whom definitely isn’t writing this. She now spends her time between the UK and USA.
Paul Mant
Paul Mant has worked in the bar industry for nearly a quarter century, during which time he has become an expert in both drinking AND swearing. Known as much for his various side hustles - Rematch, The Alternative Bar Awards, Dibby Dibby Soundsystem), as his actual career, Paul now lives an envious lifestyle in sunny Sydney, a fact which he will happily remind anyone in a WhatsApp group chat with him. If anything, Australia has only improved his swearing, but tragically he now thinks Tim Tams are better than Penguins, which is very, very wrong.
Ash Haussermann
Bartender, writer and activist Ash (she/her) made her way to NYC via Austin, Seattle, and her hometown of Vermilion Bay, Ontario. She’s honed her skills at some of NYC’s most notable bars including BlackTail, Dear Irving and Clover Club and when she’s not slinging drinks you’ll find her singing karaoke and planning adventures with partner Chris.
Nick Strangeway
Nick Strangeway has worked at the top end of the bar industry for over 30 years. Bearded father of twins, co-founder of Hepple Spirits, co-host of Kitchen on the Edge, forager, part-time curmudgeon and misanthrope - he has helped shape the modern London bar scene, even though he spends a lot of time pretending he hasn’t. Nick has ‘won a few things, created a few things, run a few things and opened a few things’, and now spends his time residing in Denmark, fermenting things, and doing a good impression of Captain Haddock.
Craig Harper
Proudly and undeniably Scottish, Craig Harper pulled his first pint in his parents’ Inverness pub. Despite running away to join the Marines, hospitality continued to call his name and he returned home to work in some of Scotland’s best bars as well as with brands including Bacardi and Martin Millers. A WSET scholar, Craig is currently the Captain of Bars and Pubs for Fever Tree and lives in a Hobbit House in Cornwall with his mermaid wife and three kids. Fucking aye.
Paige Aubort
Sydney bartender Paige began her hospitality career as a waitress. Fast forward a decade and she’s worked in some of the city’s best bars as both a bartender and a manager, most recently at the world famous Bulletin Place. In 2015 Paige launched Coleman’s Academy - an events an education platform created for women in hospitality. Her plans for world domination have been put on pause but make no mistake - it’s happening.
Sly Augustin
Everyone’s favourite West Londoner, Sly has owned Trailer Happiness since 2012, which is a lifetime in bar years. A rum and tiki advocate, Sly worked as a promoter and DJ before taking the step in to full blown insanity. He runs a tight, but notoriously fun ship and can usually be found waxing lyrical on his favourite spirit, holding court in Notting Hill, or introducing you to everyone and everybody because, if you didn’t know, everyone knows Sly.
Dave Wroe
Dave started his hospitality career in the late 90’s at the iconic Hart’s Restaurant, which has since shut down. He went on to spend many years behind the bars of the Loft, Saltwater, and Popolo, which have all since shut down, and the legendary Brass Monkey, which he maintains should be shut down. Post-lockdown you’ll find him and his impressive beard waxing lyrical about all things malty and hoppy at Junkyard, where the owners aren’t optimistic about the future.
Edmund Weil
A former teacher, Edmund had little experience in hospitality prior to opening Nightjar - named 3rd best bar in the world by 50 Best in 2012. Alongside partner Rosie Stimpson Edmund opened Oriole in 2015 and Swift in 2018 - while we all sat around scratching our heads wondering ‘how do they do it?!’ Edmund is a lifelong Arsenal fan and is very good value at a party - invite him and see for yourselves.
Monica Berg
An Oslo native, Monica spent time at Pollen Street Social and Himkok before opening Tayer + Elementary with her partner Alex Kratena in 2019. That same year Monica was named ‘International Bartender of The Year’ by TOTC and ‘Bartender’s Bartender’ by World’s 50 Best. Monica has her own liqueur (Muyu), co-created digital platform Back of House and the P(our) Symposium series, and was named alongside Alex as Class Magazine’s ‘Innovator of The Year 2020’. The hardest bio to summarize in 50 words because she’s done so.damn.much.
Michael and Sarah Vachon
Michael and Sarah are the founders of Citizens of Soil, a single estate extra virgin olive oil that supports independent farmers, showcases terroir and invests in healthy soil. Annnd that’s not all they do. Michael founded the award-winning Maverick Drinks and is an advisor to food and drinks startups while Sarah heads up marketing at the social enterprise ‘provenance.org’ a software for communicating sustainability with proof, and is a member of Women in Olive Oil. You can get 10% off their products with the code discard10, now. Get shopping.
Richard Thomas
Richard Thomas is rock and roll royalty. Originally from Aberystwyth, Wales, he opened the legendary Crobar almost twenty years ago and boy, are we glad he did. Richard honed his bartending and management skills in his hometown before stints in Manchester and London at the Kensington Roof Gardens, The Borderline (rip) and The Garage. Richard recently announced that his crowdfunding efforts raised £100k and is currently looking for a new site on which to revive The Crobar.
Yao Lu
Born in Shanghai and raised in Houston, Yao is known the world over for his charisma, talent, uniqueness and nerve. Yao trained under Bobby Heugel at Anvil Bar & Refuge and studied hospitality management at the university of Houston before opening the Union Trading Company in his hometown. No stranger to the 50 best lists, Yao’s been awarded multiple times by Drink magazine, Time Out and more. If we made awards, we’d give him one too.
Dave Broom
The bio Dave sent us is short and to the point: ‘Dave Broom is a Glaswegian who gets paid to write about spirits. He’s been getting away with it for 30 years.’ some additions from us – Dave is a Master of the Quaich and a Kentucky Colonel, he is a lecturer for the WSET’s Professional Certificate in Spirits – and literally wrote the book on it. He is a freelance writer, world renowned spirits educator, has published maybe 17 books (we lost count), collaborated on dozens of others and now, he’s written for us *brain explodes*
Emma Murphy
A London industry stalwart, Emma is widely known for her former role as a Festival Director on the founding team of drinkup.london - responsible for London Cocktail Week, London Wine Week, and numerous other London drinks festivals. She has held management roles at Milk & Honey, Quo Vadis & Gordon Ramsay group, and last year opened her first bar with partner Deano, Dalston’s Hacha – creators of the Mirror Margarita and purveyors of tasty AF Mexican food.
Pom Modeste
Things are changing at Barcelona’s multi award winning Two Schmucks. Pom and her partner in crime, Juliette ‘Larry’ Larrouy, have taken over the reins at Raval’s most famous address and are currently developing Two Schmucks 2.0 aka Deux Schmucks. A classically trained pastry chef, Pom started bartending in 2016 in Paris. After a couple of years spent riding the city of lights, including a stint at the Experimental Cocktail Club, she relocated to Barcelona in 2018 and has been flying high ever since.
Yael Vengroff
Yael aka ‘Yarl’ aka ‘Asap Stormborn’ aka ‘Nine Inch Yaels’ honed her craft in NYC working with Death & Co’s Alex Day and Pegu Club’s Audrey Saunders before heading to LA where she works as the bars director for Hollywood’s Genghis Cohen and the Spare Room. Yael is known globally as a woman not be messed with, but someone you definitely wanna party with. When she’s not making guests beam with killer sparkling drinks and her signature million dollar smile she’s perfecting her trap lyra skills as an aerialist. Yael’s pretty much the hardest working person we know - when does she sleep? It’s a mystery.
Photo by Eugene Lee
A-K Hada
An Atlanta native and former dancer, A-K honed her craft at PDT, beginning as a host and ending her six year stint as their head bartender. Last year she made the move to Dave Arnold and Don Lee’s Existing Conditions as their general manager, a role she shares with Karin Stanley. A-K represented NYC in the Diageo World Class finals in 2017 and lives in Brooklyn with her partner and their dog Daphne.
Rosey Mitchell
Famed for her drinks creation prowess, Rosey Mitchell is known as ‘the boss’ at award winning East London bar Three Sheets, where she smashes out banging drink after banging drink after (you guessed it) banging drink. Rosey started her career in South London dive bars before stints at Milk & Honey and 69 Colebrooke Row. She has yet to make a drink that doesn’t make you go ‘MMMMM’ upon first sip.
Declan McGurk
Declan oversees all things Beverage at the multi award winning; needs-no-introduction: The Savoy. When he’s not dressed to the nines charming everyone in sight, you’ll find him dressed down at a local pub - charming everyone in sight. Declan knows everything there is to know about five star service but has an affinity for pints, most notably the black stuff - a result of his Irish heritage.
Rebekkah Dooley
Rebekkah began her career at the illustrious Milk & Honey - hanging coats - and has since worked at Callooh Callay, London EDITION, Dead Rabbit, BlackTail and The Umbrella Project on all things Marketing, PR, and Event Management. In 2016 she started The London Sessions with Gareth Evans and has gone on to launch an independent zine with her professional partner in crime, despite him calling her ‘Facebook Doris’ for five years.
Tomas Estes
As the official Mexican Ambassador for Tequila to Europe, Tomas takes his commitment to agave pretty seriously. He’s opened 18 bars in 6 countries over the course of 40 years and launched Ocho Tequila twelve years ago. A dad to four boys and a puppy called Peaches, Tomas is known for his inherent wisdom and his willingness to share it.
Earlecia Richelle Gibb
Earlecia is a brand builder and strategist currently based out of Brooklyn, NYC. She has worked in Lesotho and Paris, studied in London and Spain, and currently travels the USA in her role as National Brand Ambassador for St~Germain. Earlecia has worked with Essence Magazine, Teen Vogue and Grey Goose, and last year was honoured in the creative category of 31 Days of Black Women in Food. She also has a skincare routine that you should all know about, so check it out on into the gloss. Trust us.
Amanda Victoria
Amanda is an award-winning cocktail and spirits entrepreneur with over fifteen years of experience in the alcoholic spirits industry. Most notably, she is the founder of Siponey - rye whiskey canned cocktails made with the best ingredients, on a mission to support honeybee environmental activism. She is a proud NYC native, latina and mother whose work has been featured in the New York Times, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal and now – DISCARD. A career highlight, we’re sure.
Steffin Oghene
Having cut his teeth working in some of the top bars in Scotland, Steffin started his agave journey at London’s Green & Red, before switching to the other side of the bar and travelling the world spreading tahona love with Olmeca Altos. Having lived in the USA for several years, Steff now lives in Mexico, and is the VP Business Development & Global Marketing for Tequila El Tequileño.
Salvador Rosales Trejo
More commonly known as ‘Chava’, Salvador is a third generation tequilero with fourteen years experience working with tequila. Chava is in charge of production and commercialization of Tequila Cascahuin, a small and family-owned distillery located in the valley area El Arenal, Jalisco. Chava works alongside his father and brothers, maintaining authentic and traditional processes for the production of tequila.
Georgie Bell
Georgie Bell is the Global Head of Advocacy for the Incubation Brands at Bacardi. Previous to this, she was the Global Malts Ambassador for 4 years, and has spent a decade deeply rooted within the Scotch Whisky industry. With a bsc in distillation and as a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Distillers, Georgie has made it her life mission to get under the skin of whisky – standing up to misconceptions and challenging its so-called ‘image’ along with all the stereotypes that go alongside. Having started her career as a bartender, she’s equally as comfortable behind a bar as she is sitting at one, usually enjoying an Oxley gimlet or Craigellachie 13 half’n’half.
Vijay Mudaliar
Multi award-winning Vijay shaped his creative approach to bartending in his hometown of Singapore, with long stints at the Library and Operation Dagger amongst others. Alongside his personal accolades, Vijay is now the co-owner of Native - featured on World’s 50 Best Bars since its opening, and last year awarded the top spot in Asia’s 50 Best Bars. He has drawn worldwide acclaim for his focus on local and seasonal ingredients, use of Asian spirits, and his push toward a more sustainable bar.
Image by Supawit Muttarattana
Mary Allison Wright
Mary’s bio, as written by Iain Griffiths:
The year is 1985; due to legal reasons, Rolling Stone is blocked from running an article from an unconfirmed source about a lovechild of Dolly Parton & Tom Petty that is destined to become a phish-loving wild child with a taste for bomb ass wine made the right way, whose hairstyle will forever be associated with the babies first words, “ga-ga”, despite the fact that we all know this chattanooga child did it first.
Image by Britt Lynn Bradford
Deano Moncrieffe
Former Don Julio Ambassador Deano opened Dalston bar Hacha with his partner Emma Murphy earlier this year. Their famed Mirror Margarita has earned them acclaim the world over and has been named by class as the 2020 cocktail of the year, by time out as London’s Best New Cocktail, and the 7th Best Cocktail in the World according to Time Out (global). Deano’s hospitality career began in Paris and has taken him all over the globe including Africa, the Middle East and much of Europe. Thankfully for those of us in East London, he chose to set up shop here.
Alex Irving
With 15 years of PR experience under her belt, Alex is the go-to for all things bar and booze publicity related. In 2017 she founded communications agency LX with her smaller ‘better half’ Alex Chatwin. Known for her jazz hands, Alex has worked with the likes of Diageo Reserve, Laurent-Perrier, W50BB and some of the world’s best bartenders. She now resides in Streatham with her grumpy cat Phil and is working on her future career as an ambassador for Kylie Rosé.
*insert jazz hands*
Lyndon Higginson
Tiki fanatic and pizza aficionado, Lyndon started bartending at the perfectly ripe age of thirty. Fast forward fourteen years and he’s got thirteen bars under his belt including the much celebrated and award winning Crazy Pedro’s, Cane & Grain and Liars Club without which no trip to Manchester is complete. A proud northerner, Lyndon is passionate about his hometown and you’ll likely never find him sitting on the fence, waiting this one out, or watching from the sidelines. Never one to rest on his laurels, Lyndon’s fourteenth bar is being built as we speak which equates to one bar for each of his years spent bartending. Nuts.
Anna Sebastian
Award winning Anna Sebastian leads the team at the - also award winning - Artesian Bar. Like most of us, Anna fell in to hospitality, working in London’s nightclubs before accepting a job as a hostess at The American Bar and progressing to Bar Manager at The Beaufort Bar before her hop, skip and jump to The Langham. Anna is known for her hospitality and warmth but make no mistake - she runs a tight ship.
Gareth Evans
Professional vodka hawker, creator of the mini-peg and occasional writer, Gareth Evans previously worked as the Bars Manager for all 19 of Jason Atherton’s bars. He famously created the ‘Dill or No Dill’, ‘Robin Hood, Quince of Thieves’ and ‘Greengage Mutant Ginger Myrtle’ earning himself a reputation for the quickest tongue in the West. Gareth is doggy daddy to Juno - a title that he hates, so make sure to remind him of it often.
Liam Davy
Everyone’s smartest friend and famed karaoke enthusiast, Liam Davy heads up the bars at Hawksmoor - all ten of them - overseeing drinks creation and hiring, while also running Bad Sports events on the side. An American Football enthusiast, Liam is known for his skills as a chef, bartender, creative, events organizer, promoter, and writer. So - basically everything.
Melissa Markert
Melissa headed up the sustainability program at Dead Rabbit and Blacktail in NYC before accepting a position at Liquid Productions - the events, education, and consulting company spearheaded by industry veteran Andy Seymour, where she’s currently curating a program for sustainable event initiatives. Melissa has headlined at TOTC on the topic of sustainability - a cause close to her heart, alongside pups, slush, and home-made pickles.