Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Mixologist Profile Series

As promised at the beginning of the year, I am adding a new feature to this blog - bartender/mixologist profiles (one of many questions is, what label do you prefer?). A new breed of bartenders has emerged in the last decade or so, bringing back many of the great traditions from pre-prohibition days and innovating new ones too. It will be fun to explore the profession a bit more, looking at it through the eyes of those innovators.

The first one of these posts will be coming this week. I'm starting off with Tim Lacey, the Bar Manager/Beverage Director for the Spring Restaurant Group in Chicago, which includes Custom House, Green Zebra and Spring. These three restaurants share one highly acclaimed chef, Shawn McClain, but each have their own personality and a truly distinct menu (generally focused around meat, vegetables and seafood, respectively). Tim changes his menus often, and is a real innovator behind the bar. We've known Tim for about two years now, and he has become a friend, as well as an amazing supporter and business partner for us. He has taught me many things about mixology and the restaurant business, and has shared several of his wonderful creations with us, some of which you can find on our website. Stay tuned!

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