Whether you ’re looking to pour your heart out to a sympathetic spike , or are pining for the pure cocktail , either way , a really cracking bartender has you covered . In SA , those great bartenders have traditionally been most good at mixing a mingy margarita or popping the cap off an ice - cold Shiner . More and more , however , go behind the bar in the Alamo City means embracing the city ’s burgeon foxiness cocktail movement , and no one has done it better over the past year than these okay barkeeps .
Misael Gonzalez
Paramour
Chicago aboriginal Misael Gonzalez say his hometown has nothing on SA when it come to commitment to the cocktail manufacture . “ I ’ve gotten to know many people in the industry over the past six year , and they are perpetually having roundtable discussions on how to birth the best new experience to the people of this metropolis , ” he says . “ I am so happy to be here during this prison term , and I palpate like this metropolis will be setting standards all over the nation soon . ” As for his own role , Misael say he loves creating Greco-Roman stirred cocktails – martinis , Negronis , Manhattans – and believe that a good bartender mostly needs “ an unflinching desire ” to make people happy . “ If you ’re come alive up in the middle of the night and thinking about how you could have made an experience well for a guest , ” he says , “ odds are you ’re a unspoilt barkeeper . ”
Ana-Patrizia Cabrera
St. Francis Room
Ana - Patrizia Cabrera is the epitome of cosmopolite , as well as being a jack of all trades . In addition to bartending , Ana - Patrizia – who was born in Spain to Puerto Rican parents – has managed coffee houses , worked at local breweries , been a domicile brewer , and process at the Texas Capitol over two legislative Roger Sessions . She was the first employee hired by St. Francis Room as it was preparing to open up last wintertime . She was initially pull in to the eating house and bar because of its unique location in the former Alamo Methodist Church in Southtown , and claims she was either go to be an employee or a stalker . She prides herself on her commitment to cordial reception , and is known for her cacoethes for certain cocktails . “ My bar knows that … if a Tiki Bowl is order , I ’m making it , ” she enunciate . “ Tiki is an opportunity to share my finish with my guest . Every time I light it up , the bartop becomes a party ! ”
James Tavera
The Well
An SA aborigine who has been in the bar industry for more than 10 class , James Tavera believes that a truly large barkeeper can be judge by how he creates the classics . “ If they hasten , an Old Fashioned tasting like gelt pee and Bourbon dynasty , ” he says . “ If they take their time , you’re able to taste layer of the swallow . ” He is excited about his office as beverage director at one of SA ’s New bar , where he search forward to get to design and invent Modern cocktails in the biggest little city in the earth . His favourite aspect of his job is the social interaction . “ Every twenty-four hour period is a dissimilar twenty-four hours , ” he says . “ You will meet new people , ( face ) new situations , and have Modern opportunities . In the bar world , if you have a inviolable foundation around you , your co - workers become household . ”
James Santos
Sternewirth
It was a demand for his own beer money that labor then - UTSA bookman James Santos to bartending nearly a decennary ago . It was a 2d job , but presently the streak lifespan was all he need . “ I fell in dear with everything about the streak – the energy , the ambience , the lifestyle , ” he says , even though he had to work his fashion up from doorman to barback to barman . Nine old age subsequently , he still loves interacting with client , excited about how SA ’s increase is affecting its bar fit , and especially about being a part of Hotel Emma ’s stunning bar . “ I try on to lead my professional life by the philosophy share in an article call ‘ A Letter to Young Bartenders , ’ which is right on point , ” he says . “ ‘ I ’ve larn that people will forget what you allege , people will bury what you did , but citizenry will never forget how you made them feel . ”
Derik Cortez
Jazz, TX
An on - and - off bartender for more than 16 eld , Derik Cortez find his passion for the industry reignite with the advent of the craft cocktail movement . He begin reading anything he could get his bridge player on to pad his noesis and become relevant in this corner of the taproom business , earning staff office at George ’s Keep and Paramour along the way . “ When you work out with some of San Antonio ’s best stripe staff , it ’s either you elevate to that level or you quickly substantiate you ’re not as safe as you thought , ” he enounce . “ Either means , you take something away from the experience . ” Now lead barkeep at the Pearl ’s newest bar , he feels a duty to help those who are coming up in the ranks as well .
Misael Gonzalez|Courtesy of Paramour
Courtesy of St. Francis Room
Courtesy of Sternewirth
Courtesy of Jazz, TX
