Of all the great how - I - got - into - bartending stories , Ivy Mix ’s tarradiddle has to rank among the upright . At 19 , she jaunt to Guatemala , where she run up such a huge legal community tab at Café No Sé in Antigua that she had to start working there to pay it off . Over the next few class , her Latin American adventures also notably included smuggling mezcal across the Mexico - Guatemala border . This obvious rage for agave spirit eventually led to her first problem in NYC , working as a cocktail waitress at noted mezcal haven , Mayahuel , in the East Village . Bartending gig at notable cocktail destinations Fort Defiance and Clover Club shortly followed . Then , in 2015 , she partnered with Clover Club ’s Julie Reiner to reach the mezcal - centric Leyenda in Carroll Gardens . It ’s probably the most pop spot to sip this most democratic of spirits ( and other agave - base elixirs ) justly now in the intact city . Mix has racked up a lot of award , including the coveted title of Best American Bartender of the Year at Tales of the Cocktail in 2015 . ( Leyenda was also a candidate for Best New American Cocktail Bar this year . ) But she ’s evenly majestic of her work with Speed Rack , a noblewoman - only nationwide bartending contest which she co - founded in 2011 that also raises money for titty Crab inquiry .
What spirit specify 2016 for you?SOTOL . It ’s so scrumptious and somehow transcends season . My bartender Shannon Ponche at Leyenda whipped up an amazing drunkenness with it and tamarind liqueur , blanc vermouth , maize , orgeat , and cultivated celery bitter , and it blew my mind . It is gruelling to tackle and tame at times but when you get it correct , it ’s the most yummy thing out there . There is not much out there on the market , but what you may get is passably exciting . I ’m excited to see the family grow .
What ’s the craziest matter that happened in your bar this year?Most of sentence , “ crazy ” in our measure means a fight smash out or some hombre passes out in the bathroom and we have to kick back in the door . But this one night , something much well happen . As anyone who has been in Leyenda knows , it ’s not that self-aggrandizing ! On Friday and Saturday nights , we really get pumping and we ’re very meddling . One of these nights , a couple got up in our Christian church church bench seating , moved over a tabular array or two and set about salsa terpsichore . Not only were they amazing but they somehow fit in the space and moved around it ! I collect they were dance teacher because they were so fantastic .
Courtesy of Ivy Mix
What potable are you quick to withdraw in 2017?I would like to recede the half - hearted barman ’s choice . ofttimes you see citizenry go out , they are overwhelmed by a card and do n’t find like looking at it and just commit the bartender to make them something good . It can be an bothersome question – “ What ’s good ? ” – but it ’s our line of work to make something memorable . Do it well ! Do n’t just make a half - assed attempt . Other than that , I ’m quick to see the Aviation go aside . It sample like dish soap .
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