Bartenders & Beverage Professionals
Todd Andrew Appel
Employment: Crimson Lounge-Sax Hotel Chicago | Piranha Bros. Catering and Consulting
Position: Head Bartender | Proprietor, Bartender, Mixologist
Years behind the bar: I have been Bartending for only 6 years. It was a career change happily forced on me by unruly interest rate markets (I was an interest rate futures trader at the CBOT in Chicago for many years). I have lots of time to make up in this business.
Favorite cocktail: My favorite cocktail is the Manhattan. I drink them in different combinations including Bourbon, Cognac, different types of Vermouth, Red Dubonnet, differnt types of bitters including orange or peach, with homemade cherries, peaches or prange peel. The Manhattan to me is the quintessential cocktail. Simply a combination of 3 things: dark spirit, vermouth, bitters and garnish chilled and opened up with a bit of ice melt.
My grandfather used to bring, when visiting the family, a small suitcase that opened into a bar and we would have a cocktail hour and he would be the bartender. People would order drinks and the ones that got the most play were Manhattans, Martinis, Old Fashioneds and Gimlets … of course I got a kiddy cocktails back then but it included a cherry.
Interesting fact: I have a B.A. in Diplomatic History, an M.B.A. in International Business and a certificate that I graduated from the Professional Bartender’s School of America. I worked in some capacity at the CBOT in Chicago for nearly 15 years. Lots of time spent in the futures pits and in the crazy wild west of futures trading. After leaving that I couldn’t be anything other than a bartender!
I collect Bossa Nova music and lived in Rio De Janeiro for a year back in 1993. I’m a huge Green Bay Packer fan and was born in Madison Wisonsin. I love to cook and find my culinary skills invaluable in mixing or creating cocktails.
Carol Donovan
Employment: Self-employed bartender
Position: 15 years behind the bar
Favorite cocktail: Whatever one I’m making at the time! I particularly like sweet with a touch of spice.
Interesting fact: I am the oldest girl in a family of 11 kids.
Simon Ford
Employment: Plymouth Gin
Position: Brand Ambassador
Years behind the bar: Difficult to answer. I have been a part of the industry for over 15 years – Some of it behind the bar and some of it at the bar.
Favorite cocktail: The Negroni – it’s the Guinness of cocktails. The first time you sip a Negroni you are not convinced you like it but after 3 you have acquired the taste for this cocktail for rest of your life.
Interesting fact: I once cycled from London to Istanbul via Romania for charity.
Jason Girard
Employment: Southern Wine & Spirits of Arizona
Position: Mixologist / Key Account Beverage Specialist
Years behind the bar: 12 years behind the bar
Favorite cocktail: My favorite cocktail recently became the Sazerac. Due to my evolving love affair with American Bourbon & Rye Whiskey and their contribution to the newly named “Official drink of New Orleans”.
Interesting fact: My spot-on impersonation of my boss is a well kept secret among my co-workers, yet source of many laughs.
Bobby “G” Gleason
Employment: Beam Global Spirits & Wine
Position: Master Mixologist
Years behind the bar: 25 years
Favorite cocktail: Plymouth Negroni — it’s the most mysteriously delicious cocktail in the world! Or a Jim Beam Black with ginger ale, tall with 3 dashes of Angostura bitters.
Interesting fact: I hold the title of the World’s Most Sensuous Cocktail and am the current Guinness Book of World Record holder for the most cocktails made in one hour with 253 different cocktails!
Paula Harris
Employment: Plymouth Bar & Grill
Position: Bartender
Years behind the bar: 4 years
Favorite cocktail: A tie: Raspberry/Pineapple Mojito using Cruzan Raspberry Rum. Very light and refreshing but will eventually sneak up on you. Chocolate Martini using Navan and garnished with fresh raspberries. More dessert than drink.
Interesting fact: My maternal grandparents made the best brandy from peaches on their farm in rural Louisiana.
Lynn House
Employment: Graham Elliot Restaurant
Position: Mixologist
Years behind the bar: 22 years in the restaurant business. Bartending, Managing, Wine Director and Serving. Started as a hostess in college.
Favorite cocktail: My favorite drink is a great Margarita. It is simple and fresh. When made correctly it is so satisfying and smooth. For that same reason it is also my least favorite drink when made poorly.
Interesting fact: I am an award winning actress. Won the Best Actress award from the Black Theatre Alliance for my portrayal of Ruth in The Gift Horse at The Goodman Theatre.
Charles Joly
Employment: The Drawing Room | Three Headed Productions
Position: Cheif Mixologist | Executive General Manager
Years behind the bar: 10 years in the industry, 7 years behind the bar
Favorite cocktail: This is like asking Grandpa his favorite grandkid.
I’m drinking the aviation quite a bit. I love the way the citrus and gin play with the interesting notes presented by the maraschino and crème de violette. I’m also working with Absinthe Sirene by North Shore – an amazing locally produced absinthe that stays true to this spirit’s colorful history.
Interesting fact: Taking my interest in woodworking to the next level, I’ve recently begun turning my own muddlers. The time spent on the lathe is a great retreat and wonderful creative outlet.
Derek & Sonja Kassebaum
Employment: North Shore Distillery
Position: Co-Founders
Years behind the bar: 10 years
(at home and at events only, we’re not professionally behind the stick)
Favorite cocktail: Right now, we’re into absinthe drinks — Frappe, Suisesse, or traditional drip.
We also love a great Martini or well-made Manhattan, and love to experiment with new drinks and recipes.
Interesting fact: We eloped in Las Vegas after dating only 2½ months, when we were in college. One of the things we had in common was a love of spirits & cocktails, from an early age.
Allen Katz
Employment: Southern Wine & Spirits of New York
Position: Director of Mixology & Spirits Education
Years behind the bar: All tolled, 7
Favorite cocktail: Manhattan – God Save Rye Whiskey!
Interesting fact: If I was stranded on a desert island and could only bring the music of 5 composers, I would include Stravinsky, Mozart, Mahler, Duke Ellington, and The Beatles.
Francesco Lafranconi
Employment: SWSA, INC
Position: Corporate Director of Mixology & Spirits Educator; Founder of The Academy of Spirits & Fine Service
Years behind the bar: My parents owned bars since I was born, basically all my life
Favorite cocktail: Americano
Interesting fact: "A cocktail is like Life … you need to know how to balance all its ingredients together!"
Livio Lauro
Employment: Southern Wine & Spirits of Nevada
Position: District Manager — Resort Division
Years behind the bar: 8 years as a bartender plus 7 at random bars
Favorite cocktail: Negroni — no doubt about it!
Interesting fact: My earliest years of apprenticeship as a bar back were spent in an elite lounge in Southern Italy.
After my apprenticeship I bartended for many mafia and camorra members in that same lounge. In those years my motto was “see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil.”
Daniel J. Love
Employment: The Drawing Room
Position: Master Bartender/Mixologist
Years behind the bar: 3 years
Favorite cocktail: Caipirinha: E muito bom. Although it is a fairly simple drink, the caipirinha has a distinct link to the culture and society of Brazil. More than this it is exotic and unique, romanced by a drinking culture that is hard to understand. This is why I love it.
Interesting fact: I am an avid martial artist. I have my second dan in Tae Kwon Do. I have studied Capoeira for over 5 years (a Brazilian dance-fight-game). I have begun studying yoga over the past 6 months, and I have plans to learn Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
Kyle McHugh
Employment: The Boozehound & Drinks Over Dearborn
Position: President & Proprietor
Years behind the bar: 11 years
Favorite cocktail: The Sidecar — this is like trying to choose your favorite offspring, but I’ve always liked the Sidecar. It’s got few ingredients but execution is always a little different every time, and the difference between making a great Sidecar and a bad one can be a matter of tiny proportions.
It was the drink to be afraid yet respectful of at The Tombs in Washington D.C. where I learned the trade from Rich McMahon. He taught me that being three deep at the bar didn’t excuse you from making a drink right every time.
Interesting fact: I’ve climbed to the top of the smallest of the three pyramids outside Cairo, Egypt, under threat of armed guards with instructions to shoot on site.
Debbi Peek
Employment: Bacardi USA
Position: Portfolio Mixologist
Years behind the bar: 12 years behind the bar
Favorite cocktail: My new favorite cocktail is a Pineapple and Coconut Mojito — love the tropical combination with mint and lime.
Interesting fact: Interesting fact hmmm … I got nothin! Except that I lived on Maui for 3 years and that’s were I taught myself to bartend with a bartender’s bible.
Kristen Schaefer
Employment: BarMagic LLC.
Position: Trainer
Years behind the bar: 7 years
Favorite cocktail: Champagne Cocktail. It’s hard to mess up and I can get one just about anywhere!
Interesting fact: I went to school to be a Special Education Teacher. I guess that’s why I can handle/love this industry.
Adam Seger
Employment: National 27
Position: GM, Mixologist, Sommelier
Years behind the bar: 16 years
Favorite cocktail: Champagne Cocktail. It combines my two favorite things, Champagne and a cocktail, plus bitters as a bonus. Plus you look cool drinking it.
Interesting fact: My 1st word as a baby was “beer”.
Aisha Sharpe
Employment: Contemporary Cocktails, Inc.
Position: Founder/Managing Partner
Years behind the bar: I have spent 10 years behind the bar.
Favorite cocktail: Negroni: I have found the older I get, the more my palate craves bitter.
Interesting fact: I grow blue agave on my window sill.
Arturo Sighinolfi
Employment: Southern Wine & Spirits of South Florida
Position: Director of Mixology and Spirits Education Professor at Florida International University School of Hospitality and Tourism
Years behind the bar: Bartending since 1988.
Favorite cocktail: My favorite cocktail is the Negroni because when I close my eyes and take a sip it reminds me of the Italian Riviera.
Interesting fact: I don’t know if there really is anything interesting about me.
Ari Silver
Employment: Bice Bistro, located at The Talbott Hotel in Chicago
Position: Head Bartender, Closing Manager
Years behind the bar: 2
Favorite cocktail: Beer. To me it’s the "layman’s wine": only 4 ingredients, yet thousands upon thousands of variations, textures and flavor profiles.
For about one year some friends and I began brewing our own beer out of a garage with professional equipment and ever since I have enjoyed exploring and sampling as many different kinds as possible everywhere I go. However it’s not the destination but the journey that matters, and so far the journey’s been very exciting.
Interesting fact: Since high school I have lived and breathed volleyball, indoor and beach. As of today, I hold three individual Illinois state high school records in indoor men’s volleyball: most aces in a season (121), most aces in a game (9), and most consecutive aces (8)! The team also holds a state record with most aces in a season with 314. Here’s proof!