Every July, the world’s best bartenders and mixologists descend upon New Orleans for a massive cocktail and spirits conference celebrating culinary creativity and building a global community. Tales of the Cocktail is a five-day whirlwind of seminars, workshops, competitions, happy hours, and late-night parties hosted by every liquor and spirit brand you can imagine. While the vibe is certainly indulgent with an endless array of impeccably crafted drinks flowing, hospitality professionals come to learn new skills and techniques, and to network with other innovators in their industry.
As an amateur mixologist (read: I mess around in my kitchen), I couldn’t miss this opportunity to ask the best of the best for their pro-tips to help us at-home bartenders level up our cocktail game and impress our company. Here are some gems from some of the country’s flyest Black bartenders.
Keep It Classic
While it’s tempting to get fancy, expert bartenders emphasize the importance of knowing the basics. “Take the time to learn about the classic cocktail,” says Paige Walwyn, a Chicago native now behind the bar in New York City. “The cocktail family is like your daisies, your Manhattans, your martinis, and things like that, because you can always build off of those things. Most cocktails are just variations of those classic cocktail families, so from there, you can sub things in, sub them out, and make things your own without having to completely reinvent the wheel.”
New York mixologist Garvey Alexander agrees. “Start by locking in your basic ratios — like 2 oz spirit, ¾ oz citrus, ¾ oz sweetener. Once you get that balance down, you can swap ingredients and build your own drinks with confidence,” he says. “Knowing how to balance a cocktail is the foundation for everything else.”
Dress to Impress
Presentation is everything and can easily elevate your at-home bar game because you want to serve up a drink that looks as good as it tastes. Kapri Robinson, Tales of the Cocktail 2024 Best U.S. Bartender Winner, based in Washington, D.C., suggests finding some funky glassware. “Go to local thrift spots and antiques stores to find beautiful coupes, Collins glasses, and rocks glasses,” Robinson suggests. “This adds a homey, unique feel to whichever cocktails you want to give your guests.”
Ice may seem like a merely functional ingredient to keep the drink cold, but it’s another way to inject some ingenuity. Erika Flowers, Tales of the Cocktail Top Ten U.S. Bartender 2024, based in New Orleans, advised getting some silicone ice molds at stores like Total Wine or online to elevate your cocktail aesthetically. “A pour of your favorite whiskey over a large ice sphere or refreshing spritz served over heart-shaped cubes has a way of bringing your beverage to the next level with just a bit more preparation,” says Flowers.
Robinson says that big cubes for rocks glasses (Clear Cube Maker) and long cubes for your Collins glasses (Collins Ice Cubes) add an “elegant wow factor” to your cocktails. She also notes that using filtered water for the cubes makes a difference.
Get Hands-On
Yes, liquor is the foundation of the cocktails, but the mixers and garnishes can make or break your drink. While it might be easier and quicker to just buy basic ingredients for your mixing, some shortcuts can impact your libations.
“Fresh juice is a must. It’s so much more intentional when you’ve squeezed it yourself,” Flowers declares. She emphasizes how much freshly squeezed lemons and limes affect the flavor of your cocktails. So, ditch that little lemon-shaped bottle of pasteurized juice, and squeeze those lemons and limes on your own.
Another way to jazz up your mixers is to make infusions from what you already have in your kitchen. Infusion involves steeping different herbs, spices, or fruits into liquor or syrups.
Linda Douglas, VinePair’s Top 4 Best New Bartender 2025, of Los Angeles, suggests looking in your pantry for herbs, spices, honey, or even loose-leaf tea. “Making a simple syrup or a quick infusion from what you already cook with can truly elevate your cocktails, and it’ll keep in the fridge for weeks,” Douglas shares. “Try swapping honey syrup for the usual sugar, or infuse your syrups with herbs to add a fresh twist to the classics. The possibilities are already on your shelves.”
You can apply the same principle to liquor. Think pineapple-infused rum or jalapeño tequila. “If you’re only using liquor straight from the bottle, you’re missing a whole layer of flavor,” Alexander states. “Infusions and syrups are a great way to take base spirits [vodka, gin, rum, tequila, whiskey] to the next level — and the possibilities are endless.”
Mix, Match, and Make It Yours
Crafting cocktails is both an art and a science. Having technical know-how is going to give you a solid foundation, but it’s your imagination that will make your concoctions unique. Aleka Ross, Tales of the Cocktail Best U.S. Brand Ambassador 2024, of San Francisco, says that understanding flavor is a way to create something that reflects you. “You don’t have to be a certain type of bartender, just one that tells their story and experience through the cocktail,” she explains.
Myles Robinson, a mixologist based in South Florida, offers this useful advice for behind the bar and really, life in general: “We shut things down before we give them an opportunity…try it first, experiment, play with flavor, mash stuff that sounds weird together. What sounds weird together to you might not sound weird to somebody else, and you could make something beautiful in the end.”
So, whether you’re mixing drinks for friends or just for yourself, take a cue from the pros: master the basics, get creative with what you’ve got, and let your cocktails tell your story. Cheers to shaking things up at home.
