At its best, Instagram helps us discover people and places we might never get to know otherwise. Here, TPG Contributor Adam Erace shares the users that should be filling your feed.
Sometimes you just need a drink. But if you’re, say, at work or riding the subway (or at a really cheap wedding), you might not be able to secure any liquid relief. For times when the only drinking you can do is vicarious, these are the bartender-curated Instagram rabbit holes to tumble down — you might find a new favorite bar, or at least a gorgeous cocktail you can feebly recreate at home after last call.
@jeffmorgen >> Name: Jeffrey Morgenthaler >> Followers: 12,200 >> Lives: Portland, Oregon >> Where you can find his drinks: Clyde Common and Pepe Le Moco in Portland’s Ace Hotel >> Cocktails he’s known for: Barrel-aged cocktails, amaretto sour, grasshopper, old fashioned >> How he got started: “Bartending was a summer job when I was in architecture school. Little did I know it would become a career.” >> Last trip: New Orleans for the Tales of the Cocktail festival, “A debaucherous week of cocktail and spirit drinking with half the cocktail bartenders in the world.” >> Next trip: “I’ll be headed to Germany in November to conduct some training and travel around the country. I’ll definitely be posting some fun travel pictures.” >> Follow if you like: Anything; Morgen’s diverse feed blends snaps of sharp cocktails with dogs, pizza, cult Japanese whisky, matcha Kit Kats and camping landscapes.
@mcblakewich >> Name: Blake Pope >> Followers: 2,208 >> Lives: Davidson, North Carolina >> Where you can find his drinks: Kindred, a 2015 Bon Appetit top 10 restaurant in the tiny town of Davidson >> Cocktails he’s known for: “I do a beautiful Pimm’s Cup. It’s a classic recipe but the presentation is killer. People go nuts over them.” >> How he got started: “I’ve been in hospitality for about 14 years now. I started as a busser and just kept moving up the ladder. When I was 21, I got a chance behind the bar at a club where I worked. I had no clue what I was doing but fake it till you make it, right?” >> Last trip: New York. “Our team from Kindred went up and did a James Beard House dinner last month. It was a blast. I was able to hit some [favorites] while I was out there — Estela and as always, Roberta’s in Brooklyn.” Next trip: Seattle >> Follow if you like: Crisp, spare pics of cocktails and restaurant life candids that look like they were taken by a professional photographer.
Frosé #onthemenu tonight at @kindredrestaurant Available while supplies last!
A photo posted by B L A K E (@mcblakewich) on
@beautifulbooze >> Name: Natalie Migliarini >> Followers: 47,500 >> Lives: Seattle >> Where you can find her drinks: >> In your house. Migliarini doesn’t work at a bar or restaurant; she develops cocktail recipes you can make at home. >> Cocktails she’s known for: >> Mint Julep Shakes and other funky DIY cocktails. >> How she got started: “I began creating cocktails at home when entertaining friends and family. My cocktails were such a hit my friends were asking me for the recipes, so I started a little blog and Instagram to share the recipes with them and Beautiful Booze grew from there.” >> Last trip: “We have been on the road for a while now visiting Latin America and a lot of the US. Favorite locations have been Lake Atitlan, Guatemala, Mexico City, Oaxaca, Austin, New Orleans and Asheville.” >> Next trip: “Last Christmas, we were entered in a Maker’s Mark eggnog competition and our cocktail won. The prize was a visit to the Marker’s Mark distillery and dinner with the Samuels family, so we’re heading to Kentucky next week for a four-day Bourbon Trail discovery tour.” >> Follow if you like: Beautifully photographed, low-maintenance, high-impact cocktails — with recipes.
Recipe link in profile! #bourbon #beautifulbooze #kentuckyderby #shake #milkshake #boozyshake@bostonmixdrink >> Name: Tenzin Samdo >> Followers: 13,800 >> Lives: Boston >> Where you can find his drinks: Tavern Road, Boston >> Cocktails he’s known for: Very elaborately garnished tiki drinks >> How he got started: “As a bar back in Boston 16 years ago to pay off my college tuition and moved up as a bartender. Now I’m beverage director at Tavern Roast and founder of Bostonmixdrink. >> Last trip: Isla Mujeres, Mexico >> Next trip: “Hopefully somewhere in Southeast Asia or Europe.” >> Follow if you like: Brightly colored beverages with garnishes that look like they’ve been plucked from toy chests and botanical gardens.
A photo posted by BostonmixDrink (@bostonmixdrink) on
@mixography >> Name: Jim Meehan >> Followers: 27,000 >> Lives: Portland, Oregon >> Where you can find his drinks: >> PDT in New York City; Meehan also developed cocktails for all the American Express Centurion Lounges >> Cocktails he’s known for: Mescal Mule, East India Negroni, 21st Century >> How he got started: “I needed to pay for my expenses as a freshman in college at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.” >> Last trip: “The Tales of the Cocktail [festival] in New Orleans a couple of weeks ago.” Next trip: Suttle Lake, Oregon “for my friend’s wedding.” >> Follow if you like: Dreamy, hazy shots of drinks and industry pals interspersed with family photos and pictures from Meehan’s travels.
#totc2016@bob_peters >> Name: Bob Peters >> Followers: 37,400 >> Lives: Charlotte, North Carolina >> Where you can find his drinks: The Punch Room on the 15th floor of the Ritz-Carlton, Charlotte. “Get there early; we only invite 37 people in at a time.” >> Cocktails he’s known for: “Unique, high-end, garden-to-glass cocktails.” >> How he got started: “At a humble little dive bar in Charlotte 20 years ago called the Elizabeth Pub. It was an ideal place to get my feet wet, [with] lots of twist-off beers and shots of straight liquor for our regulars. It was a beautiful little smoke-filled building with a killer juke box, two pool tables, dart boards, a ping-pong table, a dusty fake Christmas tree that stayed up all year and a couple of TVs that didn’t work very well.” >> Last trip: New Orleans for Tales of the Cocktail (sensing a pattern here?) >> Next trip: “A work trip but I’m not going to complain about having to go to Grand Cayman. I’ll be pouring cocktails and doing demonstrations at the Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman Cookout, a giant food festival the property puts on every January.” Follow if you like: Solo, statuesque cocktail portraits that stand out against black backdrops.
Who are some of your favorite bartenders to follow on Instagram? Let us know, below.
Featured image composite by the author. Images courtesy of Bob Peters, Blake Pope and Tenzin Samdo.
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