The Tasting Panel magazine

The dean of Tucson bartenders is Aaron DeFeo, longtime beverage manager of historic Hotel Congress and founder of the local chapter of the United States Bartending Guild. He agrees that there's something about the dry desert air that seems to allow gifted bartenders and creative mixology to flourish. "At its heart, Tucson is a city of artists, dreamers, ne'er-do-wells and layabouts— essentially a town of would-be bartenders," says DeFeo. "Not to mention that Tucson has a great slow-food movement, along with 'local first' support and a great culinary scene. It's only natural that some of us would slip into the fold and become enamored with the money, flexibility and prestige of bartending." DeFeo is now the property mixologist at the luxurious Casino del Sol Resort. As such he oversees a staff of 50 bartenders and is responsible for developing a top-level cocktail program at one of Arizona's largest on- premise accounts. He works closely with famed mixologist Tony Abou-Ganim, who was hired as a beverage consultant to help get the program off the ground. "Tony has a gift for inspiring just about everyone he meets—including customers. His personality is a drug when he's behind the bar. People who would have never cared about anything other than a light beer talk to him for five minutes and end up sipping Negronis all night. If there's a trick to accomplishing that, I really hope I can learn it." Tucson's most authentic, pre-Prohibition style cocktail lounge is Scott & Co. The driving force behind its excellence is head barkeep and bar manager Ciaran Wiese. While the small bar features an irresistible line-up of classic cocktails and tiki drinks, Wiese believes the key to success lies has little to do with ambiance or self-promotion. Scott & Co.'s Ciaran Wiese. Scott & Co. staff pays attention to every last detail of the drink and every need of the guest, frankly we care about the little things." In 2009, Tales of the Cocktail named Ciaran Wiese one of the nation's top ten up-and-coming mixologists. So what does it take to be an inspired at mixology? Wiese believes it's more intuitive than tradecraft. "I've met plenty of 'inspired mixologists' who weren't worth a damn behind the bar. But come to think of it, maybe it does have something to do with genius. The best bartenders I know also happen to be some of the smartest and well-educated people I've ever met." As for why Tucson is such a hot mixology town, Weise conjectures that living in the shadow of Phoenix and Scottsdale motivates most Tucsonans to work harder at their crafts. "I think we're the hardest working people in the business largely because we have an underdog mentality. Go anywhere else in the country and people just nod and stare when you tell them that you're from Tucson. I think Tucson just attracts a mixed set of creative, intelligent young people who genuinely care, or maybe I could just sum it up like this: Tucson is underrated." Aaron DeFeo, property mixologist at Casino del Sol resort. "I don't care how epic and obscure your cocktail list is, how large or clear your ice is, how local and expensive your ingredients are—none of that matters if you don't have a bad ass crew behind the plank to back it up. The staff at When it comes to bartending, the city's most cel- ebrated married couple is Elizabeth Menke and Churchill Brauninger. The two met working behind the bar at San Francisco's popular Zeitgeist, which Menke describes as a "sort of a normal biker-ish, bike-messenger-ish, punk dive bar with a huge German-style beer garden." After several years the couple moved to Tucson, bought a home and eventually landed behind the bar at La Cocina Restaurant and Cantina. Located in Tucson's Presidio district, the eatery is brimming with charm and personality. According to Brauninger, "Tucson is a town that definitely punches above its weight. For a city that's decidedly not cutting-edge, there is an amazing group of bartenders here doing wonderful things with fantastic cocktails. That is to say, there is an elevated level of cocktail craftsmanship in town." Brauninger believes that it is the action and reaction to the norm by a select few that make Tucson a great drink- ing town. january/february 2012 / the tasting panel / 83

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