The Tasting Panel magazine

October 2012

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TAMPA'S LEFT COAST BARTENDERS GUILD CATAPULTS INTO COCKTAIL HISTORY "With friends of the cocktail, we drank to the past; we drank to our friendship. We stepped into the past as the drinks told the stories of legends. With history in a glass, we toast the bartender and the timeless craft of the cocktail. We raise our glasses once more on December 2, 2012. We celebrate our right to make you a drink." W —The Left Coast Bartenders Guild ho says New Orleans, New York or even San Francisco should get to have all the fun? In a place called Ybor City—ground zero for Tampa, Florida's thriving cocktail community—a group of enterprising mixologists has developed a spiritual connection to the spirits they serve. And their fans are lapping up every sip of it. They're the Left Coast Bartenders Guild (LCBG), but don't confuse them with the "other" Left Coast (California). Part of the United States Bartenders' Guild, this group is fast becoming the one to beat when it comes to awareness of their chosen profession. The LCBG executive committee includes Vice President Danny Guess, Treasurer Dawn Heidemann, Membership Director Ryan Pines, Education Director Nate DeWitt and Secretary Douglas Coe. Alex Barranco, Membership Director for St. Petersburg, is on loan to assist Pines with growing the Left Coast membership. The group's ambition is to continue growing the area's cocktail culture and expand their Repeal Day party beyond Tampa into a national event. Sounds like a tall order—but the proof is in the pour, and the volunteers are inspired. LCBG members produce an annual Repeal Day Party which is slated for Sunday, December 2, 2012. To hear council members discuss the event, you'd think Repeal Day was right up there with Christmas. After all, this is the gang who led a memorial march through Ybor City (coffi n and The Left Coast Bartenders Guild at their unoffi cial headquarters, the Don Vicente de Ybor Historic Inn in Tampa, FL. Clockwise from left: Danny Guess, Alex Barranco, Douglas Coe, Nathan DeWitt, Ryan Pines, Dean Hurst and Dawn Heidemann. all) to mourn the death of alcohol as a result of the Volstead Act. "Each council member works at Tampa's best res- taurants and bars, and while events have built our notoriety, our people build the event, which is really our story," says LCBG President Dean Hurst, who is also the Spirits Director at Bern's Steak House. The LCBG is known for its eccentric events and creativity. Last year Fly Bar mixologist Danny Guess came up with the idea to put a champagne cocktail bar in the elevator. "The idea was that you couldn't get away from the classic cocktail and the elevator idea was part of the bigger picture—you walked in here and got in a time machine," he says. Each member of the LCBG embraces the fashion and sensuality of the Prohibition era, with council- men wearing vests, ties and striped button-down shirts. In a time when Bonnie and Clyde were romanticized and everyone dressed the part, Left Coast Bartenders Guild leadership would have fi t right in. LCBG Treasurer Dawn Heidemann, a bartender at Ciro's Speakeasy and Supper Club, says it's all in line with the Guild's determination to going above and beyond the status quo. She was asked to join the National USBG Charity Committee. "This guild and this party came together organically, brainstorming, but it's all related to furthering ourselves and this industry," says Heidemann. "We want to do more than what's required so being part of this guild is inspiring and rewarding." LCBG members are natural event planners. The Guild did no advertising for last year's Repeal Day party, so just how did they get so many warm bodies? Apparently no invitations are necessary when you have Prohibition era apparitions in your corner: All 400-plus guests last year were hand selected with business cards bearing only the event website and date. And there was no design budget—Hurst says it already existed in the otherworldly beautiful Don Vicente de Ybor Historic Inn (www. DonVicenteInn. com) on the Republica de Cuba in the heart of Ybor october 2012 / the tasting panel / 91

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