Sunset Salons: Craft Cocktails

No tats required: Sidecars to Sazeracs, a Pisco to a Painkiller, Cosmo to a Caipirinha, join our colorful, local A-list of bartenders and mixologists for a behind-the-bar glimpse at the art, science, stories and magic behind the resurgent craft cocktail craze (and yeah, we’ll definitely be sipping some samples!)

Featured Panelists

• Aaron Kirby, Sundry & Vice
• Aaron Strasser, Boca Restaurant Group
• Catherine Manabat and Julia Petiprin, HomeMakers Bar
• Giacomo Ciminello, Bar Manager & Creative Director, Branch Restaurant and Night Drop Basement Bar
• Panel facilitated by Troy Bronsik, The Hive

Schedule

6:00pm – Doors open for lite supper and chocolate desserts
6:15pm – Featured panel conversation

Parking

On-street parking available on Turill, Blue Rock, and Cherry Streets. Parking also available in the Chase School parking lot, accessed via Cherry Street.

[vc_separator type=’normal’ position=’center’ color=’#a39797′ thickness=” up=” down=”]

Advance ticket sales for this event have ended. Tickets will be available for purchase at the door.

[vc_separator type=’normal’ position=’center’ color=’#a39797′ thickness=” up=” down=”]

 Many thanks to our generous sponsors:

Lite Bite Sponsors:

Drs. Patricia Klein and Reid Hartmann

Dessert Sponsor:

Venue Partner:

Generous operating support from:

[vc_separator type=’normal’ position=’center’ color=’#a39797′ thickness=” up=” down=”]

Featured Panelists Bios

AARON KIRBY

Kirby started out in the local bar industry shortly after turning 21 as a door guy at what at that time was called Baba Budans in Clifton, keeping out the local dinguses and young’ns. Since then he has worked in a smorgasbord of spaces, ranging from his college bar roots to fine dining. Sundry and Vice has been his primary home and place of learning for coming on three years now. Though he recently took on a management position with the company, he is consistently excited to keep learning new and exciting things from the space and the people around him. While he does enjoy a long walk on the beach, he would be much happier with a beer, a shot, and a good argument.

[vc_separator type=’normal’ position=’center’ color=’#a39797′ thickness=” up=” down=”]

AARON STRASSER

Aaron is the Creative Bar Director for Boca Restaurant Group. He got his start in 2010 at the beginning of the renaissance of OTR at A TAVOLA. Having never bartended before, Strasser worked his way up by studying the classics and creatively altering to make them his own. From the Happy Meal to the Old Fashioned, Aaron caught the eye of local restaurant group BRG in 2015, and made the move to improve his craft and to oversee and inspire 3 restaurants and their patrons.

[vc_separator type=’normal’ position=’center’ color=’#a39797′ thickness=” up=” down=”]

CATHERINE MANABAT AND JULIA PETIPRIN

Catherine is the Co-Founder and Owner/Operator of HomeMakers Bar. A Los Angeles native, Catherine has lovingly called Cincinnati home for 11 years and has made it a priority to be part of the city’s growing bar culture and community. She was on the opening bar team at 21c and ran the bar program from 2013-15. While at 21c she started a monthly cocktail class series entitled Sunday School that ran for 2 ½ years. It consistently sold out and became a platform for her to share her passion to learn about cocktails and create an environment that made cocktails fun and approachable for everyone. She has established herself as one of the top beverage consultants locally and regionally offering product education, cocktail classes, and marketing strategies. She, along with 3 partners founded “Cincinnati Cock Fight” which is aimed at creating camaraderie and connection within the bar community breaking down barriers of neighborhoods and titles.

Julia is the Co-Founder and Owner/Operator of HomeMakers Bar in OTR. She moved to Cincinnati to open Sundry and Vice: she was the interior designer for the bar and ran the beverage program until March 2019. Julia won the prestigious award for Best Overall Interior Design for 2015 at the Cincinnati Design Awards. In addition to her design background, Julia has over 18 years of bar and restaurant experience that she calls upon to oversee the bar program and operations for Sundry and Vice and now HomeMakers Bar. Julia has established herself as one of the top bartenders and operators in the city. She was voted ‘Best Female Bartender’ by City Beat two years in a row and was accepted into BAR-5 Day a prestigious spirits education in NYC that she attended in January. She is one of the founding members of Cincinnati Cock Fight.

[vc_separator type=’normal’ position=’center’ color=’#a39797′ thickness=” up=” down=”]

GIACOMO CIMENELLO

Giacomo is the Bar Manager & Creative Director for Branch Restaurant and Night Drop Basement Bar. He oversees the drink menu, with cocktails running the gamut from drafts to house to classics. Giacomo got his start in the service industry at the age of 13, working at his family’s New Jersey ice cream/surf shop. In 2015, Giacomo was put in charge of Sundry and Vice’s boozy ice cream program; his awe-inspiring alcoholic shakes supporting the bar’s apothecary and pharmacy theme debuted on the menu in July that same year.

[vc_separator type=’normal’ position=’center’ color=’#a39797′ thickness=” up=” down=”]

TROY BRONSINK

Troy founded The Hive in spring of 2016 with a desire to collaborate with facilitators from various traditions and backgrounds, making space for transformative individual and group encounters. He brings 25 years of experience in small group facilitation ranging from corporate consulting to community organizing, to mindfulness and spiritual formation. Troy has worked with SXSW, 99U, Creative Mornings, TedX, The Wild Goose Festival, is an entrepreneurship coach, author, speaker, consultant, ordained Presbyterian minister, retreat leader, author, and spiritual director. He and his family are residents in Northside.