New York’s Best Bartender 2015: The top 50 by name

Bar: Fool’s Gold

Been a bartender for: 11 years

Signature drink: Ramos Gin Fizz or anything bespoke that a guest and I can come up with

The best thing about being a bartender is: Giving guests an incredible experience while listening to incredible music and working with people I love, i.e. the vibe!

Bar: The Duplex Piano Bar

Been a bartender for: 29 years

Signature drink: Maria Sangria and the Blackberry Manhattan

The best thing about being a bartender is: My connection with my customers. I hug at least 20 people a night.

Bar: Jimmy at the James

Been a bartender for: 10+ years

Signature drink: Vieux Carre

The best thing about being a bartender is: Every night is a fresh opportunity to meet new people or spend time with regular customers—many of whom have become friends. My job is to make sure people have a great night, and that's a real privilege.

Bar: CATCH

Been a bartender for: 10 years

Signature drink: Original Cinn

The best thing about being a bartender is: Some might think that everything has already been done, but—as a bartender—I feel there's no to limit one's creativity.

Bar: Dram

Been a bartender for: 13 years

Signature drink: Teenage Riot

The best thing about being a bartender is: The people. The flavor. The fact that every single day my job is different. I get to be a psychologist, an artist, a party planner, a DJ, a chef—every day!

Bar: Music Box

Been a bartender for: 15 years

Signature drink: Fifty Shades of Grey Coctel

The best thing about being a bartender is: Seeing my happy.

Bar: Bathtub Gin

Been a bartender for: 11 years

Signature drink: Hemingway's Lover

The best thing about being a bartender is: The interactions and energy to share with the room. Keeps building up for a night to remember.

Bar: The Daily

Been a bartender for: 8 years

Signature drink: Dead Squad

The best thing about being a bartender is: The opportunity to meet new people and customize an experience for them.

Bar: Branded Saloon

Been a bartender for: 21 years

Signature drink: Piece of Ass

The best thing about being a bartender is: I love talking with cool people, the lonely or confused helping them escape from life. The beaten down PAs or entitled assholes can go to AppleBees (I dont love them).

Bar: Gotham Bar & Grill

Been a bartender for: 20 years

Signature drink: All of them

The best thing about being a bartender is: As the creative mind/mixologist to some of the city's best eateries and bars, I really enjoy the creative aspect of developing seasonal menus. I love the whole process of sourcing fun, unique ingredients and spirits harmonizing them and wowing my guest. 

Bar: Hakkasan

Been a bartender for: 15 years

Signature drink: London in Lavender

The best thing about being a bartender is: Hospitality. It's how you make someone feel that they remember most. The exquisite cuisine, impeccably crafted cocktails, decadent ambiance, Michelin star are integral to the experience, but the hospitality is essential.

Bar: The Gilroy

Been a bartender for: 10 years

Signature drink: Oaxacan Negroni

The best thing about being a bartender is: Meeting all the great people and being one of the social centers for the community.

Bar: Bean Post Pub

Been a bartender for: 20 years

Signature drink: The New Old Fashioned

The best thing about being a bartender is: Connecting with the neighborhood and its people—whether it’s cheering someone up or cheering someone on.

Bar: The Nomad

Been a bartender for: 4 years

Signature drink: Sherry Hurricane

The best thing about being a bartender is: Helping people and making them happy.

Bar: BKB

Been a bartender for: 15 years

Signature drink: Paper Ships

The best thing about being a bartender is: I've been extremely fortunate to have had amazing teachers who have selflessly shared their knowledge with me and empowered me to become a teacher myself.

Bar: Fanelli's Cafe

Been a bartender for: 8 years

Signature drink: Bloody Mary

The best thing about being a bartender is: Practicing new social skills that I somehow missed growing up in a low-stakes environment with lots of support from my regulars!

Bar: The Leadbelly

Been a bartender for: 7 years

Signature drink: Smoke Signal Mezcal

The best thing about being a bartender is: The fast pace, unconventional hours with a big social aspect and the chance to exert creative energy every single night.

Bar: Brother Jimmy’s

Been a bartender for: 6 years

Signature drink: Gin cocktail with St.Germain, pineapple and lemonade

The best thing about being a bartender is: Honestly, I love brightening people's day. So many people get caught up in the negativity of life and I do want I can to make my customers smile, be happy and get messy wasted!

Bar: The Long Island Bar

Been a bartender for: 12 years

Signature drink: I'm not sure but I'll probably light it on fire

The best thing about being a bartender is: My office is where people go to have fun!

Bar: The Bar Room

Been a bartender for: 4 years

Signature drink: The Ransom Buck

The best thing about being a bartender is: Being in a position to interact with new people and having the power to brighten their day.

Bar: The Happiest Hour

Been a bartender for: “Since I was born.”

Signature drink: Anything with Sherry

The best thing about being a bartender is: Being convivial for a living!

Bar: Narcissa

Been a bartender for: 23 years

Signature drink: Spanish Fly

The best thing about being a bartender is: Taking care of people and giving them things they never knew they wanted. With a background in photochemistry, I approach cocktails through a science lens. I never know what's trendy/cool, but I do know what sounds delicious. It’s like a magic trick.

Bar: Hudson Malon

Been a bartender for: 27 years

Signature drink: Sidecar

The best thing about being a bartender is: Show business—the ability to interact with guests and create magic.

Bar: Daniel

Been a bartender for: 14 years

Signature drink: Basil Crush

The best thing about being a bartender is: My customers.

Bar: Ducks Eatery

Been a bartender for: 9 years

Signature drink: Mezcal Hug

The best thing about being a bartender is: Regulars, high five garnishes, boomerangs and the USBG.

Bar: Pouring Ribbons

Been a bartender for: 15 years

Signature drink: All things agave

The best thing about being a bartender is: A chance to save the world, one cocktail at a time.

Bar: Reclamation

Been a bartender for: 9 years

Signature drink: Old Fashioned

The best thing about being a bartender is: The community and then the whiskey.

Bar: The Dead Rabbit

Been a bartender for: 9 years

Signature drink: Nut Job

The best thing about being a bartender is: The best thing about being a bartender is being able to make people's day brighter, or send them out happier than when they came in!

Bar: Morandi

Been a bartender for: 10 years

Signature drink: Maremmano

The best thing about being a bartender is: Sleeping in late.

Bar: Elberta

Been a bartender for: 5 years

Signature drink: Spicy Watermelon Margarita

The best thing about being a bartender is: Being able to listen to patrons and learn what spirits move them. The ability to engage on a stage with no script, no rehersal and on the spot auditioning for that next new flavor and for the next person to say, "Wow that's it."

Bar: The Richardson

Been a bartender for: 7-8 years

Signature drink: Russell's Reserve Barrel 69 Old Fashioned

The best thing about being a bartender is: It's one of the few places I don't feel awkward. I love adapting to a changing room, the energy, giving customers an awesome night and making killer drinks—from classic cocktails to shots of Fernet or whiskey to opening a bottle of beer. I love it all.

Bar: Armor y Amargo

Been a bartender for: 13 years

Signature drink: Campfire Old Fashioned

The best thing about being a bartender is: I live for service. I love being a part of my guests experience.

Bar: Cielo

Been a bartender for: 18 years

Signature drink: Tequila, blood orange, dark cherries, jalapeño and bitters

The best thing about being a bartender is: Meeting people from all over the world, and getting to share NYC's hidden gems in food and shopping.

Bar: The Jeffrey

Been a bartender for: 4 years

Signature drink: Let's Get Weird/Man of Action

The best thing about being a bartender is: I love being able to create an environment where my customers feel welcomed, heard and appreciated. Being behind the bar is a wonderful creative outlet, and I love being able to share my passion with my customers.

Bar: Harding’s

Been a bartender for: 10 years

Signature drink: The Black Forest

The best thing about being a bartender is: By far, the best thing about being a bartender is simply entertaining guests as if they were guests in my home. Just creating an experince that is unequivocal to anything else they have encountered in New York is what truly drives me.

Bar: La Contenta

Been a bartender for: 8 years

Signature drink: Oaxaca Express

The best thing about being a bartender is: Make people happy.

Bar: Hotel Chantelle

Been a bartender for: 5 years

Signature drink: Don Julio agave margarita

The best thing about being a bartender is: You get to meet new people constantly.

Bar: Sweet Afton

Been a bartender for: 12 years

Signature drink: Old Pal

The best thing about being a bartender is: Making friends for others and bringing people together.

Bar: Burke & Wills

Been a bartender for: 17 years

Signature drink: Smokin’ Apple

The best thing about being a bartender is: After whippin’ up bespoke cocktails; having my regulars come back and say what a fabulous evening they had with me!

Earlier this month we presented you with our top 100 nominees for Time Out New York’s Best Bartender 2015 contest, and nearly 30,000 of you voted to move your picks into the next round. Our top 50 elite drink-slingers ply their trade everywhere from dive bars and beer bars to rooftop bars and romantic bars, but one thing unites them (besides alcohol): They all need your support once again.