Behind the Bar with Peter Hannah

Pete joins Prato Bar Manager Meghan McCaskill in Winter Park. Fresh from her jaunts competing at Patron and Flor De Cana they discuss travel and getting away from work to find new inspiration, sustainability measures and working alongside culinary professionals to work on menus. 

Peter joins World Class, Bacardi Legacy, Woodford Manhattan Experience and Heaven Hills finalist Shawn Newman for a chat about how he comes up with drinks, why mentorship is important to him and how bartenders have different styles of learning. 

Pete spoke to Artesian bartender and UK Legacy champion 2018 Leon Wilkes Back about his life and career, his approach to drink making and hospitality and what makes London's Hotel Bar scene so good. He's a charming guy and it was a great conversation. tune in. 

A Bacardi Legacy champion, an alumnus of Bramble, The American Bar, Attaboy and Fresh./Dutch Kills, a bartender at the prestigious Fontainbleau in Miami...believe it or not we're talking about ONE man, the evergreen Tom Walker who's done more by his early thirties than most amass in a career. Pete was lucky enough to speak to Tom at the Broken Shaker at Freehand Miami to discuss his journey from Redcar, North Yorkshire to the dizzying heights of Edinburgh, London, Miami and New York. They discuss what fuels him as a bartender and what motivated him as he continues to tread new ground and take on new challenges.

Pete caught up with Broken Shakers' Mike Dumapias at the Edition in Miami to talk the differences in Miami crowds vs his native Chicago, being involved in Bartender Boxing with tequila Cazadores, the expectation that comes with working at a top 50 bar and trends for 2019. 

Pete met up with Tyler Rothenberg who's currently behind the bar at McCann's in Charleston to discuss the bar family we're all a part of and how great it is to make new friends. The importance of discipline and strength of teams. Embracing the fact that the guest is NOT always right and how to pour a perfect Guinness.  

Seasoned Northern Ireland journeyman Jamie Huddleson sat down with Pete to discuss his experiences working everywhere from family restaurants, to the Merchant Hotel to high volume establishments in Australia and the USA. We touch on the importance of learning the basics before you get too adventurous, self motivation as a lifestyle and stepping outside your comfort zone to push yourself.  

Steve Amato, Beverage Director at the Edison in Orlando (named on the shortlist for the Tales of the Cocktail Best New Cocktail Bar East Coast) took time out of his day to talk to Pete about managing a big space with many facets, menu development in a corporate environment and passing the power to his creative bartenders in order to foster an environment of inclusion and positivity. 

Detroit's favorite son Marlowe Johnson takes the hotseat on top of the Hotel Monteloeone in New Orleans for this on location edition of Behind the Bar. Marlowe might only be twenty-five but he speaks with a wisdom beyond his years and has already accomplished more than most do in a 30 year career...but that's not slowing him down. A great conversation with a really driven pro.

I spoke to the venerable Josh Hiller before he went to work up in the Carolinas about the differences between Restaurantl bar programs and a regular bar, what good service means to him and why having a kitchen attached to your bar is a bonus.

Pete is back on the learning trail and in this episode speaks to Dylan March, bartender at the much lauded Courtesy Bar in Orlando. They talk tips, dive bars and what makes a good experience in a bar that makes people want to go back.

Pete talks to Irishman Leon Elliot about what keeps him coming back to work in America, the challenges of working on cruise ships, the rise of the Gin and tonic, meeting the guys behind the Dead Rabbit and the emergence of Irish Whiskey

Pete comes at you from stunning Puerto Rico where he talks to Bacardi superstar Chris Hopkins about his journey from his sleepy Australian beginnings to working in Europe, California, Vegas and then Miami where he now works for Bacardi.

Join Pete on location at Foxtail Coffee up in Winter Park, Orlando as he talks to The Ravenous Pig's Evan Sewell. They discuss entering competitions, the close-knit nature of the bartending community, celebrating women in bartending and why there's so much diabetes in Minnesota!

In this first episode of Behind the Bar, join bartender and Bacardi Legacy National Finalist Peter Hannah as he talks to fellow bar aficionado David Sergison about his favorite bars, moving from bartending to bar management, the differences between working behind the stick in Europe versus the US and why he’s glad you can’t taste the rum in his Pina Colada!