Seasoned doesn’t mean old. In fact, what impresses about these five is that their knowledge consistently marries youthful love for their subject and customers. Whether in years of bartending or expertise in classic cocktails and customer service, these five have long encapsulated what made San Francisco a leader in the Cocktail Renaissance of the past decade plus, not a recent joiner to the game. Get to know these five (in alphabetical order) through a little Q&A on their latest recipes, favorite spots, and defining tunes…

Erik Ellestad first landed on the cocktail map in 2006 with his blog, Savoy Stomp, where in off hours as a tech engineer he began working his way through the classic Savoy Cocktail Book, one recipe at a time. This led to monthly Savoy Cocktail Book Nights (since 2008) at The Alembic, and bartending at Heaven’s Dog where he’s been since it opened in January 2009. He’s an expert on classic recipes while his technically-minded side informs his precision and sense of balance.

1. Where are you from and how does that influence your bartending style and taste?
I’m from a small town near Madison, Wisconsin. Other than developing my taste for beer, cheese and Old Fashioned cocktails, I don’t think growing up in Wisconsin particularly affected my bartending. However, the 10 years I spent as a line and prep cook while living in Madison, definitely affected both the way I approach cocktails and how I prioritize tasks while bartending.

2. What is your area of expertise or obsession: a spirit, cocktail style, category or region of drink?
Pre-Prohibition American beverages. Almost all my real favorite cocktails go back to the 19^th and early 20th centuries, or before.

3. What do you drink most during off hours?
To be honest, now that I’ve nearly finished the Savoy Cocktail Book Project, I’ve been taking a bit of a break from drinking cocktails. You’ll most often find me drinking esoteric beers or interesting wines.

4. What cocktail are you making lately that is exciting you, whether your own or someone else’s, recipe?
I try to learn a new cocktail, or perfect an old one, every week just so I can definitely have an answer to the inevitable cocktail nerd question, “What have you been working on lately?” This week I was inspired by Leopold’s Navy Strength Gin to perfect the Inca Cocktail:

3/4 oz Leopold’s Navy Strength Gin
3/4 oz Dolin Dry Vermouth
3/4 oz Carpano Antica Italian Vermouth
3/4 oz Manzanilla Sherry
tsp Small Hand Foods Orgeat
1 dash Orange Bitters

Add ice and stir until well chilled. Strain into a small cocktail glass and garnish with an orange twist.

5. What are your current favorite off-hours hangouts for food or drink?
I live in Bernal Heights, so the places I get to most often are in the neighborhood: Gialina for pizza, Papalote for burritos, Front Porch for soulful American food, and Ichi Sushi, for, well, awesome sushi. If my wife and I are splurging, we’ll go out to Bar Tartine, Bar Jules, or Commonwealth. Other than the bars I work in, Rock Bar, Royal Cuckoo, Glen Park Station, St. Mary’s Pub, and Wild Side West are the bars I’m most likely to be found in.

6. What musical style or band/musician keeps you pumped and motivated during those late bartending nights?
The core of my playlist at Heaven’s Dog is the box set of Stax/Volt Soul singles from 1959 through 1968. In addition, I like to throw in some Ska, Reggae, African, and Brazilian music.

Tending bar since 1997, Steven Liles dons a Hawaiian shirt and grooves to Exotica tunes at the Cove after years crafting cocktails at fine dining spots like Boulevard and Fifth Floor. Besides his stylin’ wardrobe and hats, Liles has his own 1930’s home bar, an extensive music collection (start asking him about ’60’s soul), and is well-versed on classic recipes and spirits distillation.

1. Where are you from and how does that influence your bartending style and taste?
I was born in Compton, California, but mainly grew up in Lancaster, in the Mojave Desert. So my style is dry, like my humor. No, really, growing up in California with all of its diversity, has developed a sense that I should explore the different facets of my career as much as possible. I am defined by the desire to expand the definition of myself.

2. What is your area of expertise or obsession: a spirit, cocktail style, category or region of drink?
I’ve never been the type to focus on one particular thing as a bartender. I prefer a more rounded approach. Working at a rum-centric bar is fun and fascinating, but I also pay attention to other spirits and styles of tending bar. I love pisco, gin, Calvados, and so many other amazing spirits with stories to learn.

3. What do you drink most during off hours?
It varies. My go to cocktails are the Martini and Negroni. I love a glass of champagne – or a bottle. With so many great cocktail bars, I always try out new ideas that bartenders are creating. It is a lot of fun.

4. What cocktail are you making lately that is exciting you, whether your own or someone else’s, recipe?
With 75 drinks on the menu at The Cove, I can’t help but be excited: it is a great challenge. I love making new drinks but that’s not really a big focus of mine. I have a regular, Paul Cramer, that I make original creations for all the time. I don’t bother writing anything down. I find that fun, to just go off he cuff, in a care free way.

5. What are your current favorite off-hours hangouts for food or drink?
I love Maven, Comstock Saloon, AQ, Heaven’s Dog, Jasper’s, Wo Hing, Bar Agricole. There are so many more. All of these spots have great food and drink, but they also have great people working there that I get excited to see. I fear if I don’t give a list of my top 100, I’m not doing this great City justice.

6. What musical style or band/musician keeps you pumped and motivated during those late bartending nights?
I have eclectic tastes in music, but classic soul always gets me going. Sam Cooke’s song Good Times is a great bar song to me: “We are going to stay here til we soothe our souls, if it takes all night long.” That is perfect.

Jeff Lyon has been tending for about 16 years, with the last five being at Range in the Mission where he’s currently the restaurant’s bar manager. Besides a keen love and knowledge of whiskey and tequila, to name just two categories, he’s well-versed in music (seeing a theme here?) and sets an utterly comfortable tone at his bar with his dry, sly sense of humor.

1. Where are you from and how does that influence your bartending style and taste?
I was born in Long Beach, CA, but bumped around CA until I was 20, then moved to Minneapolis to become a rock star with my brother. In order to fund our impending international success (ahem), we waited tables, but I noticed bartenders had way more fun than waiters so I watched what they did and asked a lot of questions. Eventually I lied and told my boss I knew what I was doing and they let me behind the bar.

Minneapolis influenced my bartending style in that I picked up a strong work ethic.  It wasn’t about “mixology” – it was about being nice, working clean and fast, having fun. Just living in San Francisco has developed my overall palate, and Range, specifically, has honed my cocktail skills. I’m honored to be part of a bar previously shaped by Carlos Yturria, Dominic Venegas, Camber Lay, Brooke Arthur, not to mention every bartender that’s worked here. It’s an ongoing collaboration that only makes us all better bartenders serving better drinks.

2. What is your area of expertise or obsession: a spirit, cocktail style, category or region of drink?
I’m a whiskey guy and Bourbon is my favorite, but right now I’m really excited about the wine-based world of vermouth, sherry and Madeira. I wouldn’t call it an area of expertise, but I find the variety and subtlety of this stuff endlessly fascinating – it can bring such balance, elegance and nuance to a cocktail. Who needs crazy tinctures, bitters and infusions when you can simply pour a Barolo Chinato over a big chunk of ice? Done!

3. What do you drink most during off hours?
I drink more beer and wine than anything else.

4. What cocktail are you making lately that is exciting you, whether your own or someone else’s, recipe?
My two favorite classics are the Sazerac and the Vieux Carre. I love making ‘em; I love drinking ‘em. Although Range is all about seasonality, I really appreciate the 3 (or so) ingredient cocktail. One on our list I think epitomizes this is Ken Furusawa’s Smoking Gun (Bulleit bourbon, Dolin sweet vermouth, Luxardo Maraschino, and a dash of Angostura bitters, stirred, served up with a spray of Laphroig Scotch). It’s clearly Manhatten-esque, but the peatiness gives it a serious twist. I’m also proud of a cocktail I do called Dante that’s inspired by the Sazerac’s whiskey-sugar-bitters-and-a-rinse structure. I stir up Angel’s Envy bourbon, Perucchi Blanc vermouth and Rothman & Winters Pear Orchard liqueur to provide sweetness, and Peychaud’s to balance it out. Standing in for the absinthe is a generous rinse of St. George Spirits pear eau de vie.

5. What are your current favorite off-hours hangouts for food or drink?
More often than not, I go to dive bars. I do my share of cocktail R&D right in my neighborhood – Wo Hing and Locanda are rockin’ it. Beretta is always great. Outside the neighborhood I love the usual suspects: 15 Romolo, Alembic, Bar Agricole, Comstock, to name a few. The great thing is that there are so many bars raising the standards, that even divey bars are making better drinks. Food-wise, I’m all over the place. I had a great meal at Bar Bambino last night. Flour & Water is excellent and Frances is a favorite. I love Taqueria El Buen Sabor for carnitas.

6. What musical style or band/musician keeps you pumped and motivated during those late bartending nights?
If I could have a night full of Bill Withers, Django Reinhardt, Thelonious Monk, balanced with Nirvana, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, I could smile through just about any night.

A bartender for the past 16 years, Jonny Raglin is an English lit major with a sense of style from clothing to evolving mustaches. He started tending in SF over a decade ago at Stars, then B44, then the early days at Absinthe with Jeff Hollinger, who he eventually opened Comstock Saloon with in 2010, a haven for classic cocktails in a historic Barbary Coast space with live jazz and Honky Tonk/classic country vinyl Sundays.

1. Where are you from and how does that influence your bartending style and taste?
I’m from Oklahoma. It certainly does influence my style of bartending. I’m cavalier, self taught, hard working, hard headed, whiskey slinging, whiskey drinking, lover not a fighter… except when fighting… and the fastest hand in the West!

2. What is your area of expertise or obsession: a spirit, cocktail style, category or region of drink?
My obsession is the 9/10’ths of bartending that has nothing to do with “mixology”.  That is what I try every day to improve upon. Not to say I’ve given up on the drink itself, but I am certainly concerned with what Leary called “set and setting”, i.e. a perfect cocktail can only be had in perfect company.

3. What do you drink most during off hours?
Margaritas with my wife. I typically order dry martinis at any given bar since its REALLY hard to fuck up cold gin.

4. What cocktail are you making lately that is exciting you, whether your own or someone else’s, recipe?
I’m really digging making cocktails from what I consider the two queens of the cocktail in New York: Julie Reiner and Audrey Saunders. I feel like they have a firm grasp of not only the classic cocktail but also the modern palate. I find myself in the Savoy [Cocktail Book] for inspiration as I have for the past 5 years or so. People sure like the Cherry Bounce at Comstock which is a recipe I came up with and the only cocktail I have on the list.

5. What are your current favorite off-hours hangouts for food or drink?
To me the best place to eat and drink in SF is Cotogna. God bless the Tusk’s [Michael & Lindsay] for their little trattoria a block from us at Comstock!

6. What musical style or band/musician keeps you pumped and motivated during those late bartending nights?
I love to bartend to the golden oldies. The rhythm and cadence is just my style. When Booker T. and the M.G.’s comes on, I’m the fastest bartender on the planet. On Friday lunch at Comstock, we play Buddy Holly radio on Pandora. It’s a bit of a sock hop with bow ties and suspenders, giving away lunch, selling booze… and fun!

The lovely Aurora Siegel has been tending bar for the better part of 17 years. Having worked as a GM and beyond, she truly understands service and the full restaurant/bar experience. Years at North Beach classic Rose Pistola honed her skills in numerous aspects of management and bar service… and she’s quite the cook herself (she makes a mean kimchi). Though an SF local, you’ll currently find her rocking the East Bay at Albany’s Hotsy Totsy and Oakland’s Dogwood.

1. Where are you from and how does that influence your bartending style and taste?
I grew up in Hawaii where hospitality is key and a cold refreshing drink while caressed by a light breeze makes all feel right with the world. That background influenced my style on many levels, hospitality being the most important. I believe if you don’t truly like serving people you shouldn’t because it always shows. I happen to love it. The drinks I tend to create are often light and refreshing: four dimensional, not eight; balanced but not too complicated; drinks you can make in under a minute – with a smile, of course. So you can sit back and say all is right with the world, even without the tropical breeze!

2. What is your area of expertise or obsession: a spirit, cocktail style, category or region of drink?
My obsession is balance. Balance of sight, smell and of course taste. I’m often making ingredients to help me meld balance with speed such as my own home-brewed ginger beer, tonic base and falernum.

3. What do you drink most during off hours?
Pisco Sours: I just love ’em! Or a good Sazerac, Negroni or Old Fashioned. I like trying new drinks but a well made classic will almost always win out in the end.

4. What cocktail are you making lately that is exciting you, whether your own or someone else’s, recipe?
Robert Hess’ Trident [sherry, Cynar, aquavit, peach bitters]! I think it’s one of those drinks that will go down in history.

5. What are your current favorite off-hours hangouts for food or drink?
Three of my favorite spots are Comstock for the whole package: good late night bites, great drinks and real bartenders! Madrone on Divisadero: nice staff, good drinks and unique music. Or Tony Nik’s in North Beach where the staff are true pros and drinks are good, too.

6. What musical style or band/musician keeps you pumped and motivated during those late bartending nights?
Anything from the ’80’s just gets my hips shakin’, but I must say we have one of the most diverse and fun playlist at the Totsy. I’m almost always feelin’ the groove there!