DRINKS ON YOU

Your favorite bar keepers’ at-home cocktails.

Written by Michael C. Moberly
Illustration by Lucy Engelman

In my life, I have made a great deal of cocktails. In fact, with 13 years in the industry of drink mixing, you might even say I’ve made more than other people will ever make in their lives. The same can be said for any bartender worth his or her salt. When bartenders get home after a long shift or have a rare day off, the last activity they want to take on is making a cocktail. However, the longing for a drink in one’s hand is hard to shake. So I asked some of our region’s most talented industry pros to tell me what they sip at home. 

“I love making Negronis at home,” says Annalisa Suarez, bartender at Zeppelin in Reno and lead bartender at Reno’s Ferino Distillery. “I like to experiment with making my own vermouths with seasonal ingredients or with the ingredients and botanicals from the gin I want to mix it with.” 

At home, a lot of bartenders love to experiment with infusions and ingredients before they serve them to their guests at work. The Negroni is a classic, easy-to-make, equal-parts cocktail that is perfect for any home bartender. 

Pete Barnato, owner of The Loving Cup in Reno, is like most bartenders — he doesn’t always want to make a cocktail when he gets home, but the right spirit choice with a beer can be just as complex as a cocktail. 

“My favorite cocktail to drink when I get home is a cold, crisp Coors yellow belly and a large glass of High West Yippee Ki-Yay bourbon, neat,” he says. “Boilermakers are quite underrated. There are complex and beautiful tasting notes that reveal themselves when you go back and forth between the two.” 

Bryce Tomberlin, owner of Dead Ringer Analog Bar in Reno, loves to entertain. He says creating large-format cocktails such as punch can be a great way to cut the work down and be a part of the party. 

“While I love making drinks behind a bar, it seems as though I only really cocktail at home during gatherings with loved ones,” Tomberlin says. “I love making punches for loved ones because, after all, cocktails, to me, are about making people feel good, and who better to do that with than friends and family?” 

Negroni 
(courtesy of Annalisa Suarez, bartender, Zeppelin in Reno, and lead bartender, Ferino Distillery in Reno. Serves 1)

1 ounce gin
1 ounce sweet vermouth
1 ounce Campari (or red bitter)

Combine ingredients in mixing glass. Stir over ice, then pour into glass over ice. Garnish with lemon or orange peel. 

Boilermaker
(courtesy of Pete Barnato, owner, The Loving Cup in Reno. Serves 1)

16 ounces cool, crisp American beer
2 ounces whiskey

Pour beer and whiskey into separate glasses, then take a sip of beer and a sip of whiskey. Try choosing new and different whiskeys each time you imbibe so you can grow your appreciation of spirits. 

Geisha’s Winter Punch 
(courtesy of Bryce Tomberlin, owner, Dead Ringer Analog Bar in Reno. Serves 4)

4 ounces sake
4 ounces spiced rum
16 ounces apple cider
2 cinnamon sticks

Combine all ingredients in pot and simmer. When ready to enjoy, turn off heat and ladle into coffee mugs with sliced lemon and grated nutmeg. 

– Michael C. Moberly is the national brand ambassador and distillery general manager for Ferino Distillery in Reno and a local spirits educator. His 13 years in the industry have been spent learning, loving, and imbibing with some of its best minds, both locally and nationally. He also is good at wearing hats.