In our drinks blog Sauced, Seattle Met Lifestyle Editor Jessica Voelker regularly serves up Five Questions for the Bartender— the spot for local mixologist lore, like the details of their delish drinks, where they get inspired, and why they call Seattle home. We collect the hits here:

Jamie Boudreau, bartender

Tini Bigs
From the barman who first introduced Seattle to foam in cocktails: How vermouth “can really elevate a cocktail to the next dimension;” and the appalling frequency with which Manhattans are erroneously shaken.
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Erik Chapman, bar manager

Sun Liquor
Thanks to Chapman’s arsenal of cool classic cocktails, this neighborhood nook has become the Zig Zag Café of Capitol Hill. Here, his thoughts on his favorite juice—gin.
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James MacWilliams, head bartender

Canlis
It’s all about magic when James MacWilliams mixes. Case in point: He’s currently obsessed with the “dynamic cocktail,” which changes in texture, aroma, flavor, or taste. Now that is service.
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Anna Wallace, bartender

Oddfellows Cafe + Bar
We salute a woman working in a decidedly man-focused industry; she salutes Pike Place Market, Seattle’s “culture of a port city”, and squid ink drinks at Hazlewood.
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Keith Bartoloni, bartender

Hazlewood
Highlights from Bartoloni’s hot-fire interview include witnessing a stabbing with a martini glass stem and the coolest digestif endorsement ever uttered: “If God was a wicked hot chick and lactated into a bottle, the label would read Amaro Nonino.”
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JJ Wandler, bartender and co-owner

Gainsbourg
The Greenwood Frenchifier and obsessive Twin Peaks fan recalls a fight, drinks Pernod, and raves about a Georgetown chili shack.
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