Award-winning bartender John Lermayer is the man behind Sweet Liberty Drinks & Supply Company, which he co-owns with Dan Binkiewicz and David Martinez. We spoke to the former New Yorker for the inaugural print issue of Time Out Miami and got the scoop on his inspiration for cocktails, favorite local haunts and boozy guilty pleasures.
How did you get into bartending?
It was the love of two things that led me to bartending as a 21-year-old: free beer and the thought that all girls in the room would be forced to approach me. I am super shy.
How do you come up with your recipes?
I analyze flavor combinations that I think will work and start developing them in conjunction with what’s trending on Facebook (blogs I read). I also look and see what Jeffrey Morgenthaler in the Northwest and Giuseppe González in New York are doing, and I do the exact opposite—which is what works for Miami.
What are your go-to drinks?
My guilty pleasure is a salted Fireball. It sounds weird, but it’s so good. Just stir an oyster spoon of salt into a two-ounce shot of Fireball.
Where do you head on your night off?
I go to the Deuce. It should be a historical monument. Where else can I drop $20 in the jukebox, and hide in the corner, drinking a beer?
If you had to choose a cocktail that defines you, what would it be?
All my friends know how much I love champagne…but maybe a piña colada? It’s rooted in history, it’s fun and no one can have a bad time drinking one.
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