Reiner, Julie (1971–), is a world-renowned mixologist and the owner and operator of a handful of successful bars and lounges in New York City. As an advocate for fresh-ingredient cocktails in the sour-mix-soaked early-aughts, Reiner was a pioneer of the twenty-first century’s modern mixology movement and a mentor to dozens of bartenders who jumpstarted their careers under her watch.
Reiner began her service industry career at age eighteen, working at the Hot Rod Café in her native Honolulu. She bartended herself through college at Florida State University, where, post-nightshift, she would return to find her dormmates “naked and vomiting in the hallway.” As she told one interviewer: “I’d walk past them to my room, throw piles of money on the bed, and stand over $200. I was living nicely.”
DeGroff, Dale.Reiner opened her first bar, the Jazz Age–inspired Flatiron Lounge, in Manhattan in 2003 (it closed in 2019); two years later, she and Audrey Saunders opened the hugely influential Pegu Club. See Saunders, Audrey; and Pegu Club. Brooklyn’s classics-driven Clover Club followed in 2008, winning “Best New Cocktail Lounge in the World” at the following year’s Tales of the Cocktail convention. See Tales of the Cocktail. Upscale tiki lounge Lani Kai opened in 2010 and closed in 2012, and Leyenda, Reiner’s Latin American cocteleria with decorated mixologist Ivy Mix, opened to critical acclaim in 2015. She has written one book, The Craft Cocktail Party: Delicious Drinks for Every Occasion (Grand Central Life & Style, 2015).
Akkam, Alia. “The 10 Cocktails That Made My Career: Julie Reiner,” First We Feast website, October 5, 2015. https://firstwefeast.com/drink/2015/10/the-10-cocktails-that-made-my-career-julie-reiner (accessed March 9, 2021).
Cameron, Ian. “Julie Reiner.” Difford’s Guide. https://www.diffordsguide.com/encyclopedia/2692/people/julie-reiner (accessed September 5, 2017).
Regan, Gary. “Raising the Bar: Julie Reiner.” Liquor.com, June 1, 2010.
Simonson, Robert. “Cocktail Icon Julie Reiner on Her New Book, Her New Bar, and Advice for Bartenders Opening Their First Business.” Grub Street, May 4, 2015. https://www.grubstreet.com/2015/05/julie-reiner-book-bar-interview.html (accessed March 9, 2021).
By: Lauren Viera