Cuban Cocktails

Ravi DeRossi began his career as an artist but soon set his sights on New York nightlife. His first venture, the Bourgeois Pig, was a press favorite. Then he co-founded Death & Co. and shortly thereafter Desnuda Cevicheria, described by the New York Times as “one of the most creative and innovative restaurants that New York has to offer.” Mayahuel, his tequila and mescal bar, won the Best New Cocktail Bar Award at Tales of the Cocktail, and then he opened the Cuban rum bar Cienfuegos, among other notable establishments. Nominated by Wine Enthusiast for International Tastemaker of the Year, DeRossi is a founding member of NYC Hospitality Alliance and established BEAST Foundation for a cruelty-free world for animals. He lives in New York City.
 
Jane Danger began her bartending career at CBGB in the East Village before moving to Death & Co. and then the PDT cocktail lounge. She also worked at Little Branch and Dutch Kills before opening Cienfuegos and Jane’s Sweet Buns, a boozy bakery specializing in cinnamon rolls and cocktail-inspired pastries. From there she moved to the newly opened Nomad and Nomad Bar. She consults on and contributes to cocktail menus all along the East Coast, and her work has appeared in Food and Wine, Imbibe, New York magazine, Time Out New York, New York Post, New York Times, The PDT Cocktail Book, Mister Boston 75th Anniversary Guide, the Food Network, Cooking Channel, and elsewhere. She lives in New York City.
 
Alla Lapushchik assisted with the opening of the Bourgeois Pig while studying at New York University before moving to Mayahuel, Death & Co., Desnuda Cevicheria, and 124 Rabbit Club. After opening the Post Office whiskey bar in South Williamsburg, she opened OTB, focused on craft spirits and comfort food. She lives in Brooklyn.

Alla Lapushchik is coauthor of Cuban Cocktails: 100 Classic and Modern Drinks (Sterling Epicure). She assisted with the opening of the Bourgeois Pig while studying at New York University before moving to Mayahuel, Death & Co., Desnuda Cevicheria, and 124 Rabbit Club. After opening Post Office Whiskey Bar in South Williamsburg, she opened OTB, which focuses on craft spirits and comfort food. Time Out New York included her among “Brooklyn’s New Order,” and she has been featured in Brooklyn Spirits by Peter Thomas Fontanale and Chris Wertz, Imbibe magazine, The New York Times, and Village Voice. She lives in Brooklyn.
 
Jane Danger is coauthor of Cuban Cocktails: 100 Classic and Modern Drinks (Sterling Epicure) and began her bartending career at CBGB before moving to Death & Co. and then PDT. She also worked at Little Branch and Dutch Kills before opening Cienfuegos and moving to Nomad Bar. She consults on and contributes to cocktail menus all along the East Coast, and her work has appeared in Food and Wine, Imbibe, New York Magazine, Time Out New York, New York Post, The New York Times, The PDT Cocktail Book, and Mr. Boston 75th Anniversary Guide, and on popular TV cooking shows. She lives in New York City.
 
Clay Risen is a senior editor at The New York Times and the drinks columnist for Garden & Gun. He has also written for The Atlantic, Fortune, Smithsonian, and the Washington Post and is the author of A Nation on Fire: America in the Wake of the King Assassination and The Bill of the Century: The Epic Battle for the Civil Rights Act. Risen grew up in Nashville, TN, and lives in Brooklyn, NY, with his wife and two young children.