Summer Time

If you were told to train a top notch bartender in Pittsburgh you would have them follow in Summer Voelker's footsteps. You would start by learning how to handle a volume bar on the South Side. Then you would learn the intricacies of craft cocktails and the importance of precision under Fred Sarkis and Spencer Warren at Embury. And then when Kevin Sousa came calling to give you free reign over creations with Maggie Meskey you would jump at the chance. And now after experience that reads like a Who's Who of Pittsburgh cocktails, she opened a new place for Sousa, Harvard and Highland above Union Pig and Chicken. 

Jigger Fingers

Erika Joyner is tasked with creating some the cocktails for Salt of the Earth, though you may know her by her other name, Jigger Fingers. Jigger Fingers come from a story that everyone has a version of, namely experimenting with Green Chartreuse and a lack of proper pirate terminology. (Note, this is why I made it a point to start learning about sailing before booze.)  After dubbing herself Jigger Fingers and then attending events like Tales of the Cocktail and Camp Runamok she is now known around the country as Jigger Fingers.