JP Fetherston—Southern Efficiency
JP brings something special to the (bar) table: He apprenticed under a master distiller in Scotland, making him keenly aware of the work that goes into every glass. One of his standout cocktails is the Honey Burns. “The first person that tasted it yelled WOAH, so I’m afraid to take it off the menu,” he tells us. It’s made with bourbon, aged rhum agricole, honey, lemon, and dashes of two kinds of bitters. Lately he’s been straying from citrus. “You can’t reinvent the wheel every time with cocktails, but you can play around; I’ve been using vinegars and other ways to add acidity.” JP’s also raked in accolades this year, but he says he wasn’t aware of them all because he’s barely Googled himself.