Best of Boston

Best Bartender

2018 Best Bartender

Tenzin Samdo, ArtScience

Cambridge
Industry vet Tenzin Samdo has taken over the bar-director role at ArtScience with grace and ease, sticking to the tech-forward restaurant’s tradition of high-flying, science-forward [...] read more»
2017 Best Bartender

Will Thompson, Ruka

Boston
Will Thompson honed his cocktail craft at Drink, developed a spot-on classics-focused opening beverage program for gilded supper club Yvonne's, and has now come up [...] read more»
2016 Best Bartender

Todd Maul, Cafe Artscience

Cambridge
Imagine a boozy amuse-bouche of scotch, inhaled as a plume of smoke. Or a mai tai that actually grows stronger thanks to rum-soaked banana leaves [...] read more»
2015 Best Bartender

Patrick Gaggiano, Vialé

Cambridge
There are a couple of reasons to visit a bar. One is to sip masterful cocktails. The other is to savor the charms of the [...] read more»
2014 Best Bartender

Kevin Mabry, JM Curley, Bogie’s Place, Merrill & Co.

When he helped open JM Curley in 2012, Kevin Mabry did for the basic G & T what the kitchen did for Curley’s legendary burger—that is, take [...] read more»
2013 Best Bartender

Sam Treadway, Backbar

Somerville
In just a year, Treadway has taken this already exciting snack-and-cocktail spot and upped the ante even further with his unique mix of seasonally driven [...] read more»
2012 Best Bartender

Backbar

Somerville
This is the year of the cocktail bar, and the city's top new spots are anchored by considerable talent. There's Scott Marshall shaking and stirring [...] read more»
2011 Best Bartender

Todd Maul, Clio

Boston
While the sheer number of cocktails on the 80-drink list makes our frontal cortex twitch, it's the list's creator who brings it to refreshing, delicious [...] read more»
2008 Best Bartender

John Gertsen, No. 9 Park

Boston
Charm and meticulousness have earned this mixologist more than his fair share of props. But that's no reason to deny him this year's Best of [...] read more»
2007 Best Bartender

Jackson Cannon

Boston
Settle into Eastern Standard's plush, cozy bar and let Cannon welcome you with an easy grin and quick, imaginative recommendations: an old-school cocktail he's revived [...] read more»