On Monday I will be taking off for Nicaragua on a bartender's adventure (understatement of the year!) sponsored by Flor de Caña rum. I have known since September that I would be going on this trip at some point, but the reality of it is finally setting in. A few days ago I received a preview itinerary with a list of the colleagues with whom I will be traveling. All I can say is WTF?? The list includes some serious notables, which makes me feel like a serious schmuck by comparison. But I am very excited, and very humbled, to be able to spend some time with people who are at such an elevated place in the industry, and I'm looking forward to learning everything I can from them, or in the absence of learning, drinking my weight in Flor de Caña.

In preparation for the adventure, I have decided to do a little interWeb research about my travel companions.
Representing the West Coast we have Pablo Moix. Pablo hails from Queens, NY (which means that basically everybody on this list is a New Yorker except me, and perhaps the other guy from Texas) and has worked in the industry since a young age. His professional tutelage was under that of noted mixologian Ryan Magarian. Pablo is now the mixologist for the One Group, based in Los Angeles but developing successful properties all over the country. There is a good profile of him at Liquid Muse.

This is Pablo's bio pic from the Tales of the Cocktail Web site. I wonder if he will look this suave and sophisticated after a few days in the wilds of Nicaragua.

Brian Miller tends bar at New York's Death and Co. According to one interview, he believes that a good cocktail is a right, not a privilege. I couldn't agree with him more, though I live in a city where I am only able to exercise my rights in a couple of venues. Of all the arguments I have made about cocktails, I have never started from a Inalienable Rights of Man point of view, but perhaps I should.

I found this picture of Brian online. He looks very intense. I like it.

Eben Freeman is a noted cocktail consultant and bar man at New York's Tailor. I attended a seminar at Tales of the Cocktail last year in which Eben participated, the highlights can be found here.

Eben looks like one happy-shaking mofo in this picture.

Phil Ward once worked with Brian at Death & Co but has recently started his own temple to agave spirits, Mayaheul.

I couldn't find a picture of Phil online but his bar looks sexy. This pic from New York Magazine online.

Dimitrios Zahariadis is from Connecticut and grew up working in his parents' restaurants. He has also worked in New York at Tao. He is as far as I can tell the only traveler on the crew who has his own logo.

Robert Krueger runs the bar at Employees Only. You can see him in action at a recent cocktail event here.

Greg Seider runs the bar at Minetta Tavern. He seems to be the most under-the-radar of the travel companions, as I can't really find anything about him online, though he works at a high profile venue. I look forward to meeting him.

Last but not least there are the two dudes from Texas. A guy from Houston named Matt Tanner, I have no idea who he is. Then there is me.