They’re Up Next . . .

Cristina DeLucca of The Drawing Room (Photo: Audarshia Townsend)

When you’re shaking up cocktails alongside Charles Joly—who won LXTV’s best bartender contest in 2010 — it’s pretty hard to stand out on your own.

But the statuesque Cristina DeLucca, who’s worked professionally as a bartender since college, appears to be up to the challenge at The Drawing Room. She was named a “rising star” last summer at Tales of the Cocktails in New Orleans, and that in itself has pushed her to work harder.

“The most important lesson (in working behind the bar) is diplomacy,” says DeLucca. She also believes the most successful bartenders have well-developed palates that rely on personal taste rather than the latest trends.

For example, she likes textures in cocktails and her style tends to be on the sweeter side. Her favorite ingredients to use include overproof whiskies, Benedictine, bitters and adding a pinch of salt.

One of DeLucca’s duties at The Drawing Room is to create one seasonal cocktail for each new menu. So, to ring in the New Year, she’s introducing the The Old Man, The Monk, and The Sea:

2 dashes bitters
¾ oz Benedictine
¾ oz dry Oloroso sherry (important to use because it provides a nutty finish)
1 ½ oz Old Weller 107 bourbon (or any high proof bourbon over 40 percent alcohol)

Put all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir until chilled and diluted, approximately 30 seconds. Strain into a coupe (any stemmed cocktail glass will do).
Garnish: Using a vegetable peeler, peel a four- to five-inch piece of lemon rind. With the outside of the peel facing down and holding it just above the drink, squeeze the edges to expel the essential oil. Rub along the rim and drop into drink.

The Gage’s "Out with the Old…" cocktail, which ushers in the New Year with style. (Photo: The Gage)

Clint Rogers, of The Gage and newcomer Henri, offers Out with the Old... to usher in the New Year:

5 oz chilled sparkling wine or Champagne
Pomegranate foam
Fresh pomegranate seeds

Pour sparkling wine or Champagne into a flute or coupe. Top with pomegranate foam that's made by blending ½ tsp lecithin with ½ cup Pom brand pomegranate juice or double proportions if making drinks for a bigger group (This works best if you have a small immersion or stick blender). Garnish with a few pomegranate seeds.

Sterling Field creating magic at Kimpton's Sable Kitchen & Bar. (Photo: Kimpton Restaurants and Hotels)

And at Sable Kitchen & Bar, the cocktail lounge on the first floor of the fashionable Hotel Palomar, Sterling Field is part of a team that runs as smooth as an engine. Looking for a new drink to kick off the New Year?! He's recommending Younger Than Spring:

1 oz Del Maguey Vida mezcal
1 oz Cynar
1 oz Cocchi Americano
2 dashes Regan's orange bitters

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass. Stir to combine and chill. Strain over a large piece of ice in an Old Fashioned glass. Garnish with a swath of orange peel.