John Dabney
1842 – 1900

John Dabney was born into slavery in 1842 and spent the first 41 years of his life enslaved. In his early life, Dabney was a jockey for the family who owned him. However, by his teens, Dabney was waiting and serving tables for high society in Richmond, Virginia, eventually running the kitchen and bar in Richmond’s most exclusive hotel, the Ballard House and Exchange Hotel. Dabney made his mark on the bar scene with his take on the mint julep, the Hail Storm Mint Julep. The Hail Storm blends peach brandy, sugar, and mint and is beautifully garnished using fresh mint, flower petals, and fruits.

Dabney eventually purchased his freedom for himself, his wife, and his sons through the small earnings he was able to save from his owners as a waiter and bartender, and the Union occupation of Richmond during the Civil War. Dabney spent his later years still tending bar, earning a local celebrity status as one of the finest barmen in the South.

Cato Alexander
1780 – 1858

Cato Alexander was born into slavery in 1780 in New York City and was eventually freed in 1799 when New York abolished slavery. Once Alexander gained his freedom, he began working in inns and restaurants, and eventually went on to open his own bar, Cato’s Tavern. Cato’s Tavern was universally recognized as one of the best bars in the nation.

Alexander served some of the most influential men in American history, and it is said that George Washington and the other founding fathers enjoyed Alexander’s perfect eggnog. Cato Alexander’s drinks were the first to be called cocktails; his attention to detail and insistence on high quality ingredients changed the way the world thought about spirits.

Tom Bullock
1872 – 1964

Tom Bullock was a renowned, pre-prohibition bartender from Louisville, Kentucky. Bullock was born the son of a former slave and Union soldier, Thomas Bullock, and spent his early years as a bell hop at the elite Pendennis Club, a private club which hosted notable and important men of the era.

Bullock left Louisville, eventually settling in St. Louis, and working at the St. Louis Country Club. During this period, he was involved in a libel case when ex-President Theodore Roosevelt sued the St. Louis Post-Dispatch regarding his drinking habits, insisting he had only had a few sips of a mint julep cocktail made by Bullock. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch disputed Roosevelt's claim, stating, “Who was ever known to drink just a part of Tom’s? Tom, than whom there is no greater mixologist of any race, was taught the art of the julep by no less than Marse Lilburn G. McNair, the father of the julep.”

Tom Bullock is most notably known for his mint juleps and his cocktail book, The Ideal Bartender. Bullock was able to leverage his connections to the powerful men of the day to publish The Ideal Bartender, and it is the first cocktail book written by a Black man. Unfortunately, Prohibition passed within a few years of publication, and Bullock is largely lost from the record until his death in 1964. Luckily for us, The Ideal Bartender was resurrected and republished in 2015, and it is widely considered to be one of the most important resources for pre-prohibition cocktails.

If you wish to purchase your own copy of The Ideal Bartender, you can do so here.

Qadeem Hassan
Session Cocktails, Tuscaloosa, AL

Born and raised in Tuscaloosa, AL, Qadeem Hassan began his hospitality career as a server at Baumhower’s Victory Grille, eventually moving on to the Levee Bar and Grill, where he began bartending. Hassan quickly moved up the ranks of bartender, landing a promotion as bar manager. As bar manager, he developed his love for mixology.

In 2019, Qadeem began bartending at Session Cocktails, again quickly moving up to a management role, with an eventual promotion to General Manager in January 2022. He is currently known for his newest cocktail, the Ring My Bell, a savory spin on a classic margarita blending tequila, black pepper, and sweet bell peppers.

Hassan worked on the Ring My Bell for several months, from the end of June 2022 through September 2022, searching for the perfect blend of ingredients. “It was a process…That’s why people rave about our cocktails. We take our time to get it right. We want it to be of quality and consistent every time you come in.”

Eric Bennett
Continental Drift, Birmingham, AL

Born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, Eric Bennett has always had a penchant for creating new flavors with food and drink. He attended Shades Valley/JCIB and went on to study chemistry at Birmingham-Southern College. While in college, he began working for the Brio/Bravo Restaurant Group as a server, and soon after as a bartender.

Extremely interested in the world of alcohol, he began researching brands and their history while also learning how to properly prepare classic and classically styled cocktails in a contemporary bar setting. Through travel, Eric was able to see that one could parlay an interest in spirits and a love of flavor into a professional career behind the stick, and so he sought an opportunity to legitimately enter this world at home in Birmingham.

He was given the opportunity to manage the bar program at one of Birmingham’s highest acclaimed restaurants, Bettola. He also helped to open their sister restaurant, Vittoria Macelleria. Afterwards, he had the opportunity to manage the bar program at Carrigan’s Public House, a gastropub focused on quality beer, craft cocktails, and elevated pub food. He worked at the space-themed bar/venue Saturn, and later opened and managed two bars in the Pizitz Food Hall - The Louis Bar and the bar at Fero. Eric also tended bar at the award-winning Atomic Lounge - a mid-century modern bar in the heart of Birmingham.

He owns a food truck called Drift Kitchen with his business partner, John Easterling, and the two of them have been collaborating on a new bar project called Continental Drift. Thankfully, Continental Drift is now open, bringing a touch of both Miami Beach and Saved by the Bell’s the Max to Birmingham’s industrial roots.

Throughout his career, Eric has focused on immersing himself in the beverage industry and knows that the path to success is to never stop learning. To that end, he continually is involved in programs like the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival, the United States Bartenders Guild, and Portland Cocktail Week/Bar

Institute, while also participating in competition events such as Bombay Sapphire/GQ Magazine’s Most Inspired Bartender and Taste of Atlanta’s Fernet Branca Showcase. Most recently, he was a two-time national finalist in Diageo’s World Class Cocktail Competition. Over the past four years, Eric has had the opportunity to work with the Tales of Cocktail Foundation as a part of their Philanthropy and Development Committee and was recently named Co-Chair. He hopes to continue to support his peers in the industry by using this position to advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives across the Foundation that support the overall well-being of front-of-house bar staff. Outside of the industry, Eric also volunteers time on his neighborhood design review committee.

Eric is married to a wonderful architect, has a beautiful three-year-old, and lives in the historic Norwood neighborhood in Birmingham, Alabama.