Julie Reiner (born 1973–1974) is an American mixologist, club owner, and author. Reiner is one of New York's most influential bar owners, having established the Flatiron Lounge, Lani Kai, and the Clover Club. Major publications have featured Reiner's drink recipes, including ''The Wall Street Journal'', ''Playboy'', ''Esquire'', ''GQ'', and ''Time Out London''. Reiner has trained many female bartenders.

Early life and education

Reiner was born and raised in Hawaii. When her family moved to Florida, she studied general communications, graduating from

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...

Bartending

Reiner moved to San Francisco in 1994, trying several different jobs before becoming a cocktail waitress at the Parc 55 San Francisco hotel. Her first job as a bartender was at The Red Room, where she was trained by the manager. She later became a bartender at AsiaSF, an Asian drag bar. In 1998, Reiner moved to New York City where she was hired as bar manager for the C3 bar in the Washington Square Hotel. Her drink concoctions received attention in '' The New York Times'' and '' New York Magazine'', and she was fired from C3 for drawing more publicity than the restaurant. Reiner was a protégé of Dale DeGroff, "the King of Cocktails".

Clubs

After she was let go from C3, Reiner opened the Flatiron Lounge in 2003. The Flatiron Lounge was the first high-volume

craft cocktail The craft cocktail movement is a social movement spurred by the cocktail renaissance, a period of time in the 21st century characterized by a revival and re-prioritization of traditional recipes and methods in the bar industry. History The cockta ...

bar in New York City. Reiner's business partner and wife, Susan Fredroff, suggested that they offer cocktail flights, small samples of different craft cocktails, which provided a popular method for introducing customers to unfamiliar cocktails. Unlike many bars, Reiner welcomed female bartenders and provided training in craft cocktails. Reiner's system of preparing bottles containing a precise mix of liquors and liqueurs for the bar's most popular drinks streamlined the process and was picked up by other craft cocktail bars. At the Flatiron Lounge, the staff nicknamed Reiner "Destroyer of Dreams", while her partner Fedroff was "Creator of False Hopes". Romee de Goriainoff, who opened the first modern cocktail bar in Paris, said of the Flatiron Lounge, "it's the one I got the most inspiration from". The Flatiron Lounge, which Reiner opened with her partners in May 2003, is credited with helping to popularize the craft cocktail movement in New York. It closed in 2018 when the space's rent was raised from $22,000 a month to more than $30,000 a month. Reiner assisted

Audrey Saunders Audrey Saunders (born 1962) is an American bartender, considered one of the world's most famous bartenders and New York's most famous female bartender. She is most well known as the operating partner and creative lead of Pegu Club, a bar in New Yor ...

in establishing the

Pegu Club Pegu Club ( my, ပဲခူးကလပ်) is a recognized heritage site in Yangon, Myanmar, which was a Victorian-style Gentlemen's club founded in 1871 during the British colonization of Burma. The building was built in 1880 and finished in 188 ...

bar in 2005. Reiner and Fredroff opened Clover Club in Brooklyn in 2008. In 2009, it was awarded Best New Cocktail Lounge in the World by Tales of the Cocktail. In 2013, Tales of the Cocktail named Reiner Best Mentor and the Clover Club Best American Cocktail Bar and Best High Volume Cocktail Bar. In 2015, Reiner partnered with

Ivy Mix Ivy Mix (born c. 1985) is an American bartender. She is head bartender and co-owner of the James Beard Award-nominated bar Leyenda in Brooklyn, New York. She co-founded Speed Rack alongside Lynnette Marrero. Mix was named Best American Bartend ...

to open the bar Leyenda across the street from the Clover Club. Reiner opened Lani Kai, a tropical lounge with a restaurant, in late 2011, which closed two years later. In September, 2022, Reiner and partners Christine Williams, Susan Fedroff, and Sam Sherman, will reopen SoHo bar Milady's.

Related endeavors

Reiner appeared in ''Hey Bartender'', a 2013 documentary by Douglas Tirola. In 2015, Reiner published ''The Craft Cocktail Party: Amazing Drinks for Every Occasion''. In 2020, Reiner collaborated with Tom Macy to create Social Hour, a line of canned cocktails. Reiner's company, Mixtress Consulting, provides consulting services and staff training for bars. Mixtress Consulting developed a bar programme for a

Hyatt Hyatt Hotels Corporation, commonly known as Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, is an American multinational hospitality company headquartered in the Riverside Plaza area of Chicago that manages and franchises luxury and business hotels, resorts, and vacat ...

resort on

Maui The island of Maui (; Hawaiian: ) is the second-largest of the islands of the state of Hawaii at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2) and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is the largest of Maui County's four islands, which ...

. Reiner is a judge on ''Drink Masters'', a reality competition show on Netflix that premieres October 28, 2022.

Awards and honors

'' Wine Enthusiast'' named Reiner the 2014 Mixologist of the Year. Drinks International's 50 best bars in the world included Clover Club on the list for two consecutive years. Reiner was a 2011 semifinalist for James Beard Foundation Award for Outstanding Wine and Spirits Professional In 2013, Tales of the Cocktail named Reiner Best Mentor and the Clover Club Best American Cocktail Bar and Best High Volume Cocktail Bar. In 2022, Tales of the Cocktail Foundation awarded Reiner its Helen David Lifetime Achievement Award.

Personal life

Reiner and Fedroff married in 2002, and have a daughter.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Reiner, Julie Living people People from New York City People from Hawaii American bartenders Year of birth uncertain Year of birth missing (living people)