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 Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

. When her family moved to

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, she studied general communications, graduating from

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

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 New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

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 ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' and ''

New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Clay Felker and Milton Glaser in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker'' a ...

'', and she was fired from C3 for drawing more publicity than the restaurant. Reiner was a protégé of

Dale DeGroff Dale DeGroff (born September 21, 1948), also known as "the King of Cocktails" or "King Cocktail", is an American bartender and author. The ''New York Times'' in 2015 called DeGroff "one of the world's foremost cocktail experts", and wrote that h ...

, "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 late 20th and early 21st century characterized by a revival and re-prioritization of traditional recipes and methods in the bar industr ...

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 in establishing the Pegu Club 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 Tales of the Cocktails (sometimes shortened to Tales or TotC) is an annual trade conference, festival, and gathering of cocktail and Distilled beverage, spirits industry professionals in New Orleans, Louisiana. The conference was founded in 2003 b ...

. 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 to open the bar Leyenda across the street from the Clover Club. Leyenda will closed at the end of March, 2025. 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, reopened

SoHo SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...

bar Milady's. In 2024, Reiner opened the Saloon at Clover Club, adjacent to the Clover Club. The Saloon features classic cocktails and be bar-service only.

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 corporation, multinational hospitality company headquartered in the 150 North Riverside, Riverside Plaza area of Chicago that manages and franchise ...

resort on

Maui Maui (; Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ) is the second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2). It is the List of islands of the United States by area, 17th-largest in the United States. Maui is one of ...

. Reiner is a judge on ''Drink Masters'', a reality competition show on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

that premiered October 28, 2022.

Awards and honors

Wine Enthusiast Wine Enthusiast Companies is a New York based company that engages in the wine, e-commerce, information, education, events, media, and travel markets.Covel, Simona, ''The Wall Street Journal'' (October 2, 2008)Wine Enthusiast Looks to Win Over ...

'' 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. In 2025, North America’s 50 Best Bars awarded Reiner the Roku Industry Icon award for Clover Club and Milady's.

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)