Almost everyone knows the ingredients to a good martini. But what makes a good bartender? He – or she – has to be a good listener, quick with a joke and able to recommend the right drink for every occasion. And just like a great drink, a great bartender has to have something extra, an indefinable quality that makes the 14 bartenders profiled here among the world’s best.

Jody Haddad

Townsend Hotel o Birmingham,Mich.

Even at the height of their popularity, members of the Rat Pack didn’t drink Dom Perignon every night. But visitors to The Corner, a bar at the Townsend Hotel in Birmingham, Mich., can-it’s one of the few places in the world where you can order Dom by the glass.

Bartender Jody Haddad believes in giving his clients a little something out of the ordinary.

“Being a bartender means doing something different that people will remember,” said Haddad, 25.

Doing something different helped Haddad win “the war of the pour” in a local bartending contest. Arriving in boxing gear, with the theme from Rocky playing in the background, Haddad went the distance by showing off some of the drinks he’s created: the Split Decision, served in a double glass with a single stem, the TKO and a tropical drink called the South Paw-cific.

“My role is to make people happy,” Haddad said. “If people aren’t feeling entertained, they won’t come back.”

Haddad knows the recipes for 150 to 200 drinks, although most of his clients at The Corner prefer flavored martinis, mojitos and coffee drinks. For Haddad, however, being a bartender requires just as much personality as it does expertise.

“Part of the job is just being me,” Haddad said with a laugh. “I can’t help other people have fun if I’m not having fun. And I’m not doing my job if people aren’t having fun.”

Andy Cumpsty

Westin Dublin o Dublin, Ireland

Part chef, part mad scientist and all showman, Andy Cumpsty has kept customers at The Mint Bar at the Westin Dublin on the edge of their seats for the last 2 1/2 years. In a city better known for Guinness and Irish whiskey, who but Cumpsty could have convinced patrons to sample a martini featuring a smoked baby octopus at the bottom of the glass?

“I should have been a chef,” said Cumpsty, 28. “I’m always trying to bring in new garnishes,
whether it’s Bombay Sapphire with fresh rosemary and lime or mango spiced rum with mint. I want to show people the tastes they’re missing.”

Cumpsty honed his skills at theme restaurants like T.G.I. Friday’s and The Fashion Café before
making a splash at Sound Republic, a London-based bar that served as the backdrop for Britain’s
“Pepsi Chart Show.” Since moving to Ireland, he has trained bartenders throughout the country,
including the Jameson Irish Whiskey staff, and has hosted a biweekly slot on “Ireland A.M.”

Though he’s already created 30 to 40 of his own cocktails, Cumpsty continues to travel the world searching for new flavors, new combinations and new drink-mixing techniques. He is constantly competing in bartending contests and says he plans to settle for nothing less than being recognized as the greatest bartender in the world.

Dawne Schoep

Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort,Spa and Casino o Incline Village,Nev.

Owing to the requirements of the job, most bartenders rarely see the light of day at work. Not Dawne Schoep, bartender at the Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort, Spa and Casino.

“Why would I ever want to work in an office when I can work outside?” said Schoep, 29. “It’s gorgeous being out there on the water, with the mountains in the background. I get to have fun at work.”

During the summer, Schoep works aboard Lake Tahoe’s only floating bar, where guests arrive by Zodiac raft and sudden winds can make it difficult to keep drinks steady. Even in the coldest weather, however, Schoep finds ways to work outside.

“There’s a pool with heated cement walkways and two hot tubs, and I work out at the bar p ouring hot chocolate and coffee drinks,” Schoep said. “It’s cold sometimes, but I like the fresh air.”

Schoep loves her job, especially bartending at weddings (“I get to be part of the most excellent day of someone’s life,” she said). On the other hand, she doesn’t mind taking a vacation, particularly when it means visiting her home in Hawaii.

“Every now and then, I need a reference on how to make a mai tai,” Schoep said with a laugh.

Noboyuki Ishikawa

Grand Hyatt Tokyo o Tokyo, Japan

Sometimes, being a great bartender means creating the perfect atmosphere. At the Grand Hyatt Tokyo’s Oak Bar, Noboyuki Ishikawa seems to have a knack for making customers feel comfortable.

“Two guests proposed to each other,” said Ishikawa, 31. “The woman said yes. With this inspiration, I made a champagne cocktail for them. The happy couple comes back every year for their anniversary.”

Mixing the right drink at the right time is what Ishikawa-winner of the 2001 Asia Pacific Bartender of the Year contest-does best.

“Everyone makes cosmopolitans. However, dainamikku- Japanese way of saying dynamic-is what I would call ours. I don’t really have one signature cocktail. I feel that each drink I make is a signature cocktail.”

Stephen McDonald

The Melrose Hotel o New York, N.Y.

For most people, playing “stump the bartender” means coming up with names of arcane beverages they’re sure their local mixologist won’t be able to make. For visitors to The Melrose Hotel bar in New York City, however, the real challenge is finding any subject on which bartender Stephen McDonald is not prepared to converse.

“I think you should know a little something about everything that might be able to help you help your customers,” said McDonald, a bartender for 25 years who has worked at The Melrose since it opened in 2001. “The art of conversation is finding out what someone is interested in-music, sports, current events-and being able to get into it.”

One thing McDonald knows is New York. Want to know who the Knicks or Yankees are playing? Interested in a Broadway show? Need a restaurant recommendation? McDonald’s your man. He makes it his business to know what’s going on around town. And he’s not afraid to venture an opinion-especially on the subject of music. One of McDonald’s favorite albums is almost always playing while he works.

“I’m not a fan of the newer music,” McDonald said. “I’m a great fan of the Rat Pack, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holliday and Judy Garland.”

McDonald counts as personal friends the comedian Richard Lewis and the late actor Richard Harris, who often visited him at work. In fact, McDonald’s popularity is such that guests at The Melrose sometimes ask when he will be working before making reservations.

McDonald won’t reveal the ingredients to his signature Melrose Martini, but he’s willing to give away the reason why his establishment has become so popular with business travelers.

“Most people are really nice if you’re nice to them,” McDonald said. “I try to create an atmosphere that’s friendly, homey, cozy. I introduce everybody around, and they almost always come back.”

Charles Clements

The Fairmont Dubai o Dubai, United Arab Emirates

It isn’t easy to concoct a dazzling array of cocktails when you never know when your supplies are going to run out. It’s even more difficult to be a bartender in a city where most of the native population doesn’t drink.

Charles Clements, beverage manager at Tangerine- the hotel club at The Fairmont Dubai in the United Arab Emirates-wouldn’t have it any other way.

“It’s a challenging market to work in,” said Clements, 26. “I don’t really get to mix with the locals. About 78 percent of the people living in Dubai are expats, and they’re somewhat set in their ways. They want something familiar-scotch, beer-and it’s hard to push a new drink or a new style on them.”

Clements arrived at the Fairmont as a consultant on a one-month sabbatical from a bartending job in the United Kingdom. Eighteen months later, he’s still there.

“This isn’t North America. It isn’t Europe. There isn’t another bottle of exotic liqueur available as soon as you run out. You need to keep your supplies stocked and to learn to do the best you can with what you have, to use what’s available to you on a daily basis.”

Regis LeMaitre

The Gleneagles Hotel o Auchterader,Scotland

As the bar manager at the Gleneagles resort, Regis LeMaitre doesn’t hear many requests for cocktails. After all, with 170 single malt whiskeys and 99 varieties of vodka at their fingertips, why would any of LeMaitre’s clients want an ything else? Nonetheless, LeMaitre is always prepared to honor customers’ requests.

“Our policy is that ‘no’ is not an answer,” said LeMaitre. “If someone has a question, we will answer it. If they have a request, we will provide it. If for any reason we can’t, we will offer them the next best thing that is available.”

When they aren’t golfing at some of the world’s oldest courses, fishing, hunting or practicing falconry, LeMaitre’s guests are sampling sandwiches and scones from a three-tiered silver tray or enjoying an after-dinner drink.

“We want our customers to have that once-in-a-lifetime experience,” said LeMaitre, who worked as a bartender near the 17th hole at the historic St. Andrews golf course for 9 1/2 years before coming to Gleneagles a year and a half ago. “Our bar reflects that, whether in terms of the friendliness of the staff or the quality of service, without formality.”

Don’t know a single from a double malt-or, for that matter, Glenlivet from Canadian Club? LeMaitre is ready to be your guide. “We want to show people what Scotch whisky is all about,” LeMaitre said.

Vlademir Milevski

Park Hyatt o Sydney,Australia

A five-star hotel demands a five-star bar, and a five-star bar requires the kind of bartender who can give the most particular customers exactly what they want.

“Our clientele is very exclusive,” said Vlademir Milevski, head bartender/manager of Harbour Bar at the Park Hyatt in Sydney, Australia. “Our guests like things that are a little like themselves-rich. This means the look of a drink, the taste of a drink and the way a drink is made-it has to be all ‘rich.’ “

Milevski knows how to get his clients’ attention. Before coming to Harbour Bar, Milevski was known for lighting his bar on fire and serving flaming shots between the flames.

These days, he’s more likely to try to impress someone with his skill at making cocktails.

“Personality isn’t something bar courses can teach. It’s something you have,” Milevski said. “I try to be professional, as this is what my role requires me to be. But when I get behind the bar, I love to be entertaining and spontaneous.”

Jonathan Nowak

Hyatt on Capital Square o Columbus, Ohio

Jonathan Nowak doesn’t perform any fancy moves while serving drinks. As a bartender at the Hyatt on Capital Square in Columbus, Ohio, Nowak is rarely asked to prepare anything exotic or avant-garde. What makes Nowak a great bartender is his ability to listen.

“I see myself as a friend and counselor,” said Nowak, 30. “When people walk in the door, I try to read what type of day they’ve had. Some people want to talk, some want to be left alone. With some people, they don’t even have to ask for a particular drink-I know what they need before they ask for it.”

Nowak works hard to provide his customers with what they need, whether they are regulars from the Columbus area, or some of the hotel’s celebrity guests, such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dan Rather, Jerry Springer or Bruce Springsteen.

“I try to be as genuine with people as I possibly can,” Nowak said. “If I can do that, get a good read on my customers and serve them as best I can, it works out for everybody.”

Joe Gomes

Park Hyatt o Toronto, Ontario

When England’s Queen Elizabeth visited Toronto last year, bartenders at the city’s posh Royal Hotel were stumped: Nobody knew how to make “pink gin,” the queen’s favorite drink. In desperation, the hotel’s beverage staff called upon the one Toronto bartender they knew would have the answer: the Park Hyatt’s Joe Gomes.

“I’ve mixed a lot of drinks over the course of my professional career,” said Gomes, 62, who has been shaking, stirring and pouring for the last 45 years. “I remember what my guests like. I know what the right portions are. And I never get a drink returned.”

The secrets to Gomes’ success are simple: careful listening and keen observation.

“There’s an art to being able to deal with every guest,” Gomes said. “You have to make them feel like they’re at home. You have to help them deal with their problems. If they’ve just gone through something, you have to show them that it’s not the end of the world.”

Talking with others has always come easily to Gomes. “I enjoy talking with the guests. I’m happy talking to all kinds of people. I want to do the most that I can do to attract them, to make them happy.”

Nancy Alongi

Hyatt Regency O’Hare o Rosemont, Ill.

For 15 years, Nancy Alongi drove a mobile bar. Today, as bartender for the Hyatt Regency O’Hare in Rosemont, Ill., Alongi lets customers from all over the world come to her.

“People from different cultures ask me a lot of questions, all about Chicago, and I’m more than happy to tell them,” said Alongi. “I’ve worked with people in the media, the stars-everyone who was on the Oprah show for 10 years stayed at our hotel, and the Phil Donahue guests stayed with us.”

Alongi’s favorite celebrity guest was Bob Hope.

“He was the most pleasant,” she recalled. “He traveled without a bodyguard, and backstage during his benefits, he was a pleasant, pleasant person.”

While she rarely gets requests for exotic drinks-most of her customers prefer red wine, martinis, and the occasional amaretto sour-the variety of her client

“I’m interested in people,” she said. “And I can’t think of any other job in which I’d meet that many.”

Thierry Hernandez

Hotel Plaza Athenee o Paris, France

His official title may be “director of the Bar du Plaza Athenee,” but a better description of Thierry Hernandez might be “sculptor in alcohol.” Hernandez’s “3-D cocktails” are like nothing else in Paris (or the world, for that matter) and have added to the reputation of the Hotel Plaza Athenee as a place where classical tastes mingle with an avant-garde perspective.

Hernandez’s famed Bubblegum Cocktail, known in French as a cocktail regressive, begins with a layer of strawberry pieces and pink Malabar chewing gum suspended in liqueur and vodka jelly. Above that semi-solid mixture is a layer of bubblegum ice cream mixed with vodka and strawberry liqueur. It’s all topped with tagada-a French strawberry sweet-and fresh strawberries on a stick.

New projects include “special shapes” developed for guacamole and ketchup shots. Hernandez has also created 3-D versions of more traditional drinks, such as the mojito, the cosmopolitan
and Sex on the Beach.

There’s no question that Hernandez loves to shock and astonish customers with his creations. Like any bartender, however, he also enjoys day-to-day interactions with his customers and co-workers.

“I like very much people, and I love of course alcohol,” said Hernandez, 37. “It is a pleasure to be with people, to show what I can do for them and to please them.”

Alan Riley

Hyatt Regency o Cambridge,Mass.

Don’t try to tell Alan Riley he’s a Boston bartender.

“I’m in Cambridge, on the intelligent side of the river,” said Riley, a fixture at the Hyatt Regency-near Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology-for the last 25 years. “There are conversations I listen to every evening-sometimes they go for hours without interrupting-and I have no idea what they’re talking about.”

Riley has met his share of intellectual heavyweights during his tenure at Zephyr on the Charles, the Hyatt Regency’s bar.

“The one who really made an impression was Maya Angelou,” Riley recalled. “She is a tall woman, with a great voice-wise, confident, knowledgeable. She seemed driven.”

While pouring drinks has never gone out of style, changes in social mores and local laws-like the ban on smoking in Cambridge bars, passed last year-mean that life behind the bar is different now from what it was when Riley began in 1977.

“People don’t drink as much as they used to,” Riley said. “New Year’s Eve used to be wild and crazy; now it’s toned down a lot. There used to be a bowl of beer nuts at the bar. Now you serve appetizers there.”

Sambonn Lek

Renaissance Mayflower Hotel o Washington,D.C.

When your clientele includes visiting statesmen, financiers, politicians, the nation’s top journalists and other celebrities, it’s important to know how to be discreet. As bartender at the Renaissance Mayflower Hotel’s Town & Country Lounge for the last 28 years, Sambonn Lek has kept his share of secrets, including a few of his own. For one thing, he doesn’t drink.

“I might have a glass of red wine with my wife, or when I’m out with my family,” said Lek, who arrived in the United States in 1976 as a refugee from Cambodia. “But I don’t drink. I can tell
when a drink is made wrong because it’s the wrong color-when there’s too much this or that.”

Even customers who aren’t regulars may find their way onto Lek’s Christmas card list. Each year, he mails out greetings to more than 2,000 former patrons. Lek’s customers aren’t the only beneficiaries of his gratitude. He and his wife bring food, medicine, clothing and other supplies to villages in Cambodia every year.

“A lot of people have supported me,” Lek said. “So far, the money I’ve sent has built four schools already. In 2004, we hope to build four more.”

Nevertheless, Lek refuses to rest on his laurels. He is constantly visiting other bars and bartenders, hoping his observations will help keep him at the top of his profession.

“It’s always a challenge to me when I see a really good bartender at work,” Lek said. “It’s not that I’m jealous. It’s that when I see him, I want to learn.”

BARTENDERS’ BEST

FLIRTINI

Jody Haddad-The Corner, The Townsend Hotel, Birmingham, Mich.

1 1/2 ounce Stolichnaya
raspberry vodka
1 ounce pineapple juice
1/2 ounce Chambord

Serve in a chilled martini glass.
Top with a splash of champagne.
Garnish with fresh raspberries and pineapple.

MOJITO

Andy Cumpsty – The Mint Bar, Westin Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

3 white sugar cubes
6 fresh limes
10 average-sized fresh mint leaves
2 ounce Captain Morgan spiced rum
Club soda

Squeeze the limes.
Muddle up the lime juice, mint leaves and sugar, and pour over crushed ice into a 10 1/2-ounce tumbler.
Add the rum and club soda.
Garnish with a mint sprig, a swizzle stick, a straw and a fresh lime slice.

WINDY DAY

Dawne Schoep-Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort, Spa and Casino, Incline Village, Nev.

3/4 ounce Bacardi Limon
3/4 ounce Bacardi CoCo
1/2 ounce Mango Fruja
Mix ingredients with equal parts orange
and pineapple juices. Garnish with an
orange slice.

ASIAN HURRICANE

Noboyuki Ishikawa-The Oak Bar, Grand Hyatt Tokyo, Japan

2/3 ounce Bacardi white rum
2/3 ounce Bols strawberry liqueur
1/3 ounce pineapple juice
1/3 ounce coconut syrup
Tonic water

Shake all ingredients except the tonic water with ice and strain into a long cocktail glass. Fill rest of the glass with tonic water.
Garnish with a lemon spiral, slice of lime and a blue cherry.

CALIFORNIA COLLINS

Stephen McDonald-The Melrose Hotel, New York, N.Y.

1 1/2 ounce vodka
Lemon juice
Orange juice
Dash Triple Sec
Dash sugar
Club soda
Cranberry juice

Shake up vodka, lemon juice, orange juice, Triple Sec and sugar with a lot of ice.
Add club soda; pour cranberry juice on top, and away you go!

SHADAM (WIND)

Charles Clements-Tangerine, The Fairmont Dubai, United Arab Emirates

4 fresh figs
1 ounce vanilla sugar syrup
1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice
1 ounce Stolichnaya cinnamon vodka
1/2 ounce Arak (Lebanese aperitif, similar to Sambuca)
1/2 ounce Chambord

Line base of rocks glass with vanilla sugar syrup.
Smash figs properly and place them in the glass.
Fill shaker with ice; add lemon juice, cinnamon vodka and Arak.
Shake hard.
Strain into rocks glass.
Add crushed ice.
Pour Chambord over it.
Garnish with split fig slice.

GLENEAGLES CLASSIC

Regis LeMaitre-Gleneagles Resort, Auchterader, Scotland

1 tablespoon sugar
1 dash Angostura bitters
1 dash Gran Marnier
Brut champagne

Pour champagne over other ingredients in cognac glass.

STORY TIME

Vlademir Milevski-Harbour Bar, Park Hyatt, Sydney, Australia

Basil
Lime
Mint
Antigua 1800 tequila
Vodka

Muddle the basil, lime and mint together.
Shake with the tequila and vodka.

GREY GOOSE MARTINI

Jonathan Nowak-The Hyatt on Capital Square, Columbus, Ohio

Grey Goose vodka
Vermouth
Olive juice

Combine the vodka and vermouth in a shaker filled with ice.
Add a touch of olive juice (not enough to make the martini dirty).
Shake well.
Serve in a chilled glass.

PINK GIN

Joe Gomes-The Park Hyatt, Toronto, Ontario

2 dashes Angostura bitters
1 shot gin
2-3 ice cubes

Pour the bitters into a glass with a stem and swirl
them around. Add the gin and ice cubes.

3-D WHISKEY SOUR

Thierry Hernandez-Hotel Plaza Athenee, Paris, France

First stage:
Line a short glass with griotte jelly, flavored with whiskey.
Top this up with griotte cherries preserved in brandy and a vanilla pod.

Second stage:
Make a classic cocktail containing caster sugar, lemon juice and whiskey.

Third stage:
Add a thin layer of soured whiskey mousse and a cocktail stick of caramelized popcorn.

ZEPHYR

Alan Riley-Zephyr on the Charles, Hyatt Regency, Cambridge, Mass.

1 1/4 ounce Midori
1 1/4 ounce Malibu rum
3/4 ounce banana liqueur
1 ounce pineapple juice

Shake together all ingredients and blend with ice.
Strain into a martini glass with a crooked stem.

SAM-I-AM

Sambonn Lek-Town & Country Lounge, Renaissance Mayflower Hotel,Washington, D.C.

2 ounce Absolut Citron
2-3 ounce cranberry juice
1/4 ounce amaretto

Mix ingredients in shaker.
Serve in chilled martini glass with a twist of lemon.