GUEST BARTENDER PROGRAM
The devastating combination of a tornado and a pandemic has the Nashville Hospitality Community reeling. There are many incredibly talented people without a place to work, so we’ve invited them to create special drinks for you to enjoy at home! These kits are priced at $59.99, which includes a $10 gratuity paid directly to the bartender who created it. Do some good, help these lovely people out in a difficult time, and throw back some delicious craft cocktails.
Kala Ellis – O-Ku Sushi Nashville
Kala taught for six years but has been in the industry for over 15 years. She sees mentorship and camaraderie as fundamental to any bar team. Between shifts and delivering your cocktail kits, she co-hosts two podcast series with Spirit of Rock called Pretty Good for a Girl and Love on the Rocks. In addition, she runs Gospel of Cocktail in which she offers a variety of educational and fun services for amateurs, professionals, bars, and events. Her cocktail menu curation has landed her on the Today in Nashville segment for each of the bars she’s represented over the past six years. Kala’s certifications include mixology, gin, brandy, whiskey and bourbon stewardship, sherry, and soon to add sake. Other than those obsessions, she loves her little siblings and Beyoncé a little more than anyone really should.
Kala’s Cocktail
Miracle Man – Lemon, Grapefruit, Mint, Molasses
Add Bourbon or your favorite Whiskey
Benjamin Rouse - Henley
Benjamin, the Head Bartender of Henley in Midtown Nashville, was born and raised here in town. He is a true Renaissance man of exceptional talents. Benjamin graduated from Nashville Auto Diesel College in 2007 and is a Diesel Mechanic by trade. He’s been in the Food & Beverage game for ten years and earned his stripes in the service industry at a local Red Lobster. You can guarantee he can still make a killer Bahama Mama. Over the past five plus years, his bartending career has catapulted him into wonderful challenges that he has met with charm and tenacity. In 2018, he became a Woodford Reserve Regional Finalist as the People’s Choice Winner. In 2019, he fought in the Fernet Branca Games as a Finalist. This year, he will again compete as a Woodford Reserve Regional Finalist in Nashville. He is a leader in the bartending community as USBG Nashville Chapter Board of Directors and Nashville Bartenders Foundation Board of Directors. If that weren’t enough, Benjamin is one of the most genuine people you could have the pleasure of meeting. He is a loving husband to his dear wife, Kalia and the ultimate Dog Father to four wonderful bulldogs: Xena, Reuben, Athena, and Ariya.
Ben’s Cocktail
Sip Awhile – Charred Blackberry, Pineapple, Black Tea
Add Scotch, Spiced Rum, or Tequila
Brandon Thomason-Maraschiello – Le Loup
Brandon has been in the industry for over 15 years and has worked as a bartender and bar manger. Working in conjunction with chefs he has kept an eye to flavor and style that fits any occasion. Brandon’s wife is a gifted visual artist. The couple lives in Murfreesboro with their spoiled dogs, Hank and Winnie. As a small family, they spend much of their time in the kitchen exploring fun flavors or in the studio painting. Professionally, Brandon was the bar manager at Grays on Main, a restaurant and craft cocktail bar. More recently he has worked at Vandyke Bed and Beverage in East Nashville and is eager to start back at the upcoming Le Loup cocktail bar near Germantown.
Brandon’s Cocktail
The Horse Doctor – Basil, Lemongrass, Ginger, Soda
Add Vodka or Whiskey
WHAT WE HAVE?
Holiday Cocktail Menu
Cocktail Kits – $59.99 per kit (comes with 3 quarts of mix, garnish, and ice)
Apple Cider Crusher – Apple, Allspice, Lemon, Orange Oil, Ginger
Incredible with any dark spirit (Whiskey, Brandy, Cognac, Rum, etc)
Prickly Pear Sour – Prickly Pear, Lemon, Cinnamon, Bergamot
Lovely with Whiskey or Vodka
Pomegranate Gimlet – Pomegranate, Lime, Clove
Delightful with Vodka or Gin
Caramel Apple Crusher – Apple, Honey, Lemon, Black Tea, Vanilla Bean
Marvelous with just about anything
WORLD FAMOUS QUARTAMARGARITAS – Lime, Agave, Blanco Tequila
Also available in Blood Orange, Blackberry Cinnamon, or Super Skinny
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Who We Are
Bar Alliance Nashville provides from-scratch, all-natural ingredients to the top bars, restaurants, hotels, arenas, and hospitality venues throughout the state of Tennessee. Conceived as an artisanal company hand-crafting crystal clear cocktail ice, Bar Alliance has grown to provide a variety of Specialty Ice, custom cocktail mixes, menu design services, event logistics, and venue management.
OUR SERVICES
Crystal Clear Cocktail Ice
Our large format ice keeps your drink chilled without flavoring or diluting it.
Fresh Juice
All of our juices are 100% natural, with no stabilizers or preservatives.
From-Scratch Cocktail Mix
Base off your existing recipes or create new blends to your specifications.
Custom Syrup
We create custom non alcoholic syrups from scratch. If you have existing recipes we can replicate them to your specifications.
Meet the Team
Matt Buttel
Matt Buttel fell in love with the hospitality business while avoiding his classwork at the University of Notre Dame. A fifteen-year Nashville resident, he has been on the opening team of several award-winning projects including the Hutton Hotel (Conde Nast Traveler Hot List 2010) and Pinewood Social (2014 James Beard Semifinalist – Best New Restaurant). Matt is the founding President of the Nashville Chapter of the United States Bartenders Guild.
Freddy Schwenk
Freddy Schwenk was recognized as Eater Nashville’s 2015 “Bartender of the Year” for his work at Food Network host Chef Maneet Chauhan’s Nashville outpost, Chauhan Ale House. He has overseen menu design and implementation at Nashville venues Bar Luca, Sinema, Geist, and Vandyke Bed and Beverage. Freddy’s drinks have been published on www.punchdrink.com (as well as in their forthcoming iconic classics book), www.talesofthecocktail.com, www.buzzfeed.com, www.playboy.com, and is a contributor to Playboy’s “Bartender Confidential” series. He lives in Nashville with his wife Anastacia.
Serving The Following Cities
Client Testimonials
“First off, the syrups and fresh juices are divine! Let’s get that straight. We’ve also used some custom ice for some of our feature drinks. Where we got the most bang for our book was with Nashville Ice Lab helping us create our Boozy Slushy program. It became everything we expected and more. Now our Boozy Slushies are a pillar of our company model, outselling our other cocktails 4-1. This team is top-notch with the experience to work with and help define any concept.”
“I have had the privileged of working with Bar Alliance in multiple capacities and have always been more than satisfied. My personal favorite aspect of this company is the ease of service. The most important thing to them is making everything for their clients as simple and pain free as possible. It makes running a business much easier knowing that the step involving Bar Alliance is never something we have to worry about. We come up with what we want and we know that it will get done. Highly recommend this group for anything ice, juice, or cocktail associated.”
“The quality of the product and service that Nashville Bar Alliance offers is top notch. Attention to detail is what our guests expect from us, and Nashville Bar Alliance helps us meet that expectation. Being able to count on their consistency and standards on product quality, enables our staff to focus more of their time on creating and developing the type of experience that has kept guests returning to our concepts for years. The services they provide help us continue to take our game onward and upward. And damn that ice is sexy!”
“I can’t say enough about how crucial Bar Alliance has been to what we’re doing at Attaboy here in Nashville. We rely so heavily on large format ice for every aspect of our service, we have multiple needs and a consistently growing business. Through every step in our first year and a half, they have maintained exceptional communication, while adapting to our evolving needs, with quality service at every step of the way.”
“Matt and Nashville Bar Alliance have been a wonderful vendor for our small business. High quality clear ice is essential to our bar program and Nashville Bar Alliance consistently provides a great product for us. Matt is very attentive to our needs and continues to accommodate delivery schedules that work around our hours. I highly recommend working with them!”
