Dante Lopresti

Dante was born in Scottsdale, Arizona. In 2008, he moved to Chicago to gather new experiences. His first time behind the bar was working for various caters in the Chicago area, then becoming a bareback at a Wrigleyville establishment. The biggest turning point for him was joining the Academy of Spirits, where, under the mentorship of Master Mixologist Bridget Albert, realized the incredible opportunity to take his craft to a new level. After a trying first year in Chicago and almost moving back to Arizona, he began working at Mercadito and Double A under the tutelage of New York City’s Tippling Bros., Paul Tanguay and Tad Carducci. There, he cut his teeth in a high volume market fresh cocktail concept specializing in Tequila and Mezcal. After competing in various competitions, continuing education at the Advanced
Culinary Mixology Academy, and designing specialty cocktails for various restaurant bar menus, in May of 2011, he won the National Restaurant Association’s International Spirits, Wine and Beer Event competition, Star of the Bar. Since then, he has opened the newly acclaimed Barrelhouse Flat, featuring a cocktail list of over 60+ old classics as well as contributing to the rotating house cocktail list. Recently, Dante was honored by Grey Goose to be featured on Sundance Channel’s ‘Beyond the Bar.’ He is currently the resident bartender-mixologist for Diageo’s downtown Chicago office and Cuvee nightclub.

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Marty Nachel

Marty Nachel has been involved in the craft beer renaissance for the past 25 years. He is an award-winning homebrewer, a Certified Beer Judge and a book author of renown. His works include “ Beer for Dummies ” and “ Homebrewing for Dummies.”

Nachel’s palate has been expertly honed since he became a Certified Beer Judge in 1986 (the first in the state of Illinois). He served as a beer evaluator at the Beverage Testing Institute in Chicago, a finalist judge at the Sam Adams LongShot Competition in Boston, and he serves on the Panel of Professional Beer Judges at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver.

He has attained the first level of certification through the Cicerone® Certification program and has recently launched his own Ale-Conner Beer Certification™ program at www.beerexam.com.

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Nichole Boyce

Nichole Boyce has been working in the industry for about five years but her love of tea culture began in middle school when Japanese exchange students came to stay with one of her close friends. Never imagining she could have a career in tea, Nichole pursued her other passion, teaching. While finishing her degree, she continued to work in tea and jumped on the chance to be a part of Adagio Tea’s first retail experience where she could combine both tea and teaching. Currently, Nichole spends her days teaching tea classes for Adagio’s customers and staff members covering a variety of topics from brewing to tea basics to sensory training. Recently, she attended classes with the Specialty Tea Institute (STI) and completed Levels 1 and 2 with plans to continue through level 5 since tea education is an ongoing process. What she loves most about tea is how steeped in tradition and culture it truly is; it’s unlike any beverage in America.

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Ryan Hart

For nearly a decade, Ryan Hart lived in Japan, where he held advisory positions at multiple banks. When he wasn’t working, he would hone his knowledge of sake by canvassing the industry and imbibing different styles from all over the country. Fluent in Japanese and passionate about promoting everything Japan, Ryan returned to the US in July 2011 to share his interests with Chicago. Ryan is a Certified Sake Professional (Gauntner’s Sake Council) and brings the Chicago sake market a fresh approach and appreciation of the beverage, along with a deep understanding of the culture that surrounds the rice brew. He is currently the Managing Director of Chicago Sake, an authority on sake in the Chicago Market.

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