Mint/820

Nightclub & Bar Magazine - Four Women to Watch
In an industry that was once dominated by men, women are shaking up a great deal more than cracked ice and cranberry juice these days. From mixology to marketing, bartending to big business, the industry owes a debt of gratitude to female fortitude. Nightclub & Bar salutes four of America's most successful women in the industry -- Julie Reiner, Lucy Brennan, Bridget Albert and Ann Rogers.

Lucy Brennan, Mixologist
Owner of Mint and 820, Portland, Oregon
Before she was behind the bar at her attached Portland, Ore., venues Mint restaurant and 820 Lounge, you might have met West Coast bar maven Lucy Brennan at the Park Hyatt in San Francisco -- managing the room service staff. She then moved on to Oregon's Saucebox restaurant around 1994. Twelve years later, Brennan's mixology has prompted a book deal, bartending classes taught in two locations in Portland and a spot for her on Playboy.com's latest "A-list: America's Top Bartenders." Why? Who else puts beets and avocados in cocktails and makes them seem as inherent as the vodka?

In the spring of 2001, Brennan opened her restaurant Mint, named after the Greek symbol of hospitality, and began a venture of alchemy behind a pile of West Coast, fresh produce.

"I think it is definitely a different style of cocktail making," she says. "The West Coast is a little more liberal, and the East Coast is definitely more traditional. At the same time, I do believe, if you are going to come up with an avocado daiquiri, you have to know your classic cocktails. You can't just jump in at the deep end."

Brennan's journey to becoming a big fish in the pond has been littered with editorial accolades, including recognition in both Bon App�tit and Food & Wine, and along the way in 2003, she opened Mint's sister space, 820 Lounge. Eventually, her new bar added a tad too much notoriety.

"I wasn't actually able to do the bartending anymore," Brennan says. "It wasn't like I couldn't do it, it was that people wanted to talk to me and ask me questions about drinks -- which is lovely -- but I couldn't actually do my job." The solution came in the form of classes. Brennan currently teaches in two locations in Portland -- behind the bar of 820 and at In Good Taste across town.

"My demographic is the people that are not in the industry," she says. "I love it when I am at my local store, and an older lady, who has just taken my class, comes up to me and says, �Lucy, I made some drinks. They were great.'"

On top of her busy life running two venues, teaching and occasionally consulting, Brennan's first book, "Hip Sips," recently was published by Chronicle Books of San Francisco. Inside the slick covers are recipes for the classics, Brennan's own concoctions featuring everything from fig puree to rhubarb syrup and a few Mocktails, for those who want a virgin sip.

link - Nightclub & Bar Magazine - Four Women to Watch