Remembering Bar Trade Veteran Chris Patino

Chris Patino was beloved within the bar world. This was evident throughout his closing public look at the latest Bartender’s Weekend, the San Diego-based commerce occasion he co-founded. It was technically an occasion for Teremana, the tequila he helped develop by means of his brand-building firm Easy Serve. The second Patino arrived, the packed crowd inside Swan Bar’s cozy neighborhood confines burst into joyful tear-streaked whooping, giving option to rhythmic chants of “Patino! Patino!” in a sing-song meter often reserved for famous person athletes. It was bittersweet.

Patino handed away on Friday, October 18 after a four-year battle with pancreatic most cancers. His intensive checklist of achievements confirms his stamp on the bar business. Patino was a frequent host of the favored cocktail competitors Velocity Rack, a World’s 50 Finest Bar choose, and associate of San Diego bar Raised by Wolves. He was additionally an award-winning model ambassador and mentor largely credited with constructing New Orleans’ cocktail neighborhood.

Above all, Patino was liked by many.

“Chris was all coronary heart and will make anybody really feel like crucial individual on the planet,” says Neal Bodenheimer, associate of the New Orleans bar Remedy. “Chris created neighborhood wherever he went. That’s simply who he was, a connector of individuals, and a pal that all the time had your again whether or not you talked each day or yearly.”

Patino was identified to uplift and assist the bartending neighborhood. 

“I believe that some of the impactful issues about Chris was his want to assist individuals discover the greatness in themselves,” says Erin Hayes, bar advisor and co-founder of the Black Lagoon bar pop-up. “He watched as I took steps ahead in my profession and was all the time fast to say congratulations, but additionally made positive to say that he was pleased with my accomplishments.”

Portland-based bartender, author, and bar advisor Jeffrey Morgenthaler credit Patino for connecting him to a life-changing task. 

“Chris devoted his profession to serving to bartenders, and for that, I can be perpetually grateful,” says Morgenthaler. “It was this generosity that led him to me for a particular venture a few years in the past, a venture that allowed me to lastly have the ability to afford to purchase a house. And I’ll always remember him for that.”

Patino’s magnetic persona and love for the drinks neighborhood made him a pure match to emcee large-scale cocktail occasions.  

“Chris was the primary iconic host of Velocity Rack, and he was a pure onstage,” says Lynnette Marrero, Velocity Rack co-founder. “He had a band again in San Diego, so when he was up there, he knew command a stage, however in a manner that didn’t middle on him. It all the time centered on the competing bartenders.”

Those that knew Patino effectively additionally noticed him as a loyal household man who was a relentless assist for his spouse Heather and their three youngsters. “It needs to be talked about that to know Chris was to understand how a lot he liked Heather,” says Anne Louise Marquise, commerce advocacy lead at Campari America. “They have been a real partnership and an inspiration to me. They nonetheless are.”

As Patino battled most cancers, he refused to set his beloved business apart. He used his journey as a tentpole to assist others. He served on the advisory council for the business nonprofit One other Spherical One other Rally and established a program that supplied monetary support for hospitality employees all of a sudden confronted with a most cancers analysis. 

“The a part of his life that impressed me essentially the most was how he took on his battle with most cancers,” says Simon Ford, founding father of Ford’s Gin and Patino’s former boss at Pernod-Ricard. “He continued to supply for his household and churn out much more nice work. I nonetheless don’t fairly understand how he did it.”

Patino leaves behind an enormous legacy inside modern cocktail tradition. 

“You take a look at Chris, and also you see that he was a lynchpin at so many key factors of the fashionable craft cocktail renaissance,” says Erick Castro, Patino’s associate in Raised by Wolves and Bartender’s Weekend. “I do really feel like he had so many extra vital issues nonetheless forward of him to do, and that’s why it’s such a devastating loss to the business as a complete.”

Patino’s true impression is not going to essentially be his work or his skilled achievements. Will probably be the individual he was.

“My life would look fully totally different if it wasn’t for Chris taking me below his wing,” says Jesse Peterson, who co-founded Patino’s Pickle Barrel Bitters along with her long-time pal. “Patino selflessly poured himself into others by being caring, trustworthy, and passionate. By way of his unimaginable battle with most cancers, he stayed sturdy and resilient, and he was nonetheless the sunshine within the room. As gracious and humble as he was, he was simply as humorous and enjoyable. The get together all the time adopted him.”