J.A. Harrison

Photo by Amanda Harrison

Photo by Amanda Harrison

After moving to Tennessee from Colorado Springs, CO, J.A. Harrison began his Nashville bartending journey at 51st Kitchen and Bar in The Nations, where he was promoted to lead bartender after a few short months. He studied culinary techniques under executive chef Francesco Vito and fashioned a beverage programme to reflect and compliment Vito’s hyper-local-seasonal farm-to-table menu. Using fresh herbs that he cultivated in their on-premise produce garden, J.A. developed recipes for all of the housemade syrups, tinctures and tonics which he used in curating a seasonally-rotating menu of house cocktails. While lead bartender for 51st Kitchen and Bar, J.A. competed in and placed in Nashville’s inaugural Commonwealth cocktail competition.

Following his time at 51st Kitchen and Bar, J.A. moved to Pinewood Social where he studied for a year under the tutelage of Nashville industry giant Matt Tocco. While there, he participated in creating the official “Nashville Gin” for the United States Bartenders’ Guild at Edinburgh Gin’s “Science of Distillation” laboratory with head distiller Dave Wilkinson. Representing Pinewood Social in Nashville’s second annual Commonwealth cocktail competition, J.A. took home the 1st place grand prize for the winning cocktail.

After joining the Makeready team in September of 2017 to help open Noelle Nashville, J.A. was named a 2017 Espolòn “Cocktail Fights” regional finalist; won the USBG Southern Regionals for an absinthe distillation education in the Val de Travers, Switzerland, as a 2018 Kübler “Reimagining the Classics” national champion; was named a top-ten 2018 Castle & Key “Restoration Release” national finalist; was selected as one of eight bartenders to represent the City of Nashville at the 2018 Music City Food and Wine Festival to create the 2018 Official Drink of Nashville; took home 2nd place as the runner-up of the 2018 Espolòn “Cocktail Fights;” and was named a top-eight finalist in the 2019 National Restaurant Association Show’s “Star of the Bar” cocktail competition.

Upon accepting a position in March of 2019 to direct the beverage programme for Make a Play Hospitality Group, J.A. Harrison advanced to the top-ten international finals for North, Central, and South America in Brugal 1888’s “Nearly Neat” 2019 cocktail competition, where he placed 3rd out of an initial 500 contestants for the Americas; was named one of the top-three winners in Dave Wondrich’s “Punchout” in conjunction with the 2019 Nashville Cocktail Festival; was named in the Nashville Post as “Someone with such an extraordinary mix of culinary and bartending talents to curate some of the most innovative cocktails in the world;” and finished 3rd in the Lux Row Bourbon Battle out of 200 applicants.

In 2019, after making it to the International Artists Day "The Art of the Cocktail" Top 25, and then moving on to the Top 3, J.A. was named the 2019 International Artists Day “Celebrity Bartist in Residence” presented by Chilled Magazine and Van Gogh Vodka for crafting the winning cocktail "The Sadness Will Not Last Forever." He has had his cocktails "After the Bellwether" and "Sobremesa" published in Chilled Magazine, and was chosen to design the official 2019 Fernet-Branca coin for the state of Tennessee on behalf of Fratelli Branca and Branca USA.

After joining the Rocket Farm Restaurants team in August 2019 to help open The Optimist Nashville, he took home the first place title in the Grey Goose “Espresso Yourself” martini cocktail competition for crafting the winning cocktail, Star Baker; was named as a Chilled 100 inductee; won the J.P. Wiser's submission category for 375 Park Avenue Spirits' “Toast to the Service Industry” contest; was named a top-ten 2020 finalist in Castle & Key's “Restoration Release” competition; has had his drinks “Yacht Rock” and “Casa de Cocalero” published by Chilled Magazine; and was named a Top-20 Global Finalist in Novo Fogo’s 2022 “Bar Strength” cocktail competition, presented by Chilled Magazine and 375 Park Ave Spirits.

In October of 2020, J.A. was awarded the 2020 Best Bartender title in the Nashville Scene. Most recently, J.A. took home the first place prize for creating the winning cocktail at the 2021 Nashville Cocktail Festival’s Desert Door Bartenders Competition for crafting the winning cocktail, Fountain of Youth; was selected by Fratelli Branca and Branca USA to design the official 2021 Fernet-Branca coin for the State of Tennessee; was renamed Nashville’s Best Bartender for the second year in a row in the 2021 Nashville Scene’s Best of Nashville Awards; and was named a Top-20 International Finalist in Le Grand Courtage’s 2022 “Live Joyously” cocktail competition, presented by Chilled Magazine.

Since accepting a position as the Bar Director for Honeytree Meadery, J.A. has been chosen by Fratelli Branca and Branca USA to design the official 2022 National Fernet-Branca Education coin; was named a Top-20 Global Finalist in Novo Fogo’s 2023 “Bossa Nova” cocktail competition, presented by Chilled Magazine and 375 Park Ave Spirits; was named a Top-3 “Nashville’s Best Bartender” in the Nashville Scene’s Best of Nashville 2023; and created Tennessee’s 2023 “Best Cocktail” as awarded by the Tennessee Pride Chamber.

After spending two years as the Chair of Events’ Coordination for the Nashville chapter of the United States Bartenders’ Guild, J.A. was elected by the Nashville bartending community as their USBG Chapter President, a role in which he served until moving on to serve as Director of the Board. Throughout that time and beyond, he has been committed to making Nashville’s blossoming beverage community a rich and thriving environment for all to grow and practice their craft, while simultaneously focusing on re-tuning the industry’s attentions toward the importance of environmental sustainability and on caring for the health and mental-wellness needs of Nashville's service professionals.

J.A. believes in the Earth and is committed to giving back to her. As an avid amateur gardener, beekeeper, and forager, he is continually seeking out ways to improve sustainability, reduce carbon footprint, provide for bees and butterflies and preserve the planet, all the while delving deeper into the rich and storied history of the herbs and botanical compounds that are quintessential to producing the great spirits and cocktails of his trade. When you don’t see him behind the bar or outside cultivating his garden, you can find him at any Tennessee state park; camping, hiking, and paddleboarding with his partner and their three dogs.

Contact:

jaharrison@cloud-monger.com

615-892-4786

 

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