Vincenzo Marianella aka the Godfather of Cocktails was one of the pioneers of the cocktail revival in Los Angeles. He ran the program at Providence and Cedd Moses' now defunct private club, The Doheny. Then he opened up Copa d'Oro in 2009 and has been behind the bar there ever since. You can find him there Wednesday through Saturday. Marianella does consult on other bar programs every now and then like Manhattan Beach's Love & Salt but prefers to keep in contact with guests. "I like to be in the hospitality industry. I'm fascinated by the history of spirits and the effect that they had over the community where the distilleries were built, and the same for the bars."

Amazingly Justin Pike has been working the bar at Chef Casey Lane's Tasting Kitchen in Venice since it opened seven years ago. And yet he still managed to be tapped as one of Food and Wine's Best New Mixologists for 2016. When he's not behind the bar, he's probably barrel-aging Negronis or creating amazing chalk art on the restaurant's blackboard.

The chefs may have come and gone from The Corner Door but Bartender of the Year 2014 Beau du Bois continues to hold down the fort, four to five nights a week. "I always wanted to be behind the bar for a few reasons, mostly so I could hear the very candid responses to all the cocktails we serve," he says.

Beverage director Ryan Wainwright has his skilled hands in the cocktail programs for Bombet Hospitality's Terrine, Faith and Flower, and Hanjip. And yet you can also still find him at Terrine Friday and Saturday nights. Why? Because he just likes to be behind the bar and make sure his guests are enjoying a moment they'll always remember. "Being behind the bar is why I started bartending and without that aspect I would really feel like I was some sort of paper pusher/ideas man," he says. "I'm the guy who likes to facilitate an awesome experience for random people that come into his home."

The real OG bartender here is Eric "ET" Tecosky. The creator of the Surfer on Acid shot and Dirty Sue olive juice has been slinging drinks at Jones since 2001. "There's an energy behind the bar that I feel really lucky to have the opportunity to experience — most bartenders I know would say the same," he says. "The rush is incredible with so many moving parts at one time. The goal is always the same — leave the customer feeling better than when they walked in. I love it."

When you take a seat at the bar at Birch in front of Gabriella Mlynarczyk, you're entrusting your evening to one of L.A.'s best. She's created the cocktail menus for ink, Cadet, and now Chef Brendan Collins' Birch. And even though she has a popular drink blog, Loving Cup, and is currently working on a book, you can actually find her shaking up cocktails at the bar Friday through Monday. "My time behind the bar is time that I spend honing my skills," she says. "I’m always trying to think about how to make a drink better and how to improve flavor and/or presentation."

Michael Lay may be a big shot beverage director whose English Milk Punch (for Faith & Flower) was named cocktail of 2014 by Esquire Magazine but he hasn't let any of that get to his head. He still very much enjoys interacting with guests in the restaurant on a regular basis (Tuesday through Saturday and sometimes Sunday and Monday). "I thrive during a busy, challenging night. I'm fortunate that I work with an exceptional team behind the bar, in the dining room and in the kitchen."

Even after Tobin Shea transitioned from bar manager to beverage director for Redbird you can drop by the restaurant most nights and find him stirring cocktails. He still puts in the 50 hours because that's when he gets his epiphanies. "I have had my greatest a-ha moments for cocktail creation while working behind the bar," he says. "It typically happens on a slow lunch or the end of a shift, but it's advantageous to have all the ingredients at your fingertips."