MixBurgh 2026: November 8 to 10, Downtown Pittsburgh

Leads the nation's first Office of Nighttime Economy, connecting Pittsburgh's bars, restaurants, and venues with City departments and their neighbors. In the field since 1996, she has helped more than 50 U.S. and Canadian cities plan and grow their nightlife. She serves as president of the Nighttime Economy Culture and Policy Alliance (NITE-CAP) and sits on the board of the Responsible Hospitality Institute.

Owner of The Portland Hunt + Alpine Club, a two-time James Beard Award semifinalist for Outstanding Bar Program, and co-author of Northern Hospitality.

Angela Santucci Mazza started Sip With Angela in 2023 to share drink recipes, find new spots, and spotlight the people behind Pittsburgh's cocktail scene.

A San Francisco cocktail writer and educator, author of Doctors & Distillers and The Ice Book, and publisher of Alcademics.com. He also gives talks, teaches water tasting classes, and leads cocktail history tours.

Co-founder and CEO of Gin & Luck, the hospitality company behind Death & Co, Close Company, and Municipal Grand Hotel. He co-wrote three acclaimed Death & Co cocktail books for Ten Speed Press, with a fourth in development.

Manages projects in VisitPITTSBURGH's Ten-Year Tourism Development Plan. She holds a hospitality management degree and a master's in Food Studies with a concentration in Sustainable Culinary Tourism.

A craft cocktail bartender with more than 12 years in hospitality. Eva started bartending in Pittsburgh in 2020 and co-piloted the SS Oasis at Space Bar before moving to Maine. She now works the bar at Hunt + Alpine in Portland's Old Port.

Runs the bar at Brooklyn's Sunken Harbor Club. VinePair's 2024 Next Wave Bartender of the Year and co-author of Tropical Standard.

Jim Hough is co-founder of Liberty Pole Spirits, a family-owned craft distillery in Washington, Pennsylvania, that he founded with his wife, Ellen, and sons, Rob and Kevin. Since opening in 2016, Liberty Pole has grown from a small downtown distillery into one of Pennsylvania's most recognized whiskey producers, with a destination distillery, restaurant, and traditional five-story barrelhouse. Inspired by Western Pennsylvania's Whiskey Rebellion history, Jim and his family have focused on helping revive the region's historic whiskey-making tradition, particularly Pennsylvania rye. Jim also serves on the board of the Pennsylvania Distillers Guild.

Founder and lead designer of House of Departure, a hospitality design and operations studio, and founder of Cincinnati's Home Makers Bar and Fifty Fifty Gin Club. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Food & Wine, and Interior Design, and she is a two-time winner of Cincinnati CityBeat's Best Female Bartender.

Master distiller at St. George Spirits in Alameda, California, and a former U.S. Navy nuclear engineer. A member of the Whisky Magazine Hall of Fame and a five-time James Beard Foundation nominee for Outstanding Wine, Spirits, or Beer Producer.

Managing editor and photographer of The Mix, Robert Simonson's cocktail newsletter.

Leads Toronto's Mother, No. 22 on North America's 50 Best Bars, built on house ferments from its own cellar. World Class Canada Bartender of the Year.

A Pittsburgh native with more than 20 years in hospitality, including a decade with the teams behind SUSHISAMBA, Duck & Waffle, and SUGARCANE. She founded the consultancy FUN PEOPLE in 2018, opened the first Balvanera in New York, and came home with her partner, Chef Fernando Navas, to open Balvanera in the Strip District.

Pittsburgh-born. Came up through Pegu Club and Death & Co, created the Oaxaca Old-Fashioned in 2007, and opened Mayahuel, winner of the 2010 Spirited Award for World's Best New Cocktail Bar.

Longtime New York Times cocktail writer and author of A Proper Drink, a history of the craft cocktail revival. He will stop at MixBurgh on his fall tour for Bourbon and Rye Cocktails, his eighth cocktail book.

Head of Product at Empirical, with more than ten years developing alcoholic beverages. He tastes, tests, and refines until unexpected ingredients become distinct, expressive spirits.

Author of Pittsburgh Drinks: A History of Cocktails, Nightlife & Bartending Tradition and owner of Poetry Lounge in Millvale, a literary cocktail and dive bar whose press has published more than 20 local authors.

An award-winning writer, bartender, and restaurateur. He co-founded Gage & Tollner, the landmark Downtown Brooklyn chop house, and founded the Sunken Harbor Club, with bars in Brooklyn and Bermuda. His writing has appeared in Bon Appétit, Saveur, Imbibe, PUNCH, and Oxford American.

Florería Atlántico in Buenos Aires ranked No. 3 on The World's 50 Best Bars in 2019 and opened a Georgetown location in Washington, D.C., in 2025. In 2020, his peers voted him the winner of the Altos Bartenders' Bartender Award.

Founded Second Story Spirits between the Strip District and Lawrenceville after more than 20 years in beverage alcohol, most of them developing liqueurs and RTDs. He enjoys fly fishing, cycling, woodworking, and crunchy snacks, and his favorite show is Bob's Burgers.