Ira Koplowitz worked for more than two years at the Violet Hour in Chicago, where he developed a number of house-made syrups, tonics and bitters. At Violet Hour, Ira worked as a bartender and a manager, and contributed cocktails to more than a year’s worth of seasonal cocktail menus. Beyond bartending, Koplowitz has traveled extensively, eating and drinking his way across forty countries, spanning five continents.

Nick Kosevich helped open the Town Talk Diner in Minneapolis with mentors Tim Niver and Aaron Johnson. Nick crafted as many house-made products as possible, including a number of bitters and liqueurs. For three and a half years, Nick helped transform the collective palate of the Twin Cities from reserved sippers to educated imbibers. Kosevich won nearly every bartending award in Minneapolis while at “TTD” and went undefeated en route to winning the first annual Iron Bartender Competition in 2009.

Together, Ira and Nick formed Bittercube in 2009, where they pooled their knowledge of bitters creation and recipes together to create the six varieties of Bittercube bitters, which reaches country-wide wholesale and distribution locations. Bittercube, additionally, consults with bars and restaurants across the Midwest, creating cocktail menus and training bartenders. In Chicago, Bittercube trained the bar staff at Union Sushi & BBQ and Chizakaya. They also helped initiate a cocktail program at The Charleston. Most recently, Nick & Ira became partners at Eat Street Social in Minneapolis, where they hired and trained the bar staff, designed the layout of the bar and can be seen behind the stick on occasion. Bittercube has been featured in the likes of Food & Wine Magazine, Wall Street Journal, Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food, Playboy, Imbibe Magazine, Chicago Tribune and Timeout.

Sadly, Nick will be unable to attend this event, so it will only be taught by Ira.