Northern Michigan,
hand-poured.
Wedding and private event bartending throughout Traverse City and Northern Michigan, with beverage direction, original cocktails, and seamless service designed around the full experience of your event.
Signature Cocktails
Every gathering deserves a drink worth raising in celebration. Original recipes are crafted around your taste, your story, or what matters most to you, finished with a custom name, a thoughtfully chosen garnish, and presentation suited to your event.
Hospitality
A mindset, not just a service. Needs are anticipated before they’re spoken and quietly met, turning a great celebration into the best one, so everyone there is free to simply live inside the moment.
Beverage Planning
Details are considered well in advance, from quality ingredients to quantities that fit your event and your budget. Sourcing is planned early and locked in ahead of time, so there are no last minute surprises, only a smooth, well stocked celebration.
Cocktail Classes
Private cocktail classes offer a hands on look at the technique and philosophy behind the craft. Intimate, focused, and full of real conversation, these sessions leave you with more than a few recipes. You’ll learn the roots behind the drinks, so you can keep creating long after the class ends.
A host at heart.
Nic is from the Catskills of upstate New York, where he grew up around small-town hospitality — the kind of place where every guest is treated like a regular. Military service shaped his sense of duty, preparation, and calm under pressure — standards that now define his work as a professional bartender. Northern Michigan has become his home.
His career began more than a decade ago in a Chicago neighborhood bar and grew through Michelin Bib Gourmand-awarded restaurants and boutique hotels across the Midwest. Along the way, his work has been covered by Imbibe, Whisky Advocate, MarketWatch, UPROXX, and WGN-TV.
In 2024, he won Diageo's Traverse City speed bartending competition, and in 2026 was named a Diageo World Class Top 100 Bartender.
In Their Own Words
Real reviews from clients Nic has had the pleasure of serving at weddings, private events, and celebrations throughout Northern Michigan.
Nic the Bartender made our wedding reception so much fun! We loved the custom his & hers cocktails (and our guests are still talking about them!). Everything went very smoothly. Highly recommend for any wedding or event!
Nic was the star of the show for our wedding. He helped curate a fabulous wine pairing with our menu and was exceptional in all things service — punctual, professional, memorable. Guests loved him and his team. Would highly recommend and work with him again!
Nic is awesome... very knowledgeable, flexible, funny, friendly, knows how to make excellent drinks. Nic and his staff were a great addition to our wedding. No hesitation necessary, if you're thinking of working with Nic just do it.
Nic was our bartender for a corporate event and he blew it out of the water! His set up was very aesthetic and he could make any requested cocktail. He stayed late each night to help us take down and clean up. Hands down would hire Nic again!!
Nic may be the best bartender I have had make me a drink. His encyclopedic knowledge of drinks is only matched by his warmth, wit, and charm... his professionalism, care, and attention have set a new bar for me.
Highly recommend Nic because he has passion and creativity for the craft. He is perfect for your next venue!
His ability to make a cocktail based on my mood is astounding. Maybe that's why I've been showing up on his shifts for the last 6 months….
Nic…is one of the most amazing bartenders we've encountered! His cocktails are superior and always with a smile! And boy does he hustle!
Nic the bartender custom crafted some amazing cocktails for us, all based on what we told him we liked.
Nic was very accommodating and poured the best drinks I've ever had in my life. Don't miss out! This guy is great.