The head bartender of the Lovers Bar at Friday Saturday Sunday — one of Rittenhouse's most acclaimed restaurants — recently was named as one of Wine Enthusiast's Future 40 Tastemakers.
Paul MacDonald was the only honoree from Pennsylvania, with the outlet citing his creative and methodical approach to his craft.
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Wine Enthusiast says it releases the annual list as a way to highlight people in the industry who "inspire innovation and are bringing the drinks industry into the future."
"It's a huge honor to be acknowledge by a prestigious publication like Wine Enthusiast and to join the incredible slate of honorees past and present," MacDonald said. "It's always been my goal to push Philadelphia's bar scene ever further into the national conversation, and I'm very grateful for this recognition."
MacDonald taught himself the craft of bartending in 2010 and has worked at Friday Saturday Sunday, located at 261 S. 21st St., since 2016.
Last year, the Bethlehem native unveiled a cocktail menu called the Carousel, which features a list of 21 spirits, liqueurs and fortified wines arranged in a circle on a lazy Susan-like wheel. Customers spin the contraption to reveal five different ingredients that are incorporated into a mixed drink using a ratio that mimics the Fibonacci sequence (1/4 ounce, 1/4 ounce, 1/2 ounce, 3/4 ounce, and 1 1/4 ounces). Since the ingredients can be read clockwise and counterclockwise, there are 42 possible cocktail recipes.
MacDonald's decadelong effort to create the Carousel has resulted in a deceptively simple and engaging game of chance — and now a mention as one of the nation's most innovative bartenders.
"The game plays into MacDonald's philosophy of a bartender being responsible for not only mixing drinks but also managing a bar's social scene and setting an example for how they want their clientele to behave," MacDonald's entry reads.
When asked by the publication what trends he's looking forward to seeing in the beverage industry, MacDonald encouraged a return of "affordable, low-concept cocktail bars."
"We saw a ton of places open nationwide that execute simple, classic cocktails excellently without charging an arm and a leg, and I applaud that," he said.
This summer, the Lovers Bar received a James Beard Award nomination in the outstanding bar category. In 2023, Friday Saturday Sunday won a James Beard Award for outstanding restaurant.
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