Episode #182 - Chase Bracamontes of Chef’s Special Cocktail Bar

Chase Bracamontes grew up chasing triple axels as a competitive figure skater, but these days her rink is the bar and the dining room. She is the former wine and spirits director at The Publican and now partner and beverage director at Chef’s Special Cocktail Bar in Chicago, whose path from junior-elite ice rinks to a Chinese American cocktail bar says a lot about how she thinks about pressure, comfort, and hospitality. She joins us in the studio to talk about how a life defined by competition turned into a career built on creating places people actually want to haunt. This week, we’re talking what defines a cocktail classic, how New York and Chicago hospitality cultures shape the people working inside them, how serving American Chinese food means embracing both the comfort it brings and the conversations it inevitably sparks, and so much more!