Award-winning bartender Julio Cabrera is a very lucky man.
He came from a family in Cuba that had owned bars, but he didn’t consider it as a career until he decided to study hotel management. Everything changed when he attended his first bartending class.
“Since the day I stepped behind that bar, I knew it was for me,” he says. “Before that, I was like a fish out of water. Behind the bar, I felt I had been there all my life.”
Bartending combined everything Cabrera loved: from people, entertainment and service to creating just the right drink for every customer. He eventually left Cuba and traveled the globe – working in Cyprus, Italy and Mexico along the way – to develop the skills of a great cantinero, the Cuban term for bartender. Finally, he settled in Miami with his wife, Beatriz; son, Andy; and daughter, Guadalupe.
Over time, Cabrera, 56, has picked up a stream of awards, from Most Imaginative Bartender in 2013 to Bartender of the Year in 2019. That was the year he opened Cafe La Trova with acclaimed Chef Michelle Bernstein in Little Havana. The pandemic hit soon after, but it didn’t diminish Cabrera’s optimism or creativity.
In fact, he found ways to give back to his own profession. He recently partnered with Santa Teresa 1796, a premium Venezuelan rum brand, and Shaker & Spoon, a subscription cocktail box, to create a cocktail kit, with proceeds going to bartenders struggling financially due to the pandemic.
Unveiled in July, the Santa Teresa 1796 La Trova Old Fashioned Cocktail Kit includes everything needed to create Cabrera’s famous coffee-infused Old Fashioned. By the end of August, this initial offering was sold out, but the kits will restock this month.
Looking toward the future, Cabrera admits he doesn’t expect La Trova to fully reopen until 2021. But he does have additional dreams for the restaurant: He hopes to open a small bartending school there to pass on everything he’s learned.
“Teaching is very important,” he says. “Knowledge and skills are essential in this profession if you want to be a great bartender.”