Steve "Carpi" Carpentieri, The Soul of "Hey Bartender"
Hey Bartender is a documentary about the renaissance of cocktail culture, directed by Douglas Tirola. Set against the backdrop of craft cocktail bars, with comments from leading bartenders across the country, the movie follows two bartenders, Steve Schneider (Employees Only) and Steve “Carpi” Carpentieri, the owner of Dunville’s in Westport, Connecticut. Hey Bartender debuted at this year’s SXSW Film Festival, and after its theatrical premiere in New York last month, embarked on a barnstorming tour of limited runs, including a week-long run in Los Angeles. On the opening day of Hey Bartender’s LA run, I sat down with Tirola, Schneider and Carpentieri at the historic Musso & Frank Grill, where legendary bartender Manny Aguirre was behind the stick.
Carpi’s fedora closes out The Roger Room.
Filming began at the end of 2009. The project would take a few years to complete—there were periods when a couple of months would go by without filming, and other times when Tirola and his crew were shooting at Dunville’s a few days in a row.
Schneider was already well-known in the cocktail community prior to Hey Bartender, and the movie will no doubt expand his notoriety beyond the industry. Carpentieri is the bartender who will capture the general public’s attention, the everyman who takes a leap into the unknown and is able to rejuvenate his business. At the raucous afterparty that followed the Los Angeles premiere, Carpentieri was frequently engaged in conversations with LA bartenders, who came out in force to attend the screening. To no one’s surprise, his personality was exactly as it was depicted in Hey Bartender—soft-spoken, funny and self-deprecating. As Tirola would say in a subsequent interview, “Carpi” gives Hey Bartender its soul.
On Carpentieri’s last night in LA, we went on an abbreviated bar crawl, starting with a round at Bestia, followed by a drink at Cole’s Red Car Bar and a peek into The Varnish, and then meeting up with Tirola for drinks from Jason Bran at The Roger Room. Though we were one and done at each bar, there was enough time for Carpentieri to admire the massive oven at Bestia, Cole’s historic interior and the lively scene inside The Varnish.
As we drove to Bestia, Carpentieri talked about the warm welcome he’s received from the craft cocktail community. He recounted a recent conversation he had with Employees Only partner Dushan Zaric, who called to tell him about a drink that he thought would work well at Dunville’s. Carpentieri noted with deep appreciation that Zaric—who’s busy running bars, opening new ones, and rolling out The 86 Company releases—took the time to call after he saw something that inspired a drink for Dunville’s. Los Angeles certainly embraced Carpentieri, literally and figuratively—Bestia bar manager Kristina Howald stepped out from behind the bar to give him a hug, and Cole’s bar manager Brent Falco offered to take him on a sightseeing tour of LA the next time he’s in town.
In a mixing glass, muddle watermelon, lime juice and simple syrup.
Add Milagro, Solerno and ice.
Hard shake and strain over fresh ice.
For garnish, use 1 slice of jalapeno, 1 cube of watermelon, and 1 lime wedge. Salted rim is optional.
*Simple syrup: in a sauce pan bring 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar to a boil. Stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and add one habañero pepper cut in half. Simmer for approximately 15 minutes. Strain to remove pepper and chill. For a little less spice, simmer for approximately 7 minutes, remove pepper and continue to reduce for another 8 minutes.