Kit Codik, CEO and Co-Founder

A veteran of the start-up world and a serial entrepreneur, Kit Codik co-founded Liquor.com with the vision of building it into the premier digital media brand focused on the cocktail and spirits vertical. As CEO, Kit leads the company’s overall growth strategy, business development, partnerships and monetization efforts. Kit’s passion is helping to build, launch and develop new ideas into businesses. He most recently founded The Green Lake Group, a San Francisco-based advisory firm that specializes in business development, fund raising and corporate development for Internet companies. Previously Kit co-founded and was Executive Vice President of Business and Corporate Development for Finacity, a specialty finance company focused on the securitization of corporate trade receivables, a collaborative venture between Bank of America, Euler Hermes, Amroc Investments and ABN AMRO Bank. Kit helped form and fund Finacity while a Principal at eVolution Global Partners, a corporate venture investment firm founded by Texas Pacific Group, Bain & Co. and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Kit’s other start-up ventures include helping to launch Della.com (acquired by WeddingChannel.com) as Director of Business Development as well as launching Infant Advantage (acquired by Parentech) as VP of Sourcing and Production. Kit started his career at The Gap, where he spent 5 years in merchandising and global sourcing and production. He graduated from Princeton University.

Nicolas Darveau-Garneau, Co-Founder and Board Director

Nicolas Darveau-Garneau is a veteran entrepreneur and investor in the technology industry. He is also the founder and CEO of BigDeal.com, where he leads the company’s overall growth strategy, product development and fundraising. Previously, Nicolas was Managing Director of The Green Lake Group, a San Francisco-based advisory firm that specialized in business development, fund raising and corporate development for Internet companies. Nick has been a Senior Equity Research Analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein, specializing in Internet and software companies, and was co-founder and president of imix.com, a leading online music company. He has also held executive positions at Microsoft and McKinsey & Company. Nick graduated from Harvard Business School with a Masters of Business Administration degree.

Steve Olsher, Co-Founder and Board Director

Steve Olsher is a serial entrepreneur, having started companies in the entertainment, catalog, Internet, alcohol beverage, real estate and personal development industries. Steve has more than 15 years of alcohol beverage-related experience: Previously he was Vice President of Chicago-based Foremost Sales Promotions (the franchisor of Foremost Liquor Stores) and President of Liquor by Wire. Steve has a Masters of Business Administration degree from Roosevelt University.

Noah Rothbaum, Editor-in-Chief

Noah Rothbaum is the author of The Business of Spirits: How Savvy Marketers, Innovative Distillers, and Entrepreneurs Changed How We Drink. He has also written about spirits and cocktails for Portfolio.com, TheAtlantic.com, Money, Gastronomica, Men’s Fitness, The New York Daily News, Forbes.com, Beverage Media and Beverage Dynamics. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Food & Wine, Food Network Magazine, Gotham, O, The Oprah Magazine, Esquire, Details, Men’s Journal, Life and on NewYorkMagazine.com.

Scott Kritz, Chief Operating Officer

Scott Kritz is the former Editor-in-Chief & Acting Publisher of the American edition of FHM (FHMonline.com). Prior to joining Liquor.com in 2009, he consulted and advised large consumer-facing start-ups on marketing, sales, branding and content strategies; among his successes, Kritz built a unique performance marketing program for BleacherReport.com that helped the startup become the world’s 4th largest sports website with over 20 million monthly readers. Scott is also a former executive of Sony Pictures Entertainment, where he ran show programming for the Hollywood studio’s award-winning digital television network, Crackle.com. He graduated with honors from New York City’s Fordham University with a B.S. in computer and information science, and minors in journalism and graphic design.

Aisha Sharpe

Co-founder of Contemporary Cocktails

New York, New York

Aisha Sharpe’s mixology skills have been acclaimed by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, New York magazine and top restaurant and club owners. Aisha began her bartending career in 1996 and is the co-founder of Contemporary Cocktails, Inc., a global, full-service cocktails-and-spirits consulting firm. Contemporary Cocktails provides counsel for leading spirits companies, including Moët Hennessy, Pernod Ricard, Cooper Spirits, Kobrand and William Grant & Sons. Aisha is a member of the Beverage Alcohol Resource (BAR) program as well as the BarSmarts programs, which conduct educational training and seminars around the country.

Allen Katz

Director of mixology & spirits education for Southern Wine & Spirits of New York and host of Living Today on Martha Stewart Living Sirius Satellite Radio

New York, New York

Allen Katz is the director of mixology & spirits education for Southern Wine & Spirits of New York. He can be heard every Friday on Martha Stewart Living Radio talking about cocktails on Living Today. Allen has worked as a business consultant and in cocktail development for some of the most recognized brands in the beverage industry. He has also worked with Slow Food USA to develop programming that has garnered acclaim and recognition, including A Tribute to Jerry Thomas, Father of The Cocktail at The Plaza Hotel. Allen is a frequent presenter at trade shows and industry events. He serves on the board of advisors for the Manhattan Cocktail Classic and as the treasurer of the board of directors for the New Orleans Culinary and Cultural Preservation Society, the host of Tales of the Cocktail. He is also the chairman emeritus (ex officio) of the board of directors for Slow Food USA.

Dale DeGroff

Master mixologist

New York, New York

Master mixologist Dale DeGroff, AKA King Cocktail, developed his bartending skills and techniques at classic establishments in New York and LA, most notably at the Rainbow Room. In the late 1980s, he pioneered a gourmet approach to recreating classic cocktails. Dale has been credited with reinventing the profession of bartending and setting off the cocktail explosion that continues to transform the industry.

Dale is a founding partner of Beverage Alcohol Resource (BAR), a partnership of six of the world’s leading spirits and cocktails authorities that provides training and credentialing in distilled spirits and mixology. He has won numerous industry awards, including the 2009 James Beard Wine & Spirits Professional Award, the 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award from Nightclub & Bar magazine and the 2008 Tales of the Cocktail Helen David Lifetime Achievement Award. Dale is the author of The Essential Cocktail, winner of the 2009 Spirit Awards, and The Craft of the Cocktail, winner of the 2002 IACP Julia Child Award.

David Wondrich

Cocktail expert and Esquire magazine’s drinks correspondent

Brooklyn, New York

David Wondrich is often called the world’s foremost expert on the history of the American cocktail. As Esquire magazine’s drinks correspondent, he has ranged far and wide through the world of booze, covering everything from Kentucky bourbon to Chinese cocktails. He is also a contributing editor for Saveur and Malt Advocate‘s cocktail columnist. He has written for a host of other publications, from Bon Appetit, Gourmet and Wine & Spirits to Oprah, Real Simple, Martha Stewart’s Blueprint and Marie Claire.

David has written four books on cocktails and mixology, most recently Punch: The Delights (and Dangers) of the Flowing Bowl, which was named best new cocktail/bartending book at the 2011 Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards. His Imbibe! From Absinthe Cocktail to Whiskey Smash, a Salute in Stories and Drinks to Professor Jerry Thomas, Pioneer of the American Bar is the first cocktail book ever to win a James Beard Award. He is a founding member of the Museum of the American Cocktail and a founding partner of Beverage Alcohol Resource (BAR), the nation’s premier training program in spirits and mixology.

Dushan Zaric

Bartender, co-owner of Employees Only and Macao Trading Co.

New York, New York

Dushan Zaric immigrated to the United States in 1996 and began working behind the bar at a number of New York City hotspots, including Les Halles, Lot 61, Pravda, Pastis and Schiller’s Liquor Bar. In 2004, Dushan partnered with Jason Kosmas, Igor Hadzismajlovic, Henry LaFargue and Billy Gilroy to open Employees Only. At the 2011 Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards, the bar won the titles of world’s best cocktail bar and world’s best drinks selection.

In November 2006, Dushan and Jason published their first book, You Didn’t Hear It From Us: Two Bartenders Serve Women the Truth about Men, Making an Impression and Getting What You Want, and in 2010 they published Speakeasy: The Employees Only Guide to Classic Cocktails Reimagined. The team behind Employees Only, along with fellow industry veterans Akiva Elstein of Smith & Mills and Patrick Fahey of Naked Lunch, opened Macao Trading Co. in Tribeca in late 2008.

Recognized for his flair behind the bar, Dushan was hand-picked to be Yugoslavia’s entry at the 2002 Best Bartender in the World competition in Barcelona, Spain. To the pride of his homeland, he delivered a double win: second place in general rating and winner of the product knowledge category.

Gary Regan

Cocktail expert and acclaimed author

New York, New York

Gary “Gaz” Regan’s first book, The Bartender’s Bible, was published in 1991, and between 1995 and 1998, he co-authored The Book of Bourbon and Other Fine American Whiskeys, The Bourbon Companion, New Classic Cocktails and The Martini Companion. Since then, Gary has written The Joy of Mixology, The Bartender’s Gin Compendium and The Cocktailian Chronicles. His latest book, Gaz Regan’s Annual Manual for Bartenders, was released in the spring of 2011.

Gary writes a biweekly column, “The Cocktailian,” for the San Francisco Chronicle and hosts Ardentspirits.com, which publishes three free weekly e-mail newsletters. He also heads up the Worldwide Bartender Database, a community that puts spirits companies in touch with mixologists all over the world.

When he isn’t writing, Gary is usually on the road conducting workshops around the country and in France, the UK, Australia and anywhere else he’s allowed to travel.

H. Joseph Ehrmann

Bartender, owner of Elixir

San Francisco, California

H. Joseph Ehrmann is the owner of Elixir, the second-oldest saloon location in San Francisco. Elixir’s menu revives the pre-Prohibition cocktail culture of the Barbary Coast with a focus on utilizing California’s abundant fresh produce. As the first Certified Green bar in San Francisco, Elixir has an expansive cocktail menu and spirits collection focused on the vintage, the organic, the local and the original, all the while remaining a friendly corner bar. H. was listed in Food &Wine’s “Top Tastes to Try in 2008” and his Bloody Elixir was named one of the 20 best cocktails in America by GQ magazine in 2008.

As Brand Ambassador and Mixologist for Square One Organic Spirits, he launched and continues to grow the brand across the United States. H. is a co-founder of The Barbary Coast Conservancy of the American Cocktail and San Francisco Cocktail Week, an Ambassador of The Museum of the American Cocktail, a judge in the Los Angeles International Spirits Competition and a leading member of the United States Bartenders Guild San Francisco Chapter.

Jacques Bezuidenhout

National cocktail and tequila ambassador for Partida Tequila and master mixologist for Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants

San Francisco, California

Jacques Bezuidenhout began his career working in bars and restaurants in South Africa, but it wasn’t until living in London that he grew to appreciate and love the art of bartending. Upon relocating to San Francisco, Jacques began working at the Irish Bank Bar & Restaurant, where he created one of the city’s most extensive Scotch selections. Since then, he has been the opening consultant for a number of respected establishments, has served as a brand ambassador for Plymouth Gin and is Partida Tequila’s national cocktail and tequila ambassador.

Under the direction of Jacques and Julio Bermejo, Tres Agaves in San Francisco won the “Spirits Restaurant of the Year” award from Santé magazine in 2006. Jacques was also named the best bartender in San Francisco by Anthony Dias Blue and has served as a judge for the San Francisco World Spirits Competition as well as the Ultimate Spirits Challenge. He was also named best American brand ambassador at the 2011 Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards.

Most recently, Jacques has taken on the role of master mixologist for Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants’ nearly 50 restaurants and bars across the country.

Jim Meehan

Managing partner, Please Don’t Tell (PDT)

New York, New York

Jim Meehan is a bar operator, consultant and writer who got started mixing drinks in 1995 as a student at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. In 2002, he moved to New York City, where he’s worked at restaurants and bars including Five Points, Gramercy Tavern, Pegu Club and PDT. In addition to his work behind the bar, he’s the author of The PDT Cocktail Book and a contributing editor of Food & Wine’s annual cocktail book, Mr. Boston’s Bartender Guide and Sommelier Journal, a trade magazine that features his monthly bartender column. He’s lectured and mixed drinks at local and international trade shows and works with the acclaimed Beverage Alcohol Resource (BAR) team as a cocktails and spirits educator. His cocktails have been featured on television and radio, as well as in books and magazines, both locally and internationally. Jim has been recognized as a rising star mixologist by Star Chefs Online Culinary Magazine, Cheers magazine and as the 2009 American Bartender of the Year at Tales of the Cocktail.

Simon Ford

International ambassador for Plymouth Gin and brand director for trade outreach and brand education at Pernod Ricard USA

New York, New York

Simon Ford currently works as the international ambassador for Plymouth Gin and is the brand director for trade outreach and brand education at Pernod Ricard USA. Over the past seven years, this role has taken him around the globe to train experts and cocktails-and-spirits enthusiasts. He is also responsible for directing the on-premise strategy in the United States for a portfolio of some of the country’s largest brands.

Simon has more than fifteen years in the industry, from running a wine shop and opening some of England’s most lauded cocktail bars to judging spirits competitions. He was named the Best International Brand Ambassador in 2007 and Best US Brand Ambassador in 2009 at the Tales of the Cocktail conference. Simon is now the chairman of the conference’s awards program. He was recently dubbed “the guru of the modern brand builders” by website Inside F&B.

Willy Shine

Co-founder of Contemporary Cocktails

New York, New York

Willy Shine is a leading mixologist recognized for his skill and creativity behind the bar. He has been polishing his craft for close to eighteen years. Early in his career, Willy had the privilege of working with top chefs and beverage-industry mentors, including Dale DeGroff and Steve Olsen. Willy went on to run a number of well-known restaurants and bars. He is the co-founder of Contemporary Cocktails, Inc., a global, full-service cocktails and spirits consulting firm. He is a member of the Beverage Alcohol Resources (BAR) program as well as a member of the BarSmarts program, which conduct educational training and seminars around the country.

David Shen

David Shen is President of David Shen Ventures, LLC. He advises and invests in early-stage Internet startups, helping them in the areas of user experience, product development and strategy, and online advertising. Prior to founding his own company, David was Vice President of the User Experience and Design Team at Yahoo! for almost 8 years and was involved in almost every product and service Yahoo! has built in the US and internationally. After running the User Experience group at Yahoo!, David became Vice President of International Products, managing and fostering best practices in online product design worldwide.

David has also worked as a product designer at a consultancy called frogdesign, where he worked on ergonomic keyboards, PCs and toasters. He also worked for Apple Computer for 3.5 years, designing and shipping the company’s first ergonomic keyboard, digital camera and 17-inch multimedia monitors.

Jonathan Shambroom

Jonathan Shambroom has more than 17 years of experience building consumer-facing startups, leading them to company acquisitions four out of five times. In each case, success came from product excellence and growing to millions of users with a sound business model. Jonathan is currently chief product officer for Ning, the world’s leading platform for custom social websites, which reaches more than 70 million unique visitors per month. Jonathan is an angel investor in four startups and plays an active role on the advisory boards of several others. His expertise lies in consumer entertainment and social-media products that define new categories and are viral in nature: online video, social networks, online invitations, online calendaring and video games. He served as senior vice president of products and marketing before taking over as general manager at Crackle.com (formerly Grouper.com), an online video-sharing site acquired by Sony Pictures Entertainment in 2006. He served as executive vice president and ran the products division for incubator Jumpstart Technologies, which gave rise to social-networking sites Tagged.com and Hi5.com. He ran the product team at Evite.com, which was acquired by CitySearch/Ticketmaster. He was executive producer and managed the Netscape partnership and co-brand launch at When.com, acquired by AOL in 1999. And in the mid ’90s, Jonathan spent four years cutting his teeth in the world of video games at PF.Magic, acquired by Mindscape/The Learning Company. As director of products there, he led eight complete shrink-wrap software development cycles and managed the product line, which sold more than 3 million units, in the “pre-mainstream-web” era. The constant in Jonathan’s career has been a passion for building great teams, product innovation and strategic leadership.

Rob Bailey

Rob Bailey is a serial entrepreneur with experience in both the high-tech and spirits industries. He is currently the VP of business development at SimpleGeo, where he has worked with hundreds of mobile companies on location development efforts.  Prior to SimpleGeo, Rob launched Lotus Vodka, which he took from conception stage to market success in more than 2,000 venues in seven states. Lotus was covered repeatedly by the media for its extensive use of web-2.0 services to grow its sales and awareness. Prior to Lotus, Rob spent more than a decade building businesses in the high-tech field, including with Yahoo!, eScene (acquired by Inktomi) and USWeb/CKS. Rob also co-founded a marketing company that helped launch more than 30 bars and restaurants across northern California and helped raise more than $1 million for a variety of charities. Rob has an MBA from MIT. His favorite spirits are Leblon Cachaça, St-Germain and A.H. Hirsch Bourbon, and his favorite cocktail is the Blackberry & Cabernet Caipirinha made at Cantina in San Francisco.

Brad Bowers

Brad Bowers is founder and Managing Director of BlackInc Ventures, a boutique strategic advisory firm providing Internet companies with business and corporate-development services.  Brad is an experienced media executive, having worked for more than 15 years on both the publisher and agency side of the business. Prior to starting BlackInc Ventures in early 2004, Brad worked at CNET Networks for eight years, where he held various positions, including Vice President of Worldwide Business Development and General Manager of North America for CNET Channel (now CNET Content Solutions). He also served as Vice President of Business Development for CNET’s Media Division, where he oversaw strategic planning and generated revenue through commercial partnerships and acquisitions. Prior to joining CNET, Brad worked in the advertising industry, most recently for Anderson & Lembke on the Microsoft account. In 1995, he was involved in Microsoft’s first online advertising campaigns, including the launches of Windows 95 and Internet Explorer. Brad received a BS in management from Tulane University.

Matthew Chun

Matthew Chun is the founder, President and Creative Director of Ultra16, a Manhattan-based interactive agency. The firm has worked with many of the world’s top media brands, including MTV, FOX, ABC, and Sony. Matthew has more than 15 years of experience in interactive and user-experience design. Before founding Ultra16, he was a staff designer at R/GA, Lee Hunt Associates, David Carson Design, Showtime, Microsoft, Poppe Tyson Interactive and Spin magazine. Matthew holds degrees in visual design and film production from the University of Maryland, College Park, the Fashion Institute of Technology and The New School University.

Stephen Fritz

Stephen Fritz is a veteran of the digital industry and has helped shape some of the world’s largest brands. He is currently Managing Director of Ultra16, a Manhattan-based interactive agency. He is also a board member of the international non-profit institute Eurica Media Lab. Previously, Stephen served as Creative Director at IconNicholson overseeing the creative vision and user experience for the BT Global Services international campaign.

Prior to IconNicholson, Stephen co-founded and spent a decade as Creative Director of Olive. He helped establish it as one of the most respected and prestigious boutique interactive firms of its kind. While at Olive, Stephen worked with a diverse range of clients, including MTV, Comedy Central, AMC, WE, Noggin, Crunch Fitness and Honeywell. Stephen began his career at Poppe Tyson Interactive as Group Creative Director in 1995.