Britney Ruby Miller (right), president of Jeff Ruby Culinary Entertainment, joins Molly Wellmann (left) and Bryn Hoctor of Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits of Ohio during a recent bottle signing at Jungle Jim’s in Fairfield to mark the release of Maker’s Mark Cincinnati Women’s Private Barrel Selection. Wellman and Miller were part of a group of women from the Cincinnati-area hospitality industry to travel to the Maker’s Mark distillery to create their own private label bourbon.Miller were part of a group of women from the Cincinnati-area hospitality industry to travel to the Maker’s Mark distillery to create their own private label bourbon.

Getting ready to have their cake after a recent Monkey 47 gin training at Soul Bar in Columbus are (l-r) Noelle Ferruccio, Downtown Columbus sales representative, American Liberty Division for Southern Glazers Wine & Spirits; Lacy Hawkins, Monkey 47 brand ambassador; Kyle Strategier, Soul Bar general manager; and Travis Owens of Behind the Glass Consulting.

The staff of the Birdcage, Cincinnati’s newest LGBTQ hotspot, gathers for the recent VIP opening night, sponsored by Beam Suntory.

Enjoying the recent New Riff Distilling launch party at Salt in Lakewood are (front, l-r) Bryon Martin, Mollie Lewis and Billy Grise of New Riff Distilling; Jessica Parkison and Jill Vedaa, owners of Salt; (back, l-r) Alexandra Bright, Kevin Ryan, Nikki Potz, Colleen Gosselin, Mike Fordosi, Chris Nary and Adam Carpenter of RNDC; Jennifer Martin of New Riff; and Patrick Mahoney and Lauri Poklar of RNDC.

Jim Ellers, district manager for William Grant & Sons, promotes his company’s portfolio to attendees of last month’s Buckeye Bar Expo. William Grant was one of more than 35 exhibitors at the expo, presented by the Ohio Licensed Beverage Association at Hollywood Casino in Columbus.w

Jake Turner (left), brewmaster for Maize Valley Brewery, takes the stage to accept the Hartville brewery’s Great American Beer Festival silver medal from GABF founder Charlie Papazian.

Hayden Oleen shows off his Raspberry Vanilla-tini, which was the winning cocktail in the recent Bacardi Bartenders Contest at Reel Bar in Put-in-Bay.

Casey Forbes (right), president of Vintage Wine Distributor Inc., accepts the 2018 John T. Fleming Wholesaler of the Year award from Ohio Tavern News account manager Max Eckenwiler. The presentation was made Sept. 10 during the 84th annual fall convention of the Wholesale Beer & Wine Association of Ohio in Columbus.

The Hendrick’s gin L.E.V.I.T.A.T.R.E. hot air balloon is making a return appearance Sept. 29 at the Nuit Blanche Toronto contemporary art event. Winners of golden tickets will have the opportunity to ride the 65-foot L.E.V.I.T.A.T.R.E. (Levitating, Elevating, Voluminous, Illuminating, Tantalizing, Amazingly, Towering, Roaming, Eye) during its 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. visit to Toronto.

Members of the Cleveland Tito’s “Dream Team” making the scene at Scene magazine’s Alefest 2018 are (l-r) Drew Walker, Danielle DeLorge, Rose Cre, Courtney Koenig, Aly Adams and Rob Bell.