Meet Clay Coleman | Bartender and Beverage Consultant

We had the good fortune of connecting with Clay Coleman and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Clay, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
Over time, I’ve really had to learn how to draw a hard line between where “Clay the Bartender” ends and Clay the person begins. When I first started, I thought I had to say yes to every client and opportunity that came my way because I conflated my business with my self worth as a person and I didn’t want to disappoint anyone . These days, I’ve learned to partition my bartender persona from the rest of me and it’s done wonders for my mental health. My family and friends have been super supportive as well.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I love to make cocktails. What sets me apart is that I take inspiration from pop culture as well as the symbolism from the individual ingredients in order to create a drink that is truly layered both in flavor and esoteric meaning. My favorite types of drinks to make are citrusy and refreshing drinks with homemade syrups and flavor infusions.

One of the hardest challenges to overcome is the fact that not everyone will appreciate what I do. For better or worse, I get really into my drinks and can obsess a lot. I’ve learned over time to temper this trait so that I can preserve my motivation for other projects.

What I want people to know about me is that I really put my all into giving people great drinks and a great experience. I may not be the best businessman but I’m a fucking amazing bartender!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
So my favorite spots in Oakland to eat or grab a drink are easily: “Sobre Mesa” “Viridian” and “Copper Spoon”.

I also would definitely fit some outdoor activity and suggest hiking through Redwood Regional Park because it’s one of my favorite trails.

Lastly, I love to let out all my pent up stress through dancing. I would definitely suggest going dancing at either Hello Stranger or Port Bar depending of your preference.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would like to give a huge shoutout to author Tamika Hall (@ladyblogga) and Kingston Kingston Imperial Publishing for featuring me and my cocktails in the upcoming recipe book called “Black Mixcellence: A Comprehensive Guide 2 Black Mixology”

In 2020 I participated in a Nationwide Bartending Competition hosted by Black Restaurant Week to find the best Black bartender in America. When I was eliminated after making it into the Top 8, I was really bummed out at first. But when Tamika reached out to interview me and be part of her book, it was very uplifting in a time when I needed it most.

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/688061/black-mixcellence-by-tamika-hall/

Website: claythebartender.com

Instagram: @claythebartender

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clay-coleman-ba168310a/

Twitter: @bartenderclay

Image Credits
All photos were taken by my partner Jade Lastimosa (@m3.24cocktails) he does all of my videos and photography