Not every man can get away with wearing full emperor regalia, but at last year's Tales of the Cocktail — the world's largest mixologist festival — John Lermayer dressed like Napoleon and then mooned all of New Orleans from a balcony high above the French Quarter. Look up "bon vivant" in the dictionary and you'll likely see a picture of the ever-social bartender. Lermayer jets to all corners of the country —from the Hamptons to Manhattan to South Beach — to represent spirits companies or consult on a new beverage program for a chic lounge. But behind that glamorous life, Lermayer has the goods to back it up. The New York native shook Miami's cocktail foundation to the core when he opened the Florida Room at the Delano, bringing the art of the cocktail to a city where Diet Coke and vodka was the drink of choice. Lermayer then went on to create the mixology program at Blackbird Ordinary and the Regent Cocktail Club at South Beach's Gale Hotel. These days, he is working on opening Sweet Liberty Drink & Supply Co. later this summer in South Beach. The emperor of the cocktail has truly conquered Miami.
Readers' choice: Hector Acevedo, Fontainebleau Miami Beach