Ryan Maybee, Part Three: The Greater Kansas City Bartending Competition 2011

Ryan Maybee thinks about the 13 finalists for the fifth annual Greater Kansas City Bartending Competition and he slowly shakes his head. He just can’t pick a favorite. Instead, he marvels that this year’s field includes three contestants from St. Louis and one from Nashville.

“It just keeps growing and growing. There’s a new lineup of bartenders with a bunch of new faces,” Maybee says.

In the first two parts of his interview with Fat City, Maybee shared what life was like behind the bar at Pierpont’s when it opened, the magic of bitters and the secret to zesting a drink.