Best of Seattle: Readers' Favorite Bartenders

GOLD: Murray Stenson Best of Seattle Readers' Choice Winner

Fellow bartenders in 2010 picked Murray Stenson as the best bartender in America, and Seattle Weekly readers are inclined to agree with them. Stenson, who provoked a tempest in a rocks glass earlier this year when he left Zig Zag Cafe (he's since resurfaced at Jamie Boudreau's all-star Canon), is credited with jumpstarting the craft cocktail movement in the Pacific Northwest. But there's nothing outwardly glitzy about Stenson: He's a phenomenally hard worker who's mastered the art of hospitality. "He should be knighted, but this will have to do," David Wondrich told the Seattle Times when Stenson received his Tales of the Cocktail award.

SILVER (TIE): David Moravec

A bartender at Ozzie's Diner, a karoake bar in Lower Queen Anne, Moravec has won followers with his good looks and bullet-fast speed behind the bar. According to a voter who supported Moravec in a similar contest sponsored by the Seattle Times, "not only does Dave pour a mean drink, but he also does backflips on command."

SILVER (TIE): Gregg West

West, the bar manager at Fremont's Hunger, has been charged with creating a cocktail list for the restaurant's new speakeasy-style basement bar, set to open very soon. If it's anything like the menu in use upstairs, expect drinks made with fresh fruit juice and Fernet Branca.

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