Ektoras Binikos opened Sugar Monk cocktail bar in Harlem just 9 months before the COVID lockdowns kicked off, after a career in both art and mixology, having emigrated to Manhattan from his native Greece. While weathering the storm of the lockdown, he and his team started making and selling amaros and liqueurs, and this venture has blossomed into a company, Atheras Spirits, which has a distillery and a cocktail bar/tasting room, Bitter Monk, in Industry City, Brooklyn.

We sat down on a gorgeous day and talked about his career, opening a bar, trying to keep the wheels turning during a lockdown, the delights of gin/aquavit martinis, and the frankly wild inspirations of each of his amaros and liqueurs which, of course, we tasted our way through.

Enjoy!

(And shout-out to Helen Baldus, Sugar Monk's publicist, who suggested this - thanks Helen!)

Ektoras on IG: https://www.instagram.com/ektorasb/

Sugar Monk on IG: https://www.instagram.com/sugarmonknyc/

Bitter Monk on IG: https://www.instagram.com/bittermonkbrooklyn/

Atheras Spirits on IG: https://www.instagram.com/atherasspirits/

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