Lauren “LP” O’Brien on the Sober Bartender Life and Her Upcoming D.C. Cocktail Bar

Sobriety can be a sensitive subject, when it comes to the world of industrial alcohol, mixology or professional bartending. Whereas in most of society, a person announcing that they’re now sober tends to be met with congratulations or at least a lukewarm affirmation of “good for you,” a professional working in the alcohol world is more likely to be met with some raised eyebrows. I’m a spirits writer who is increasingly conscious of his own relationship with ethanol; the last few years have seen me significantly reduce and much more carefully control my consumption. But abstaining entirely while continuing to work in the field, in direct and constant contact with alcohol, is a different level of challenge. And it’s particularly surprising to initially hear when such a decision comes from someone like LP O’Brien, the star bartender and winner of Netflix mixology reality show Drink Masters. The D.C.-based drinks maven built her brand around cocktails containing alcohol, but has recently pivoted into significantly less explored territory as she strategizes for the opening of her first ever bar.

Lauren Paylor O’Brien is a magnetic personality, a warm figure better known throughout the industry as LP. She won Netflix’s Drink Masters with a portfolio of cocktails that were able to balance style and substance, wowing judges with both her aesthetic vision and subtle depth of flavor. In the time since the reality show premiered, O’Brien has shared her drinks with guests at various pop-ups, and helped to design the product line for the non-alcoholic cocktail brand Siponey Spritz Co., which offers the consumer a choice of whether or not to include booze. And all the while, she’s been planning for the eventual opening of her concept Bar Lienzo, a historically inspired cocktail bar that will presumably offer some richly detailed non-alcoholic options as well.

Paste sat down with LP O’Brien to chat about her journey to sobriety, the challenges of designing new cocktails while sober, and her plans for Bar Lienzo.

Paste: So, obviously you’re a well-known bartender who is well-versed in classic cocktails. How did you get interested in sobriety and non-alcoholic drinks?

LP O’Brien: So, it started with becoming pregnant and giving birth to my daughter, my first child eight months ago. When I found out I was pregnant I obviously stopped drinking, and after giving birth, that’s when I decided to stay sober. And the primary reason was just that there was a certain clarity that came with being sober, not imbibing, other than what was necessary in creating cocktails, which I love to do. I felt the ability to be a lot more present was very valuable in both my professional and personal life, and at that point I wanted to try omitting it from my day to day. Of course I still taste and expel, but yeah, it’s definitely been an eye-opening experience.

Paste: When sober, what does recipe formulation become for designing new drinks with alcohol? I’ve run across a few sober bartenders in the last few years, and I’m always curious about this process.

LP O’Brien: Well for me, when spirits professionals and wine professionals are judging spirits or wine, they take the spirit in their mouth, swirl it around and then expel. That allows us to extract different descriptors from our palates. So when I’m tasting cocktails, or components, or designing a drink I do the same thing. I just place a little bit in my mouth, swirl it around and that helps me break down the characteristics associated with the cocktail. Examples like “Is it bright, is it acidic, is it balanced, is it sweet, herbal or bitter?” It allows me to still respect my sobriety while acknowledging that as a beverage professional it’s really important for me to be able to taste the cocktails that I make. There’s really no other way to fully know what you’re serving to your guest.

Let’s use a lemonade as an example. You can say “equal parts lemon juice, sugar, water,” but if I’m using citrus from D.C. vs. citrus from the Amalfi Coast of Italy, I need to know how that will impact the overall flavor and acidity of the end result, and I won’t know that without tasting it.

Paste: I really like the flexibility of the Siponey Spritz Co. products, the way they’re designed to work with and without alcohol. Did they bring you on specifically for recipe formulation there?

LP O’Brien: I had the opportunity in the beginning of the process to taste the initial iterations that came out of it, and I’m really proud of what we were ultimately able to curate with those. The most important thing here is that we’re really focused on real, natural ingredients, and non-alcoholic beverages that can really be related to classic cocktails while giving the consumer a choice. However you’re feeling in the moment, if you’re choosing to drink or not drink, was really important to this.

Paste: Do you think it’s really possible to create a beverage that works equally well with alcohol or without it?

LP O’Brien: I think that’s a great question. I think the same way we have a preference of spirit–like some people want a Hendrick’s martini vs. a Fords martini–it’s going to be really important when you’re selecting your own spirit to acknowledge that there will be some that pair better with each flavor profile than others. Drinking these is a really cool choose-your-own-adventure opportunity, but also an opportunity to appreciate the craft of it more, because as bartenders and mixologists it’s our job to make sure everything we’re placing in a glass is complementary.

Paste: What are the biggest do’s and don’ts of mocktails? When an experienced bartender tries to design a satisfying mocktail, what is the thing they’re most likely to do wrong?

LP O’Brien: I think it’s really important when we’re talking about non-alcoholic beverages to keep in mind that when we’re making these cocktails without alcohol, they should be treated with similar respect as beverages with alcohol. They should be made just as complex, just as beautiful. We do have to acknowledge, though, what is lacking when these beverages don’t have alcohol in them. A lot of that is texture, but we can compensate for that by adding things like richer style syrups, or carbonation, or fat–like a dessert-style beverage, or egg white or aquafaba. We can also play with things like tea, which have tannins that can be extracted by oversteeping them, very similar to how you experience tannin in wine. Bartenders are unlocking all of these tools to create new types of serves.

Paste: Let’s talk about Bar Lienzo, your D.C. concept. What stage in the process is that?

LP O’Brien: Very early stages. I think at this point the concept is fleshed out, and I’m really just trying to figure out location and size associated with the project. There’s a little bit of pressure; I want to make sure I’m doing this in a way that’s truly aligned with my values, and doing something that serves the community. I want to have a creative space for myself where I can share my knowledge and hold demos and classes to serve as an educational vessel as well. It’s important to me that it’s not rushed and that we can do our due diligence.

Paste: Are you able to sum up in a sentence or two what kind of menu or aesthetic Bar Lienzo might feature?

LP O’Brien: I want to take aspects of history that are not discussed or not showcased as often, and allow them to be an opportunity for folks to connect with beverages in an unconventional way. One of the best jobs I had–the job that I learned a lot from–was working at Silver Lion in D.C., as the R&D production chef. And the thing that I was taught there was to ensure that every aspect of the process, from the story we tell as an end result to the ingredients in the cocktail have meaning. So I’m asking myself, how do we take these moments in time and history and share them with the people who get to share the end result in a cocktail? Especially being in D.C., in the nation’s capital, I hope to capitalize on the rich history of the soil we stand on and be able to share these really amazing stories.

Paste: What is your day to day role going to look like at Bar Lienzo?

LP O’Brien: I would be very much present. It’s important to me that this is a space that allows me to personally connect with individuals, both folks from inside and outside the food and beverage world. This is very much a creative outlet for me, a very deep passion. And I’m deeply appreciative of the opportunity to showcase it. I can’t wait.

Jim Vorel is a Paste staff writer and resident beer and liquor geek. You can follow him on Twitter for more drink writing.