Local nightlife influencer Giovanny Gutierrez takes you beyond the slushy frozen daiquiris of South Beach to the insider bars that truly shape Miami's cocktail bar culture.

Whether he's training bartenders, crafting cocktail menus or interviewing culinary personalities, award-winning mixologist Giovanny Gutierrez has made it his mission to explore Miami's nightlife scene. And he believes the city's bars are as diverse as the tropical fruits that go into their famous cocktails.

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(Credit: Ricardo Mejia)

Cuban-born Miamian Giovanny Gutierrez is the founder and host of Chat Chow TV. A mixologist and cocktail consultant, he is a National Bacardi Ambassador for premium rums and hosts food and beverage events around the world.

"Miami has a drink for any occasion, for anybody, for any kind of theme," says Gutierrez. "You have everything from your old-school dive bars like [Mac's Club] Deuce [a Miami Vice filming location] to sophisticated places included in North America's 100 Best Bars."

But it wasn't always like this. "People back in the day would have strawberry daiquiri or piña colada, and then they would blend them together in a frozen machine," recalls Gutierrez. Slushy, syrupy drinks defined Miami stereotypes as much as flowered-splattered T-shirts and pink flamingos. "We're [now] more elevated, more cosmopolitan. We're playing at a national level."

He believes the city's now-famous drink culture stands out thanks to its distinctly Latino flavour profile. "From Cuban coffee and guava to passion fruit or soursop, we love these ingredients, and we get creative with them. No one uses them as much as we do."

Here are Gutierrez's favourite cocktail bars in Miami.

For Gutierrez, Little Havana's Café La Trova captures the soul of Miami. "The Latin music, the tropical drinks, the vibe; it's just exactly what the city is about."

He sets the scene: "Imagine a Friday or Saturday night. You're walking in. You're greeted by cantineros, which are Cuban bartenders in their authentic uniform. And then people are dancing to the left, others are in the bar having drinks and others are in the back having dinner."

Miami's vice

"Rum is king here. We're the biggest market in the US for rum, so it's always a good choice [for a very Miami cocktail]."

There's a hearty menu of pan-Hispanic dishes like Peruvian ceviche and Cuban sandwich empanadas, as well as nightly live music acts often playing trova, a genre of Cuban music most famously represented by the Buena Vista Social Club band and its eponymous 1999 documentary. "But if it's Friday or Saturday late at night, the back becomes an '80s room and it's so much fun."

"When I'm there, I have to have a Mojito," adds Gutierrez. "And then, I have to have a Presidente, a vintage rum martini. It's one of the first drinks in history that used blanc vermouth in a cocktail and it's very, very dry, so it shows off Cuban-style rum. It's such an elegant cocktail."

Website: https://www.cafelatrova.com/

Address: 971 SW 8th St, Miami, FL 33130

Phone: 1 (786) 615-4379

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cafelatrovamiami/

For timeless elegance, Gutierrez recommends the

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