Tiffanie Barriere is an award-winning bartender, educator, author, and cultural storyteller known around the world as The Drinking Coach. Born in Louisiana, raised between Texas and the South, and now based in Atlanta, she has built a career exploring the stories found in every glass—connecting cocktails to history, agriculture, migration, Black foodways, and the people who have shaped hospitality for generations.
With more than two decades in the beverage industry, Tiffanie has become one of hospitality's most respected voices, recognized for transforming cocktails into conversations. Whether she's teaching the history of punch, leading a spirits seminar, judging international competitions, or developing beverage programs, her work centers on one belief: every recipe carries a lineage, and every pour has a story worth telling.
She is the author of Good Spirits, a collection of recipes, techniques, and essays that celebrates the people, places, and traditions behind the world's favorite drinks. More than a cocktail book, Good Spirits invites readers to understand the cultural and historical significance of what we drink and why it matters.
Tiffanie currently serves as the U.S. Co-Chair of the Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards and is a respected international spirits judge, lending her palate and expertise to competitions including Diageo World Class, the L.A. Spirits Awards, and the New Orleans Spirits Competition. She is also a sought-after speaker, moderator, and educator whose seminars bridge hospitality, history, and culture with warmth, curiosity, and joy.
Her contributions to the industry have earned some of beverage's highest honors, including the Visionary Award from Tales of the Cocktail Foundation, Women of Whiskey's Bartender of the Year, Food & Wine's Game Changer, inclusion on Imbibe's Imbibe 75, and the IACP Toni Tipton-Martin Award for expanding conversations around food and beverage history.
Beyond the bar, Tiffanie is the founder of The Barriere Collective, a creative hospitality agency specializing in brand strategy, storytelling, education, menu development, cultural consulting, and immersive experiences. Through the Collective, she partners with brands, destinations, and organizations to create programming rooted in authenticity, scholarship, and genuine human connection.
Her work has been featured by The New York Times, The Washington Post, Food & Wine, Southern Living, Forbes, Essence, Wine Enthusiast, Punch, Imbibe, and many more. She has appeared on NBC's Today Show, Netflix's Drink Masters, Food Network's The Kitchen, and stages around the world, sharing her passion for hospitality with audiences ranging from aspiring bartenders to industry leaders.
Whether she's behind the bar, on stage, in a classroom, or writing her next story, Tiffanie believes hospitality is one of the world's oldest forms of generosity. She continues to inspire the next generation of beverage professionals to lead with curiosity, honor the past, embrace community, and always leave room for a great story over a well-made drink.