Thomas Fondano

Sr. Contributor
        

Raised a half mile from the mighty Hudson River in upstate New York, Thomas Fondano’s earliest whiskey memory is fetching CC & Gingers for grown-ups at a wedding at age 8. In the course of obtaining a BFA in film, photography, and visual arts, he discovered a love for bourbon. After getting an MFA in interactive media and getting married, Thomas began experimenting with craft cocktails during his wife’s first pregnancy (to her dismay at the time and delight afterward.) He now lives in Portland, Ore. with his wife and two children and makes cocktails daily at 5pm.

Barrels
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Picked
Open Bottles
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Of Bitters
Tattoos
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Fun Facts

Took a bartending course in 1998, never worked in a bar.

Of the 65 barrels he’s assisted in selecting, 63 of them were within 4 days.

Has drank enough whiskey at his local bar that they made him a bobblehead.

People reacting strongly to bad smells always makes him laugh.

All of his grandparents were Italian immigrants and he grew up next door to his great-

grandfather and sons’ soda bottling shop.

Desert Island Whiskey

William Larue Weller

Elmer T. Lee

Four Roses OESF Private Selections

Anything from the barrel in the rick house with good people

A bottomless Negroni

“The surest proof of the moral foundation of the universe is that you can always find good whiskey if you will go looking for it.”Bernard DeVoto