Erik Tennyson

About the Author Erik Tennyson

Erik Tennyson grew up in an Italian American family in Queens, first getting his hands wet in the spirits business by stealing fruit out of the family punchbowl. He got his start in the service industry at 11 as a busboy cleaning ashtrays at a catering hall in Brooklyn full of wise guys. He entered the bar scene soon after, pouring fries into Dixie cups at a food stand in a bar frequented by bikers. After graduating from the University of San Francisco and interning at FHM Magazine, he found himself like a lot of young writers—broke and unemployed. Penury spurred him back to the service industry, and he started working at the bar in the W Hotel in San Francisco where he spent the following decade pouring drinks and designing cocktail menus when not making use of the travel benefits. In 2013 he joined the staff of Wine & Spirits Magazine as an Assistant Editor and began publishing articles on cocktails, spirits and wine. His cocktails have been featured in 7×7 Magazine, SF Weekly, Santé, dromo.com, and Cooking with Ryan Scott. Bartending is a habit he refuses to kick. You can find him pouring drinks at Liholiho Yacht Club in San Francisco.