Today, we’d like to introduce you to Danilo Bozovic.
Hi Danilo, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
As a young man, I started at the age of 18 to bartend and two work and pay off my university costs. Even though I always knew that I had no interest in pursuing a university degree career, in Serbia, where I was born, to most parents and mothers, it is very important for their child to have a university degree. After the first shift behind the bar, I was hooked and obsessed with that line of work, and here we are 22 years later.
Swizzle Rum Bar & Drinkery has been awarded many awards in the best speakeasy category in the USA and Miami. It is the first nonstanding cocktail bar in Florida, with around 150 rums and other spirits as well. Delirio Tiki Bar by Swizzle has shown incredible results in the tiki world in Florida, and my Barkeep Book, The Art of Mixology, Bar, and Cocktails, has won the best cocktail book award of 2022 by Cocktail Academy from Los Angeles.
I think what has contributed to all these awards is that I am never satisfied and always driven to better any segment of the cocktail and the bar. The guests are the number one priority to me. I have always been and always will be. I think with the energy flow in those directions, after more than two decades, the results have slowly started to show.
We all face challenges, but would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I wish, but not a smooth road, even though all the bumps and the obstacles, I remembered in a very happy way, just like the smooth part of the road as well.
I didn’t make a difference; I enjoyed the journey and whatever was thrown at me. I remember while I was bartending in New York, in one of the best cocktail bars in the world called “Employees Only,” back in 2009, I was just staging.
I would walk away from a shift with $20, and I wouldn’t take the subway or a cab; I would walk and save up. Loved those walks. Wouldn’t change a thing. At the beginning of my career in Serbia, the bartending craft was kept a secret, And it was hard to find a mentor and someone who was willing to teach you what they knew.
I would be taking in my eyes and trying to figure it out the best I could. That is why I wrote Barkeep Book: The Art of Mixology, Bar & cocktails. It was for that 18-year-old me that I was looking for any knowledge available to Better and boost myself in the professional world.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar with what you do, what can you tell them about what you do?
Just like any artist, it takes a long time for one to develop a once-owned signature presence and uniqueness.
I would say at the moment, the cocktails at Swizzle Rum Bar & Drinkery are trying to be as unique as possible, with our deconstructed piña colada being one of the main drivers, and we have recently released our garlic cocktail.
With these cocktails, I always try to positively shock the pallet and the guest and always provide something as memorable as possible.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
At first, one has to ask around their closest circle of friends and, from there, start. The first mentor might not be the best one, and ultimately, our gut feeling. Will let us know when that happens.
Even though we might not know what we want in the beginning, it’s strange, but somehow our gut feeling always knows. Just follow your instinct, stay true to yourself, and eventually, all the dots will connect.
Contact Info:
- Website: danilobozovic.com swizzlerumbardrinkery.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danilobozovic_swizzle/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Danilo.Dacha.Bozovic?mibextid=LQQJ4d
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danilo-bozovic-4937a446?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
- Yelp: https://yelp.to/fwLzvKJCCt
Image Credits
Swizzle Rum Bar & Drinkery
