WNC native, former teacher to compete in ultimate cocktail competition on Netflix

ASHEVILLE - A WNC native and former teacher who made a career out of hobby home bartending will go head-to-head with mixologists across North America in the new Netflix original competition series, “Drink Masters.”

Natalie Migliarini, of Waynesville, is one of 12 contestants who will attempt to impress the judges -- cocktail connoisseurs Frankie Solarik and Julie Reiner -- with her original, innovative recipes and eye-catching presentation.

“Teaching myself how to make cocktails spiraled into something I would never have imagined with a ton of opportunities,” said Migliarini, founder of Beautiful Booze through which she develops, makes, and photographs cocktails. The business also offers brand consultation, promotion, and other services to the beverage industry.

On “Drink Masters,” hosted by comedian Tone Bell, Migliarini and fellow contestants are tested on skills, creativity, and ability to perform under pressure in a series of cocktail-concocting challenges. Each round will lead to another elimination until only the winner is left standing in the season finale.

The grand prize is a $100,000 cash prize and the title of The Ultimate Drink Master.

The 10-episode season and series premiere will be released on the streaming service on Oct. 28.

“As a home bartender, being in an environment with very talented bartenders in North America was a challenge in itself,” Migliarini said. “It helped me grow in the overall world of mixology and become a better mixologist at home.”

Boozy beginnings

Cocktails weren’t always on the menu for Migliarini, who forged a career in the craft after years of working in education.

Migliarini, who now resides in New York City, graduated from Tuscola High School in Waynesville and North Carolina State University in Raleigh. She then taught at Asheville Middle School and the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.

In 2013, Migliarini was laid off after five years working in the public health program at the University of Washington after grant funding ended, she said.

“When I got laid off from my job, I took kind of like a mental break to try to figure out what I wanted to do moving forward. I wanted to take a creative break, so I started teaching myself how to make different cocktails and photograph them,” she said.

“I felt like my day job was sitting in a cubicle all day dealing with numbers, so I started hosting a lot of dinner parties at my house and trying to come up with a signature cocktail. Every time I did that, I found that when I Googled different cocktails the photos were kind of depressing.”

Migliarini prepared different recipes but in the way she wanted them to taste and look.

At the time, craft cocktails were becoming trendier at bars, she said. Then, Instagram’s debut created a platform for home cooks to post pictures of their plates. Migliarini saw it as an opportunity to share her cocktail photos with a wider audience.

The project proved therapeutic and motivational, and the popularity of her posts led to new professional opportunities.

In 2013, she launched Beautiful Booze, which has evolved into social media workshop facilitation to the hospitality industry, as well as consultation and collaborative marketing campaigns with major alcohol brands.

A five-year tour of cocktail bars, distilleries, and wineries around the world led to her hosting bar crawl series in various cities.

Her work has sent her to Cognac, France, for content project collaborations and to the Canary Islands to judge a cocktail competition for an alcohol brand.

In 2020, Migliarini and her business partner James Stevenson published a cocktail recipe book called “Beautiful Booze: Stylish Cocktails to Make at Home,” available on Amazon.

“Drink Masters” is Migliarini's first time competing in a cocktail contest, as the production allows mixologists who don’t work in a bar or restaurant to participate, she said.

Audiences will have to watch the series to find out if Migliarini took home the grand prize. However, she said that the experience pushed her to grow and improve her skills, techniques, and timing.

She gained a new respect for bartending, too.

“As a bartender, you have to hustle, and I think that’s where I improved my skills ― making drinks fast and trying to be more creative with ingredients that I already have at home, which is what I’ve been doing for the last 10 years but trying to take in some more unique ingredients and take more risks with flavor combinations," she said.

Tips to spruce up your cocktail

Migliarini shared a few tips for other home bartenders to enhance their cocktails.

The first is to use fresh, quality ingredients in the cocktail and for garnishes.

“When you start squeezing fresh limes and lemons for your cocktails it’s a total game changer,” she said.

As for presentation, treat every drink special even if it’s not a special occasion.

“Even if you’re just making a cocktail for yourself, take a little extra effort and make a fun garnish even if it’s just a slice of lime or lime wheel, it’s always great to have that experience at home and have it look pretty,” Migliarini said. “That also means maybe investing in some nice glassware because it does change the way that the drink tastes when you have beautiful glassware and garnish and quality ingredients.”

Tiana Kennell is the food and dining reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at tkennell@citizentimes.com or follow her on Twitter/Instagram @PrincessOfPage. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: WNC native to compete in ultimate cocktail competition on Netflix