photograph by bruce vanwyngarden
Bobby Heath with his “Return to Speranza.”
Bobby Heath got his start in the restaurant trade at 26. That was 14 years ago, following years of office work after graduating from Bartlett High School, helping to run business operations for a local restaurant group and a tattoo shop.
“Back then, it was like I never stopped working,” he says, “and it was always on my mind. That’s when I decided to take a step back from being in charge, and make it so I could go to work, and then be done with work when I left. I had some friends who worked at Slider Inn in Midtown and asked if they needed someone. They did, and I got a job as a server and sometimes bartender.”
That was followed by a stint at Bardog in downtown Memphis and then a seven-year run as a server and fill-in bartender at Bari Ristorante. “Hunter [Coleman], and the other bartenders at Bari really taught me a lot,” Heath says. “And then, when this location of Restaurant Iris opened up, I called and asked if I could pick up some bartending shifts, and they said, ‘We’ll give you five of them.’ And that was that.
photograph by bruce vanwyngarden
“It was my first full-time bartending gig at a craft cocktail bar, so it was a step up for me,” he says. Heath has risen to the occasion, having recently taken second place in this magazine’s Readers’ Restaurant Poll “Best Bartender” category, finishing behind his one-time mentor, Coleman.
“I’ve been at Iris since we opened in October 2022,” Heath says, “and it’s been great. I love Kelly [English], and he’s great to work for. I’d kind of known him before, because Bari and Iris were right next to each other for a long time. So it’s nice to reconnect this way.”
True to his spoken ambition from years ago, when Heath’s not busy crafting cocktails, he leaves his work behind. “I spend a lot of my time trying to find new places to travel,” he says. “I like going to concerts, and I’m guilty of buying concert tickets before I know how I’m going actually to make the trip happen. But going to concerts is often the thing that leads me to new places. That, and weddings. Lots of my friends have gotten married and that also leads to travel. I went to Durango, Colorado, in October for a friend’s wedding and spent about a week there. It was gorgeous; the aspens were gold and the weather was just perfect.”
“I was wondering if there was a way to put a citric-acid element to the cocktail. I figured the gummies would work as a simple garnish and also could give a little coating on the rim.” — Bobby Heath
Sensing it may be time for a drink, I reach over and take a look at the cocktail menu, which is situated near at hand. “What sort of cocktail were you thinking about making for me?” I ask.
“This is our new spring/summer menu,” he says. “There are three lead bartenders at Iris and we all contribute. Two of those cocktails are mine and I was thinking about making you the ‘Return to Speranza.’”
“What’s the origin of the name?” I ask.
photograph by bruce vanwyngarden
“There’s a video game that I play with another bartender and a server here, and Speranza is the setting for it. The drink has five ingredients: Espolòn Blanco tequila, Génépy le Chamois, which is an alpine herbal liqueur, Lindemans Pêche lambic beer, a yerba maté simple syrup, and lemon juice.”
“Wow, that’s a pretty exotic-sounding combination,” I say.
“It took a while to get it right,” he says, “but I think you’ll like it.”
A couple minutes later, the foamy-looking, video-game-inspired concoction is resting in a whiskey snifter on the bar, two sour gummy candies hanging on its rim.
It’s a clever visual, but it’s also functional, Heath says: “I was wondering if there was a way to put a citric-acid element to the cocktail. I figured the gummies would work as a simple garnish and also could give a little coating on the rim.”
I dutifully slide the gummies around the rim, letting them do their citrus-y work, then take a sip as Heath watches, awaiting my reaction — which is a big smile and single word: “Delightful!” It is truly that, and refreshing, easy to drink. And there’s candy at the end!
It’s the kind of cocktail you could leave work for. And like Bobby Heath, it’s highly recommended.
Restaurant Iris, 4550 Poplar Ave.
