After he returned from the 2010 Manhattan Cocktail Classic, I asked participating bartender Pablo Moix to recommend three must-try bars from his trip to New York, and he suggested the Flatiron Lounge, Mayahuel and The Summit Bar. The first two bars were familiar, since they’d received plenty of praise in the press, but that last spot was new to me. On my latest trip to New York, in the midst of a holiday blizzard, neither Greg Seider nor Hamid Rashidzada were in their year-old Alphabet City bar, and my experience was much more interesting as a result.

During my arrival, a bartender (Rashidzada?) sent the doorman home and debated whether to keep the bar open at all, since the sidewalks were still covered with foot-high snow and most of the streets were icy slip-and-slides. He turned to the barback, who was prepping behind the bar, and asked whether he wanted to work. The man, who I’d soon learn was named Alberto Montel, answered in the affirmative. The doorman left, the bartender disappeared and Montel took my order.

In many respects, this was a moment that Montel had been waiting for. The native of Puebla, Mexico, had lived in New York for three years and worked at The Summit Bar for seven months. In that time, he’s gotten to know the menu back to front. He’s also one of only two people who knows how to make the infused syrups, the other being co-owner Greg Seider. With that knowledge base, when he was pressed into service, manning the bar solo, Montel excelled.

My first cocktail was a more-than-respectable beer cocktail called The John Lee Hooker ($12). The drink involved Buffalo Trace Bourbon shaken with fresh lemon juice, agave, cinnamon, orange and sarsaparilla bitters. Montel topped the cocktail with Lagunitas Hop Stoopid IPA, sprayed a spritz of smoky Peat Monster Scotch, and served it on the rocks with an orange peel garnish.

They’re currently barrel-aging a Lions in London, Beefeater 24 gin infused with Rooibos tea, Aperol, Dolin sweet vermouth and Summit summer orange bitters. My version was un-aged, which really allowed cocktail to express the red, herbaceous tea.

The Summit Bar typically offers barrel-aged cocktails, but on the previous Friday, they finished the batch of Barrel Aged Born & Raised Manhattan, featuring Honey Bush Tea infused Oak Cross Scotch. He gave me a taste of Highland Park 12-year infused with the same tea, which had even more pronounced tea flavor and will meld with another cocktail soon enough.

It’s hard to know whether the cocktails would have tasted even better if Seider or Rashidzada made them, but really, it doesn’t much matter. Montel had clearly been paying attention. He knew The Summit Bar cocktails, seemed at ease behind the bar and delivered. If he maintains his interest, it wouldn’t surprise me to return to The Summit Bar and see Montel trade “back” for “tender.”