It’s A Woman’s World: Bartender + Beverage Manager Kylie Keeley of Bar Bushido in Norwalk

Photography by Melissa Olguin

Walk through the doors of Jeff Taibe’s izakaya, Bar Bushido, and chances are, you’ll be greeted by Kylie Keeley, especially if you’re sitting down at her bar.

Correction. One of her bars.

The pub part of Bar Bushido—where you’ll find yakitori, ramen, karaage chicken, DIY hand rolls, and other Japanese bar bites—is where Keeley says the “drinks match the energy.” The izakaya is a vibe; it’s loud (but with good energy), casual, and a great hangout for any occasion, and it’s where she’s rocking out a drink list of highballs, creative sake bombs, and cocktails ingredients (especially Japanese ingredients) that should spark your curiosity and tickle your tastebuds.

At the very back of the space is Bar Bushido’s alter ego, a quieter, more intimate hand roll bar, where Keeley’s cocktails are more focused on highlighting a certain flavor profile.

Anyway, it’s time to stop listening to me, and you can hear (or read) more about her, her background, and all the cool things she’s doing behind the bar at Bar Bushido from her directly.

Pit Master - Akashi White Oak Japanese Whiskey, Averna, Oka Sweet Japanese Bermutto, house-made plum BBQ, bitters, Cherrywood smoke

Give us your industry origin story before you got to Bar Bushido.

I always thought bartending was the coolest job. I wanted to be part of this industry as soon as I was old enough to work. Through high school, I applied to every diner/restaurant that I’d heard would take on staff under 18, but to no avail. The closest I got was a Panera Bread my senior year of high school, and a cafe/ice cream shop in Boston by freshman year of college. I managed to leverage this “experience” to get hired at a more traditional full-service restaurant when I was 21…a Chili’s. I will say that chain restaurants are pretty solid for their staff training programs when you’re new to the industry, though, I certainly didn’t pick up any food or beverage knowledge during my time there. I think I was there for about a year before looking for a new spot, as the money wasn’t great, and the GM would make sexist comments that men made better servers, and prioritized busier sections for the male staff.

After that, I worked at a place in Danbury (where I’m from) for a few years called Prime Pub. This is where I first learned to bartend. The bar manager there told me, “I think I want to teach you how to bartend, but you’re so clumsy!” She wasn’t wrong. I may or may not have broken glass in the well on Mother’s Day there, but I got my start! I learned everything as a pour count, not in ounces, everything was shaken or built in a glass, I never picked up a stir spoon, and the only thing we made from scratch was simple syrup. But it so much fun. I caught the bug and wanted to know everything about everything, and did a lot of my own research on classic recipes and techniques.

Eventually I moved and started at a spot in Sandy Hook closer to me. This is really where I found my voice as a bartender, and given the room to do so. The ingredients we had there were far more interesting than anything I’d previously worked with. When I first joined the team, we’d have meetings for the seasonal menu changes that were an open conversation with all of the bar staff, and I finally got my first drink on the menu! (I had to fight for it too—I was comically told yuzu juice was “too expensive” even though the kitchen was literally using it in an aioli. And now we have alllll the yuzu at Bushido!) After that, I made the majority of the seasonal menu changes for the next couple of years. I was really gratifying; I had a lot of support from my GM and beverage manager. I was constantly raiding the kitchen for ingredients, wanting to make certain flavor combinations I couldn’t find otherwise.

After my time there, I split my week between a couple of local bar-centric spots in the Shelton area—Bar140 which is an awesome late night industry spot, and the Quail and Ale, a whiskey bar with fun comfort food and a great summer tiki menu. This was some of the most fun I’d had bartending. Both had a totally different kind of volume than I was used to, later hours, smaller staff, and sooooo many regulars—people genuinely wanting to support the businesses and staff in everything they did. I’ve made some really close friends from these bars, and I definitely cried when I had to give my notice when I was offered the beverage manager position at Bar Bushido.

There’s no way that I’d be where I am now if not for the room to grow and find my personal style as a bartender, and the connections I’ve made over the years. Bar Bushido has been the most rewarding thing I’ve ever been a part of. I’ve never run a program like this before, let alone two separate bar programs within the same space. It’s been SO much fun building this from the ground up and watching it grow. I’m so lucky to have such unwavering support from the owners Jeff Taibe and Stephanie Sweeney. We’re just gonna keep getting weirder and more fun as time goes on!

Horse Girl - kumquat infused reposado tequila, Kiyomi Japanese Rum, sunflower seed orgeat, carrot juice, lime, celery bitters

So, you run two different cocktail programs, one up front and another in the back at the hand roll bar. Talk about what you’re doing at each one and what your creative process is like.

So, our menus at Bar Bushido are catered to the dining experience you choose with us. The izakaya is our loud, casual, bar-centric room in the front. The food menu here has a little bit of everything and is all meant to be shared, so it’s the perfect hangout spot. The drinks match this energy. We have a whole list of sake bombs, not to mention a really approachable sake menu, tonssss of Japanese spirits, and the drink menu is just really FUN. I’ve always said my style is “approachably weird.” I tend to pick an ingredient I want to work with, and figure out the most interesting thing I can pair it with, and then what style of spirit is the best fit. I often look at this from more of a culinary point of view. I get inspiration from food recipes probably more than anything! I didn’t want a spirit driven menu with a bunch of obscure ingredients a common customer won’t recognize, and I don’t like looking at a menu and already kind of guessing what something is going to taste like. I want to surprise you! I want a guest to go, “I’ve never had edamame, or BBQ, or sunflower seeds in a cocktail before, I have to try these!” And it’s all such a great conversation starter between guests and bar staff. The drink names are almost as much fun as the drinks themselves too!

The back room, our Temaki-ya, is a totally different vibe. It’s a soulful, elevated hand roll bar, but it’s still really approachable. The food back there is all really delicate combinations of fish and raw seafood, so the beverage menu is very mindful of this. The sake, wine, and Japanese whiskey menus are more extensive, and the spirit selection if streamlined to primarily Japanese options. Each cocktail here has a main flavor profile, as opposed to the front where I like to see how many complex flavors I can pull into one drink. Everything is named after this main flavor, for example “Honey,” “Cherry,” “Garlic,” “Coffee”, etc. Each drink is made with the food menu in mind. Anything too intense would mess with your palate while enjoying your meal. That’s not to say they don’t have some personality to them as well though! Each drink in the back has some sort of sake component to it, whether that’s a sake with interesting tasting notes to compliment the other flavors, or a sake-based “vermouth” or a fun infusion or syrup with sake in it. This menu was probably the most out of my normal comfort zone in a really satisfying way. I’m pretty proud of myself for “toning it down” in a way that’s not boring.

Garlic - burnt garlic oil-washed Oka Gin, Brooklyn Kura Ashokan Sake, dry vermouth, rice vinegar, sesame (pictured with available caviar bump add-on)

Tell us what it’s like working with a chef like Jeff Taibe and all of his wild ingredients.

Jeff is by far the most passionate and talented chef I’ve had the pleasure of working for. It’s been such an incredible opportunity working with him and Steph. They’re such a present bosses and owners. They’re here and part of the same chaotic weekend service with the rest of us. They care and want to hear your ideas.

Chef Jeff knows so much and is so intentional in everything he does and puts on his menus. He’s made me more mindful of the seasonality of ingredients, not just what flavors you expect a certain time of year, but the actual growing patterns of produce and when it makes sense to use those items in their prime. He works really hard to minimize waste as well. He uses every part of the vegetable, the chicken, the fish, that he can—a practice I’ve taken to the bar as well, repurposing byproducts of syrups and infusions into garnishes whenever I’m able to.

He always has something fun from the kitchen for me to experiment with, sometimes it’s some obscure fruit, or something derived from a kitchen experiment of his. Most recently it was the koji he cured tomatoes in, which I made into a killer demerara syrup for a drink special.

I always go to him when working on a new drink because his palate is so insane, his approval is so rewarding.

Agave - blanco tequila, lime, yuzu, agave, sake-egg white foam

What’s coming up for you personally and for you and Bar Bushido?

Personally, I’m looking forward to this fall! I love Halloween and all the spooky things. I’m going to LA in October for a bunch of the haunted houses only available on the west coast, and I’m definitely mapping out the best spots for foods/drinks already, too.

Bar Bushido has a lot coming our way! The next installment of our chef’s dinner series is actually a cocktail dinner, on October 15th, which I’m really excited for. We usually have set pairings like sake or Japanese whiskey from companies we enjoy working with, or suggest pairings based on Jeff’s crazy menus, but this one we’re starting a little backwards. I’m making six courses of beverages (half sized or low ABV so everyone can get some safely!) and Jeff is going to work the food menu around them. Being that our regular menu is already so funky I’m really trying to take things to the next level - processes and that are too complex for normal service, and ingredients that might be too out there for your typical patron. We also have a sake education class in October, a pumpkin paint and sip, AND a Halloween party, which might tie for first for me with the cocktail dinner. October’s a busy month! 

Oni Fans - Planteray White Rum, strawberry, togarashi, yuzu, sesame oil, togarashi salt rim

What are you usually drinking and why are you drinking it?

I’m not an easy bar guest in the way that I rarely drink the same thing twice in one sitting. I love a craft cocktail so I tend to work my way through a menu when I go out, but if nothing catches my eye, I’m a mezcal girl at the end of the day—margarita, shot, or old fashioned in any form. If we’re talking shift drink, I’ve been gravitating towards sake lately. It’s such a nice, light and easy way to unwind at the end of the night and it actually opens up as is comes closer to room temperature so if you’re taking your time with it while closing up you don’t have to worry about it getting watered down or not tasting as good.

You get a night off, what are you doing? And in general, what are you doing when you’re not running the bar?

I love going out to eat. I love having someone make ME drinks and food on a night off. I’m always down for a drive to try out a new spot too; we’re in such a great area for food. I go to a lottttt of concerts too, which usually goes hand in hand with looking for cool restaurants near a venue.

When I’m hanging back at home and need some R&R, I’m usually camped out on the couch with my boyfriend and our two cats, Mochi and Moo, watching the newest thriller series or scary movie, simultaneously knitting or crocheting something fun so I can feel crafty while I couch rot.

Follow Kylie on Instagram @kyliekeeley_