About Us
DrinksLA was born out of two ideas.
The first is that we all do drinks. Sometimes for professional reasons, sometimes with friends, sometimes because you went off your rocker and signed up for casual encounters on Craigslist…
The second idea is that there are amazing alcohol companies out there creating high qualityalcohol and you, our fellow drinker, shouldn’t have to travel far and pay a lot to discover them.
Some people call these companies boutiques, others call them small-batch distilleries, and still others call them… alcohol companies. Regardless of where you fall in this timeless debate, these companies desrve your attention. They often make each barrel of inebriating goodness by hand and produce less in a year than the big conglomerates produce in an hour. The attention to detail is much greater and as a result the quality is too. Who said smaller isn’t better?
The problem is that these smaller brands don’t have the massive distribution and marketing dollars of the huge liquor companies. That is why you haven’t heard of them.
That’s where DrinksLA comes in.
So stop sticking to the same old brand every time you go for a drinks. Branch out and explore the awesome brands you’ve never heard of. Come and drink with us!
- Perry & Ori
Perry Kalmus CEO
Perry Kalmus has been immersed in the world of boutique alcohol since his days at Williams College where he threw many mixology parties, concocting drinks using the alcohol from small-batch distilleries and ingredients from local farmers markets (ok fine, there was only one farmers market in the one-horse town of Williamstown). It was there, nestled in the quiet, secluded mountains of the Berkshires in Massachusetts, that Perry developed his passion for drinking (responsibly of course) (and starting at age 21... OF COURSE). After Williams, Perry honed his mixology skills at bars all over the world. First at Gradisca, the famed super-club in Perugia, Italy, and then at the Palace, a 3-level bar & club on the beach in Sydney, Australia. Finally back home, Perry was a bartender at the prestigious Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills, and revamped their anachronistic bar menu into a modern chic list of drinks with a high mixology quotient. Perry then worked for 4 years at United Talent Agency, one of the big 3 Hollywood talent agencies, where he honed his agent skills, all-the-while throwing mega-event parties.
From there, the idea of DrinksCity was born one day when Perry and Ori sat down for a glass of... orange juice. Fresh squeezed of course.
Ori Kalmus Co-Founder
Ori Kalmus perfected his bartending skills at the Marina Bar & Grill in Toms River, New Jersey. We know what you're thinking.... New Jersey. But this fantastic bar resides right on the water and that is where Ori found his inspiration for discovering the perfect cocktail. Ever the fine mixologist, Ori spends hours in the DrinksLA Drinking Lab working with the bottles from our boutique brands and creating the recipes you see on the cocktail menus at DrinksLA events. When not drinking (although sometimes while drinking...), Ori has done film, tv, and commercial work as an actor in LA. Will he sell out on DrinksLA if he lands the lead role in a Will Smith epic? You bet your ass he will.
