TAMPA, Fla. (BLOOM) — When is an old fashioned not just an old fashioned? When it’s crafted by Tyler Wolff at Ponte Modern American , a place where cocktails aren’t just served, they’re reimagined.
Wolff, Beverage Director and Sommelier at Ponte, was just named the MICHELIN Guide Florida 2025 Exceptional Cocktails Award Winner , the only recipient of the honor in the state. The accolade cements both his name and Ponte’s Midtown Tampa bar program as frontrunners in Florida’s booming hospitality scene.
Wolff’s inventive drink list is divided in two: familiar classics on one side and bold, modern reinterpretations on the other. “Everybody’s comfortable with the cosmo, the margarita, the old fashioned,” Wolff said. “What are some things we can tweak to keep the style recognizable—but still offer people something new?”
At Ponte, that means lavender vodka and white cranberry in a reinvented cosmo, a yuzu foam–topped French 75, and a standout old fashioned made with Suntory Toki Japanese whiskey, kokuto sugar, black walnut bitters, and a splash of Montenegro amaro in place of simple syrup. The result is a nutty, smoky, caramelly evolution of the cocktail staple—designed to keep the original’s identity while layering on deeper complexity…