Meet Montreal’s best bartender

Maclean Rouble

Maclean Rouble was voted #1 Best Bartender in this year’s Best of MTL readers poll, and although she’s mixed and poured drinks at a number of bars around town — namely Sky, Bifteck, Newtown and Gogo Lounge — she’s best known and recognized for her work at the Wiggle Room.

The St-Laurent Blvd. burlesque bar, which opened in 2013, fared very well in the Best of MTL in its own right, coming in at #4 Best Bar, #2 Best Fancy Bar and #3 Best Pick-Up Spot, and two of Rouble’s co-workers top the Best Server category (Eloise Huston and Cindy Levesque).

Given the Wiggle Room’s focus on live performance and sensuality, the clientele is different from that of your average bar, with a wide age range, a gender mix and points all over the demographic map.

“It’s a very positive environment,” Rouble says. “Everyone has a good time together, which is fun to see, especially since we attract so many different kinds of people. It’s like coming to work to hang out with friends, every day.”

Asked why she went into bartending in the first place, Rouble — a Toronto native who moved to Montreal after a spell in Scotland — says, “I just really like tasty things.” As for her favourite cocktail at work, it was too hard to pick just one:

“The Sazerac and the Planter’s Punch,” she says, “alcohol, sugar, bitters and a couple other things, but you’ll just have to come try them for yourself.” ■

The Wiggle Room is located at 3874 St-Laurent. See the programming here.