Shannon Ponche
Leyenda | Brooklyn
October 2019
Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, Shannon Ponche started working in bars as soon as she turned 21. Ponche landed at Taste Bar, where she learned from Ted Kilgore who went on to grow St. Louis’s cocktail bar scene with the opening of Planter’s House in 2013. When Ponche moved to New York City in 2012, she started out behind the bar at Mayahuel. She was soon pulling shifts at some of the best cocktail spots in the city, including Dave Arnold’s Booker & Dax, Natasha David’s Nitecap, and Nathan O’Neill’s NoMad Bar—both StarChefs Rising Stars alums. Ponche began making a name for herself on the competition circuit, nabbing the title at the NYC Speed Rack competition as well as top place in Tales of the Cocktail Viva Sangrita, both in 2013.
The Speed Rack win landed her a job offer from Legendary Bartender Julie Reiner and legend in the mixing Ivy Mix, who ponche considers an important mentor. At the Clover Club in Brooklyn Heights, Ponche quickly worked her way up to head bartender. When Reiner and Mix opened pan-Latin bar and restaurant Leyenda in Cobble Hill in 2015, they tapped Ponche to run the bar program. With a preference for Mexican and international ingredients, Ponche mixes spirits with fruit flavors and savory components like peppers, nuts, chiles, and spices. Leyenda was ranked 97 on the “World’s 100 Best Bars List” in 2018.
