April Wachtel is a 26 year veteran in the beverage and hospitality industry. She is an experienced mixologist, a cocktail and spirits instructor, Founder and CEO of Cheeky, and the Host of the Movers and Shakers podcast.
April worked in every role from busser to bartender to beverage director to brand ambassador for Bacardi to beverage consultant for Diageo. She has developed recipes for the likes of Lincoln Center Kitchen and MetLife Stadium, and has taught cocktail classes to over 12K students online and in-person at five schools (Astor Center, ICE, Haven's Kitchen, Murray's Cheese, and Audrey Claire Cook.) Her classes and personal philosophy of hospitality were featured in The Wall Street Journal and on the Sundance Channel. April has made multiple appearances on The Today Show, Fox & Friends, and on various shows on Heritage Radio Network. She has been interviewed for Forbes.com, MarthaStewart.com,
FastCompany, GoodFood, Men's Health, and Refinery29 among many other outlets.
April founded Swig + Swallow in 2015 as a cocktail batching and delivery service for spirits brands and transitioned it into a line of HPP’ed cocktail mixers with co-founder Gates Otsuji, in spring of 2016. Swig + Swallow launched to the public on Kickstarter in May 2016, meeting the funding goal in less than 30 hours. After 3+ years in operation, selling in Whole Foods, on Amazon, on Minibar and Foodkick, Swig + Swallow rebranded to Cheeky Cocktails in April of 2020. Cheeky experienced rapid growth in 2020; doubling their facility space, expanding the team, fueling happy hours for the world’s largest spirits companies and many Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies, and earning accolades in the New York Times, Men’s Journal, The Washington Post, Thrillist, among others. Cheeky is currently sold in over 350 stores, bars, restaurants, and hotels in 44 States + DC.
You may have seen April's work mentioned or featured in: (for a list with links, please click here)
NY Mag (Vulture), Forbes, Martha Stewart.com, Fast Company, Serious Eats, Men's Health, Whisky Advocate, Supercall, Zagat.com, Cosmo Radio (Siriusxm), Redbook Magazine, Maxim.com, Chilled Magazine, COED, StupidDope, Examiner.com, The Daily Meal, NY Press, The Houston Chronicle, Eat This Drink That Go!, Liquor.com, Craveonline.com, The Speakeasy, Sharp & Hot, The Main Course, Celebuzz'd, Greatist.com, Mamas Latinas, The Massachusetts Beverage Business Journal, Boston.com, Grubstreet, The Improper Bostonian, and Stuff Magazine.