Pour Souls Cocktail Club and Femme du Coupe

Tim Williams of Pour Souls Cocktail Club

Photo: Martha Williams

Pour Souls Cocktail Club

Who’s behind it Tim Williams

Background Worked his way up from a door guy at O'Malley's to making drinks at Castaways to designing the cocktail program at Province (“That was when I started to have a style”), with additional bartending stints at Mr. Brown's Lounge and Japonais

Career turning point Someone “told me about this woman named Bridget Albert. Anybody right now who’s doing anything you’ve ever heard of as far as cocktails are concerned…all have contact with Bridget and her seminar workshop. [Her class] was where I first was like, ‘Okay, there’s people doing this at a much higher level.’ ”

What he does “Our point is to take the tension, take the handlebar mustache, take all these characteristics of mixologists and throw it out the window,” Williams says. “The point of what we do is strictly and solely to make people feel comfortable making a drink at home or confidently ordering a drink when they’re out.” Pour Souls does this via cocktail workshops at a Wicker Park loft space, in-home cocktail classes, private bartending and interactive corporate and public events.

Favorite drink to teach The Mojito. “It’s probably the best way to get across just how easy making a cocktail can be. I’ve probably tasted almost 100 mojitos made by cocktail novices. And not a single one has been beyond repair: They’re all fixable.”

Where to find him Weekly workshops (open to the public) kick off in January; in the meantime, Williams is co-hosting a Thanksgiving-themed class with Sara Nguyen (sous chef at Sprout) November 21 at 7:30pm for $55/person, $100/couple at Tenzing Wine & Spirits (165 N Morgan St). To register or to contact Williams for private events, visit poursouls.wordpress.com.