Martin Cate is a rum and exotic cocktail expert and the owner and creator of Smuggler’s Cove in San Francisco. Smuggler’s Cove features the largest rum selection in the Western Hemisphere and features cocktails from over three centuries of rum history. Smuggler’s Cove is proud to be a 2026 James Beard Awards Finalist for Outstanding Bar in the United States. The Sunday Times of London called Smuggler’s Cove one of the 50 Greatest Bars on Earth and it was on the World’s 50 Best Bars list for six consecutive years. Smuggler's Cove was named Best American Cocktail Bar 2016 at the 10th Annual Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards, one of the Top Ten Food & Beverage concepts of the last 25 years by Cheers Magazine, one of the 13 Most Influential Bars of the 21st Century by Liquor.com, and was named to Esquire’s Best Bars in America Hall of Fame. Martin is a passionate rum collector who conducts educational seminars and officiates rum & cocktail competitions across the United States, Europe and the Caribbean. He is also the co-owner of Hale Pele in Portland, False Idol in San Diego, California Gold in San Rafael, CA and Max’s in Grand Rapids, MI. Martin and Rebecca Cate's book “Smuggler’s Cove: Exotic Cocktails, Rum, and the Cult of Tiki” was published by Ten Speed Press in June of 2016 and won the 2017 James Beard Award for Best Beverage Book and the 2017 Spirited Award for Best Cocktail Book.
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James Beard Award Winner
Spirited Award Winner
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Education
Martin loves sharing his passion for rum and tiki and has been giving entertaining and informative talks and trainings to audiences of 20 to over 300 for over a decade, including seminars at Tales of the Cocktail, Tiki Oasis, Arizona Cocktail Week, Golden State of Cocktails, and Sacramento Cocktail Week. He is available to provide trainings, tastings, workshops, teambuilding courses, or group classes on rum, tiki, or a combination thereof, and can tailor these presentations to both industry professionals and non-industry enthusiasts.