The move comes two weeks after Artesian’s entire bar team, headed by Alex Kratena and Simone Caporale, left their positions.
Hanson, who held the post of beverage director at Marvel Bar in Minneapolis, US, but now lives in London, was inducted today and has been joined by a new team at the Langham Hotel bar.
The new Artesian head bartender told DI: “I am very excited to be joining the Langham, London at this important juncture. This is a time of change and evolution for the bar and the New Year will bring with it a very new style of drink-making. I am delighted to be able to define the next phase of Artesian's creative legacy.”
Hanson's “unique minimalist style” was developed over ten years of bartending in the US and Tokyo, Japan, where he spent time under Kazuo Uyeda at Tender Bar.
He studied classical Japanese bartending under Uyeda for six months, eventually going on to help translate the English language edition of his mentor’s book Cocktail Techniques.
During his five years at Marvel, Hanson received back-to-back James Beard semi-finalist recognition for Outstanding Cocktail Program, and the bar was named one of America's best by Esquire Network and Eater.com.
It is understood for contractual reasons Artesian’s current Surrealism menu will continue for the time being.
