How this Miami Beach bar redefined cocktail culture and became an institution
When he’s thinking of or talking about his Miami Beach bar and restaurant Sweet Liberty, co-founder Dan Binkiewicz doesn’t think of the great cocktails, the pitch-perfect menu by chef Michelle Bernstein or even the passionate locals who have supported the business for a decade.
Instead, he thinks about his former partner, fellow co-founder John Lermayer, the bartender extraordinaire who died of a ruptured brain aneurysm in 2018, a shocking loss to a community in which Lermayer had established himself as the spark of the Miami mixology movement.
Also the owner of the downtown Miami bar Mama Tried, Binkiewicz can’t separate the memories of his friend with Sweet Liberty — and he wouldn’t want to try.
“He was one of those people who had laughter on the tip of his tongue and would give you the shirt off his back,” he says of Lermayer. “He’d do anything to make you smile. He had this vision of a place of community, of affordable luxury, a place where guests feel really welcome to the point that he went overboard with it sometimes. But it created core values for us.”
It’s a bittersweet time for Binkiewicz and other Sweet Liberty staff, some of whom have been there since the early days. The bar and restaurant, no stranger to national accolades and home to the motto “Pursue happiness,” is celebrating its 10th anniversary this weekend, a milestone that it plans to herald with musical guests and a limited-time cocktail menu. Special drinks include the Siesta (Altos Blanco, Campari and lime and grapefruit juice); the Basil Daiquiri (rum, St Germain, chartreuse, lime and basil); the Tropical Old Fashioned (Brugal 1888, banana, pineapple, bitters and coconut sugar); and the French 75 (cognac, lemon and champagne).
And of course you can order the drinks Sweet Liberty has become famous for, like the piña colada with a secret ingredient (ground coffee beans!) that will make you rethink what a piña colada should taste like.
Reminiscing about the early days, when he joined with Lermayer and hospitality veteran David Martinez to open Sweet Liberty, Binkiewicz recalls the desire to build a haven for locals, a place where anyone could drink and eat and feel comfortable, with a strong menu not just for the cocktails but also what would accompany them.
“We had this idea to push further with the food,” Binkiewicz says. “John would give us the cocktails, but we needed a chef. So we asked ourselves, ‘Who’s the best chef in Miami?’ and the answer was Michelle. We thought, ‘Let’s just ask her; the worst thing she can say is no.’ But she said yes, and we were shocked.”
Bernstein’s creations — which include cauliflower nachos, Maine lobster “Hot Pocket” and the beloved Michy’s Fried Chicken Sandwich — still anchor the menu. Like everything else, it’s all in service to showing guests a good time, something that her husband Martinez says is key (Martinez would know: he and Bernstein own Little Havana’s Cuban-inspired Café La Trova and Kendall’s La Cañita).
“We put a huge emphasis on service, on great products and the way we make people feel,” Martinez says. “We try to make it a fun environment for everyone. People aren’t just eating and drinking — they’re dancing, having afterwork cocktails with coworkers or friends. Our happy hour has become one of the more popular happy hours on Miami Beach, which isn’t known for happy hours.”
Cocktail culture has shifted over the past 10 years, says Martinez, who also owns and operates the second incarnation of the restaurant Sra Martinez in Coral Gables. But that’s not a bad thing, and Sweet Liberty has been at the forefront of change.
“Mixology wasn’t what it is today when we opened Sra Martinez in the Design District,” he says. “It’s evolved as less means better now. Cocktails used to have 10, 12, 14 ingredients. It was ‘I’m going to invent something that’s never been done, like put saline solution in it.’ It was part of the movement. Now, to me, the best cocktails have the least amount of ingredients.”
Miami Beach has also changed over the past 10 years, with neighborhoods like Brickell, Wynwood and the Design District drawing many of the locals who used to come to the Beach and city crackdowns over holiday weekends and spring break draining the desires of those on the mainland to cross the causeway. Binkiewicz laments the shutdowns that plague business owners across Miami Beach.
“Miami Beach did a great job of scaring people away,” he says. “They put their foot down, and we don’t have people crossing the bridges as much. That has hurt Beach businesses more than anything. Look what they do every holiday. March used to be our best month regardless of what happened on Ocean Drive. We were getting our crowds, but then we weren’t.”
What’s helped Sweet Liberty is the loyal locals, both on and off the beach, and the bar’s proximity to the nearby corridor of hotels on the beach, where concierges are usually happy to recommend a true local’s haven.
And despite those setbacks, Binkiewicz remains enthusiastic about how Sweet Liberty has evolved and his place in that evolution.
“I’m the custodian to John’s legacy and an institution, and I couldn’t be luckier or more proud,” he says. “We built something beautiful together with a great team. Being part of Sweet Liberty has been one of the great joys of my life.”
Sweet Liberty
Where: 237 20th St. Suite b, Miami Beach
Hours: 4 p.m.-5 a.m. daily; performance by The Ordinary Boys Oct. 10 and The Swayzees Oct. 11.
More information and reservations: www.mysweetliberty.com or 305-763-8217
This story was originally published October 9, 2025 at 4:30 AM.