Playing It Cool at a Pride Cocktail Pop-Up
Mixologist Parker Luthman curates inclusive cocktail pop-ups for Rhode Islanders while spreading his mixology knowledge around the country.
Play It Cool logos, designed by Ben Laudicano, projected onto the wall at Machines with Magnets. Photo by Cammie Niles.
It’s a Tuesday night; I’m standing by the bar taking in the atmosphere while I wait for my drink to be made. It’s packed for a weekday event, and the deejay aids in providing tunes that only invite more people in. The bartender finishes my drink, hands it to me, and gestures excitedly for me to try it. I do and say it’s delicious – because it is. After hearing my positive remarks, he gives me a bright smile before turning around to take another bargoers order. I do a 360 turn to see the full space and notice that the lighting throughout the building is pink, purple, and blue, the colors of the bisexual flag.
This is pop up bar event Play It Cool, and the bartender who just made my drink is Parker Luthman, the man behind the event. Luthman is a mixologist who has gained national attention for his work and travels throughout the US, competing in various challenges and preparing his concoctions for people all over. In the spirit of Pride Month, Luthman had a pre-Pride pop up event at Machines with Magnets in Pawtucket. Luthman, who is queer, said the event was special to plan and even more special to execute.
“I found my confidence as a member of the LGBTQ+ community while working behind the bar and have always enjoyed the energy and overall feeling of being a guest in a gay bar,” says Luthman. “It goes without saying that now more than ever, it is imperative that we continue to create and maintain these spaces for our community in any way that we can.”
Queer owned distillery, Rhodium, sponsored the event and provided much of the alcohol used. Photo by Cammie Niles.
Luthmans Korean background played a role in the menu, with the cocktail menu recipes including ingredients like green tea, sweet rice, Shiso, and Asian Citrus, among others. Luthman, who was adopted at a young age, found comfort in discovering the flavors of his culture.
“As a Korean American adoptee, my experience in this country is nuanced, and many of the elements in the cocktails on my menus are influenced by my own journey in discovering or revisiting ingredients and flavors that stem from my heritage, while also trying to create unexpected combinations for the modern audience,” Luthman says. “Each cocktail is deeply personal to my own process in navigating and organizing my own identity that exists in the space between being Asian and American at this moment in my life.”
All promotional materials around the event were made by Luthman’s boyfriend, Ben Laudicano. Laudicano owns Local Robot, a custom web design and development studio in Providence and provides Play It Cool with digital and design materials for all its pop ups.
“Play It Cool would not exist without the help from my boyfriend Ben. He helped design Play It Cool’s entire brand identity—everything from the logo and cocktail menu to our website, social media flyers, and interactive audio visualizer. He ensures that every element looks professional, approachable, and cohesive,” says Luthman.
Luthman learned how to create a well-balanced cocktail from his years of experience at bars around Rhode Island. After finishing his bachelor’s degree at Johnson and Wales, Luthman began interning at The Eddy, eventually working there for six years, and acting as the head bartender for two of those years. From there, Luthman aided in the cocktail program at the Dean Bar. He credits his time at the Dean Bar with helping him hone in on his skills as he was teaching the newer bartenders at the bar the foundational techniques that helped him when he was starting his career.
Photo by Cammie Niles.
Due to his experience level and mixology abilities, in 2017 Luthman was chosen to be a new member of the Cocktail Apprentice Program, which is a selective mentorship program that assembles a team of international bartenders and beverage professionals every year to meet up in New Orleans for Tales of the Cocktail, one of the largest and most prestigious premier cocktail festivals in the world. He has since been invited back to mentor the new cocktail apprentices at the festival while receiving invites to Kentucky for Camp Runamok and to Thirst Boston, acting as a Thirst Scholar, amongst invites to other national and international travel for mixology events.
When Luthman is not traveling for mixology business or curating his next pop up, he’s bartending at Gift Horse, where head chef Sky Haneul Kim recently won a James Beard Award.
As Pride month 2025 ends, we can take comfort in knowing that Luthmans inclusive and welcoming pop ups will continue to provide a space for all who wish to sip carefully crafted cocktails and forget about the world around them.
“Each of our events gets bigger and better with each iteration! Play It Cool’s pop-ups happen quarterly—for now—so stay tuned for the next big event,” says Luthman.
To see what Luthman is mixing up next, go to his Instagram here or visit the Play It Cool website here.
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