2026 Summer Cocktail Camp Interview with a Mixologist: Aaron DeFeo from Little Rituals
By Asonta Benetti
Aaron DeFeo has been an Arizona cocktail sensation since pouring his first Gin Rickey at Tucson’s Casino del Sol almost two decades ago. After filling his trophy case with local and national accolades, including the Arizona Restaurant Association’s “Mixologist of the Year” in 2013 and two finalist placings for GQ’s Most Imaginative Bartender award, DeFeo moved north, partnering with Bitter & Twisted Cocktail Parlour trailblazer Ross Simon to open Little Rituals in Downtown Phoenix. At Little Rituals, DeFeo’s passion for creative mixology has been on full display, helping the cocktail hotspot score its highest honor yet: Best U.S. Hotel Bar at the 2025 Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards. We chatted with DeFeo about what to expect when PHOENIX magazine and its happy campers visit Little Rituals on Sunday, August 2 for the latest installment of our 2026 Summer Cocktail Camp series.
Can you share about the cocktail program at Little Rituals?
The menu is built like a vintage photo album; each cocktail is a “memory,” built around cultural touchstones and flavors that pull people back to a specific time or place. A lot of our menu starts from a familiar shape – like a sour, a Collins, a Negroni riff – and then pushes on it with house-made ingredients, sonic infusions, fat washes or clarification. Intentionality is very, very important to us. We won’t use a technique unless it absolutely adds tangible value to the result.
Not all of our readers may know your backstory, can you tell us how you wound up here?
I was working part-time nightclub security on the weekends and was soon thrust behind the bar. Worked my way up from bar back all the way to beverage director. I discovered craft cocktails by reading old bartending books and becoming immersed in a vibrant arts scene in Downtown Tucson in 2006. I was a resort mixologist at Casino Del Sol Resort, I’ve been at The Cup Cafe, Club Congress and Maynard’s Market & Kitchen. Besides Little Rituals, I’m also a partner in Arizona Cocktail Weekend and founded consulting company Solid Sipping LLC.
It might be hard to choose, we know, but do you have a favorite cocktail on the menu?
I think my favorite cocktail right now is the Reality Check from bartender Raquel Villa. It’s got fresh, vibrant raspberry and citrus, with a guava backbone and lots of complexity from a healthy two-ounce dose of French vermouth and fizzy prosecco to boot. It kinda checks all the boxes for how we craft cocktails here. Perfect for the heat.
We are slogging through the heat – what’s the first drink you reach for on a summer’s day?
Love a Stiegl Grapefruit Radler over pebble ice. It’s basically a German pilsner mixed with grapefruit soda. Low ABV, but bubbly and ice-cold and thirst quenching.
What should guests expect if they’re coming to Little Rituals for Cocktail Camp?
First and foremost, I hope it’s a good time. Our drinks may be serious, but we don’t take ourselves too seriously. We do some really cool science-y cocktails and this is a chance to pull the curtain back and show people how much work goes into doing these cocktails. And, hopefully, it inspires folks to try some things out on their own, or at least be a little more adventurous when they visit bars.
