Melton’s first gig for Aviary, the Alinea Group’s madcap cocktail haunt dreamed up by Grant Achatz and Nick Kokonas in 2011, was “ice chef.” An intense post in today’s craft bar scene, Melton created more than 30 varieties for the cerebral beverage program each night, forging hollow cubes that contain cocktails and perfect, hand-carved spheres. Today, the Iowa native oversees the cocktail, nonalcoholic, beer and spirits menus for the group’s four properties.