Julep

Name: Kim Haasarud

Cocktail Alias: Julep

Where I live: Manhattan Beach, CA

Hometown: Dallas, TX. Also lived in Kansas City and NYC.

Day Job: Mixologist / Beverage Consultant (Liquid Architecture) and cocktail book author (101 cocktail series.)

Favorite "go-to" cocktail: Margarita ... and by Margarita I mean a real one with real lime juice ... not made with that neon-green nastiness out of a gun ... don't get me started ;-)

Favorite Spirit: Del Maguey Tobala mezcal

First drink I ever had: Bartles & James wildberry wine cooler (totally dating myself)

First drink I ever made behind the bar: Funky Cold Medina (ok, so now I'm totally dating myself) - this was before I knew anything about cocktails ...

My "coming to Jesus" cocktail: Hemingway Daiquiri

Childhood Memories: Sneaking nips of my parents' Baileys in the liquor cabinet.

Cocktail POV: Using fresh, seasonal ingredients as a base - I frequent the farmer's market and build cocktails around the ingredients.

Most stressful moment behind the bar: Working in Times Square on New Year's Eve, 15 people deep, and having a guy throw up at the bar.

Best Moment behind the bar: There have been so many, but one great high for me is when I train bartenders across the country and seeing the light bulb go on -- their "ah-ha" moment when they realize that with better ingredients and techniques they can go from making an ordinary cocktail to making an extraordinary one. I love that!