dark & stormy

Name: Kylee Van Dillen

Cocktail Alias: Dark and Stormy

Where I live: Los Angeles, CA

Hometown: A quaint little suburb in northern NJ

Day Job(s): Professional procrastinator. Writer/comedienne/actor/ bartender/mixologist/person you call when you need a ride to the airport

Favorite "go-to" drink: A simple pleasure.  You take 3 oz. of the best single malt Scotch you can get your hands on (Highland/Speyside) and add a handful of ice, and serve in a sturdy glass. It can be in a rocks glass, a wine glass or a sippy cup—it tastes delightful when drank from any vessel  (I know this both from experience as well as optimistic speculation)

Favorite Spirit: Scotch!

First drink I ever had: My mother swears she let me have Heineken when I was two years old, but from my own memory....Goldschlager. Age 14. Left home alone. My best friend and I were being rebellious and decided we should “learn” how to drink alcohol. I gagged, she spit hers out, and we spent the rest of the afternoon scrubbing gold leaf that got conspicuously stuck in the grout of my kitchen counter.

First cocktail I made, first bartending shift: I want to say a cosmopolitan. Roses lime, triple sec, cranberry from a gun and way to much vodka.

My "coming to Jesus" cocktail: Manhattan made with Basil Hayden Bourbon. I drank 2, because that’s what I thought Jesus would do.

Childhood Memories: Pink wine, hot buttered rum, gluwein, zima (and all the caps I saved for a reason that escapes my memory) peppermint schnapps smuggled in a water bottle, and jagermeister. Ooh and the worst hangover to date, white wine at my godmother’s wedding in germany. The germans like the never-ending glass which looks like you’ve only been sipping the same first glass, but in reality they’ve refilled it 8 times without you noticing.  

Cocktail POV: Make it delicious. Use fresh ingredients, quality spirits, and experiment. Don’t hold back when trying new flavor pairings, one mistake might lead to something delicious and at the end of the day—that’s what its all about. Creating memorable and yummy drinks that you (or your audience) enjoys.

Most stressful moment behind the bar: Just one? All the new years’ eves I’ve worked would be the obvious answer—guests antsy, horny, drunk, belligerent and loud as all hell….but sometimes the true stress shows up on an arbitrary Wednesday with a few difficult guests, glass broken in a well needing to be burned, wine foils leaving thin cuts on hands that are quickly using lemons again, and 500 mojitos with 400 modifications can all make things seem overwhelming…but sometimes the stressful moments are best remedied with a personal shot of tequila and smiling through the pain.  

Best Moment behind the bar: not sure, was probably too tipsy to remember! J