We asked our female bar managers, bar owners and bartenders about their experiences in the hospitality industry. We also asked them to share a cocktail using a female-led ingredient from the Craft Spirits portfolio. Here, Sarah Lawrence, Assistant General Manager and Bar Manager of Cooks & Soldiers, shares her thoughts with us.
"It is a lot easier than it was 10 years ago," Sarah says of her experience as a woman in the hospitality industry. "There are a lot more women in the industry in general, both front of house and back of house. After culinary school, the only job in a kitchen I could get was making salads and the lack of female presence has changed greatly and is much less male-dominated."
Sarah builds community with other women by "networking with other female leaders, supporting female owned brands - we carry all of these products first because they are delicious, but it is a great perk to be able to financially support the badass women behind the brands." She's looking forward to, "a day where it is not a point of 'wow' that something is female owned or run. The fact that it is even a thing is indicative of a bigger problem."
Pinky Negroni Recipe
1 oz Bimini Coconut Gin
.75 oz Cocchi Rosa
.75 oz Otto's Athens Vermouth
Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice and stir till properly diluted. Pour in rocks glass over large rock and garnish with edible flowers.
About Cooks & Soldiers
Cooks & Soldiers serves traditional Spanish style cuisine, drinks and tapas. There is a large gin and vermouth presence behind the bar, and they have a special menu for gin & tonics and a curated vermouth list.
