Heather Miles
Bartending and Mixology

The Mixology Mistress

I am a fully licensed professional bartender, available for private parties and events. I specialize in classic cocktails and custom crafted drinks, and offer many levels of service, from simple beer and wine bars to fully themed cocktail menus and personalized drinks for any event. I also design signature cocktails and drink menus for bars and restaurants. Send me information about the nature and size of your upcoming event, and I'll start working on a bar plan for you!

I love, love, love the craft of mixology, and am happiest when I'm elbows deep in some esoteric herbal infusion or spiked fruit concoction. That prohibition era cocktail you've always heard about but never had a chance to try? That's my specialty.

My education in various forms of 'alchemy' started when I was a small child, peering reverently into my grandmother's spice cabinet. Those little bottles of dried leaves and seeds seemed like magic to me! I began learning to cook early on, and before long became quite adept at blending those little bottles of magic into various ethnic dishes.

During my high school years, a large part of my free time was devoted to studying cookbooks and cooking magazines. Several years of Home Economics classes helped my culinary efforts flourish. The chance discovery of a book on herbal infusions when I was 16 years old started me down the path of herbalism, and I began making herb infused vinegars, oils, cheeses, and butters. This eventually gave way to soapmaking, concocting rich herbal lotions and salves, and preparing tinctures, tonics, and herbal tisanes.

I had no idea how much this hobby of mine would come to bear later in my life when, after seven years of cooking and waiting tables in restaurants around the country, I began tending bar!

I've spent the last four years of my service industry career studying the art of the cocktail in libraries and at home, while honing my craft in bars and restaurants in New Orleans and in Seattle. I've developed "house" cocktails and drink menus for four restaurants, designed drink recipes and cocktail menus for various special events, and established a repitoire of my own signature cocktails and time-honored favorites. Bartending in restaurants has now given way to full-time self employment as an independent mixologist, while I pursue my degree in Nutritional Psychology.

I have over 10 years of experience in the Food and Beverage service industry.