Alex Jump, head bartender at Death & Co bar in Denver, Colorado, hails from Chattanooga. She was recently named to Forbes magazine’s “30 Under 30” list in the food and beverage category.
Jump says she honed her bartending skills at St. John’s, Meeting Place and Easy Bistro in Chattanooga before moving to Denver in 2017 and landing a job at Death & Co, an acclaimed New York establishment with newer locations in Denver and LA.
She has competed in several national bartending competitions and is involved in an initiative called Focus on Health which aims to improve the lives of food and beverage industry workers.
“Getting to work in the bar industry provided me with a career I didn’t know was possible,” Jump says. “There is a lot that is rewarding.”
One of her favorite cocktails is a Siembra Valles Ancestral Tequila-based drink called Midnight Hour. “The cocktail is a fun exploration of how tart raspberries are complemented by cream,” she says. “It’s a pretty simple cocktail meant to highlight the spirits in the drink.”
The tequila is made in the “ancestral” method, with the agave smoked in a small pit. “The smoky quality of this tequila really helps cut through the acidity of the raspberry,” she says.
Midnight Hour
Contributed photo by Shawn Campbell / The Midnight Hour combines sweet and smoky flavors.What you need:
1 3/4 ounces Siembra Valles Ancestral Tequila
1/4 ounce St. George Raspberry Eau-de-Vie
1/2 ounce raspberry syrup
1/2 ounce Calpico concentrate (a Japanese soft drink)
1/2 ounce lime juice
What you do:
1. Add all ingredients to a shaker tin and add ice.
2. Shake until well chilled and strain into a coupe glass.
3. Garnish with a lime wedge.