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Award-winning mixologist Alba Huerta believes that cocktails are more than just drinks — they are stories in a glass.
Huerta, who was born in Mexico and raised in Texas, is the bartender and owner of Julep in Houston. She has spent more than a decade shaping the country’s cocktail culture, winning countless awards and creating more than 110 cocktails. As a result, she has gained international acclaim for her bartending skills.
From the very first drink she crafted in 1998, Huerta understood that bartending was about more than mixing ingredients. She immediately loved the unique experiences she could give her customers.
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For Huerta, the process of creating a cocktail is a deeply personal and collaborative experience. “By the time we get to an iteration of a cocktail that we think is exemplary, that drink has been made 20-30 times,” she says.
The cocktail evolves through input from her entire team. Creative influences can come from seasonal ingredients or even pop culture, but each drink is one of a kind. To Huerta, this collaboration is the true nature of hospitality. It’s about relationships. You share part of your story and interests with the guests to see what they will do with it. Sometimes, they change things to make it their own.
That’s what makes it fun and meaningful. You can build a unique bond with a customer over something as simple yet complex as a carefully crafted drink.
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Lessons in bar ownership
Julep just celebrated its 10th year in Huerta’s hands. The challenges of building and maintaining a business, especially after the pandemic, have taught her many lessons.
Here are four key lessons Huerta shares from her decade as a bar owner:
- Details matter. For Huerta, the smallest details are what create memorable experiences. “The space, the lighting, the paper the menus are printed on, the way you name your drinks so that your guests can navigate the menu more easily,” she explains. Every element and touchpoint contributes to the guest’s experience.
- Community is everything. Huerta is passionate about the power of community, not just in business but in life. She credits much of her success to the support of her local community and urges other entrepreneurs to build meaningful connections. For anyone looking to change careers, build something new or do anything else, the support of a community will help them think bigger and more creatively.
- Ask for help when you need it. No one wins alone. Stop thinking you need to do it all yourself. Asking for help will equip you to do greater things. Huerta’s advice is as much about collaboration as it is about asking for help from those ahead of you. Take mentoring as often as you can.
- Share what you’ve learned. Huerta is deeply committed to helping others in the hospitality industry. She believes you should always take what you’ve learned and hand it to the people coming up behind you. The tools available now make it much easier to create a brand or business than it was even a decade ago. Use every tool and share every lesson.
Whether crafting a signature cocktail or offering a word of advice to a fellow business owner, Huerta’s impact is undeniable.
She has become an important influence on cocktail culture worldwide, but her heart for hospitality is about people. The relationships she builds and the memories she makes for everyone she meets make it all worthwhile.
“I never imagined I would open this bar twice,” she admits, noting how the world has changed in recent years. Despite these hurdles, her dedication to the craft and community has kept Julep thriving.
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