Bleeding Heart Origin
A Cocktail Journey
At this point, I feel as though it's safe to say we all have our own pandemic story. Whether it's changing a simple every day routine to find motivation behind a home desk, taking up a new hobby, or an old passion for passing the time. Though passing the time wasn't a luxury we all had, the employment crash had us all in an unfamiliar state of uncertainty.
My name is Sara Jean, called SJ by those who know me well. I have worked in the service industry since the day I was able to get a job. I started as a host, then quickly found my way behind the expo line in the kitchen, and eventually in the cockpit of a bar. I became obsessed with the movement of a restaurant, even when it would often test me. After moving to Durango, CO at 19, having finished a few years of college that mostly translated to a full time job at the local pub, I was finally able to step behind a bar. I got a shift lead at a ski resort and not only did I fall in love with the mountains, but also the immeasurable knowledge and mystery that the bar provides.
After moving to Denver a couple years later, I found myself working in some of the most popular bars in the city along with some of the most classically curated cocktail programs that I often continue to reference. My colleagues became fast friends and we would spend hours sliding glasses along the bar to each other with a humble, "hey, try this." In these moments, I quickly realized I didn't know enough about cocktails. But I was determined to know more.
I started reading books and came across a few about cocktail bitters. They've been used for centuries as cure-alls and medicine tinctures and I had to know more. After going into lockdown and losing my job for a month, I started making my own bitters in my home kitchen. I learned about how and why these little potions are so important and that they can be as simple or as complex as you make them.
I became different versions of myself at each bar I stood behind, but one thing that was always a constant was that I wanted to take care of everyone around me. On my side as much as the other side on a barstool...my heart was wide open. And from that stemmed Bleeding Heart Cocktail Co.