If there were a “graduating class” for the Las Vegas food and beverage industry, Border Grill general manager Jennifer Holley would be a strong contender for valedictorian.
For starters, Holley’s worked in almost every part of the food and beverage industry. From her beginnings in the Hamptons—“It was Take Your Daughter to Work Day and I had a job (the following) weekend as a busser,” she says—to being a part of the Bellagio’s opening team at Sam’s American. She’s worked in some of the best food and beverage programs throughout the Las Vegas Strip, culminating in meeting and working with the like-minded Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger of Border Grill.
She’s also an avid learner and incredibly versed in spirits, acing her finals after having studied with the likes of “modern mixologist” Tony Abou-Ganim in an intense cocktails course. And this was despite losing an essential bartending tool: her sense of taste.
“I got incredibly ill and couldn’t smell or taste anything,” she says. In preparation for her spirits course exam, she and Wirtz Beverage mixologist Drew Levinson “went through the tasting process without a sense of taste, trying to understand and knowing where things tingle and what those correlate to, whether it’s spicy, tannic, sweet, sour.”
Jalisco Burro
When not at work, Holley channels her passion toward helping the less fortunate. Among other charitable endeavors, she works with the child-hunger Share Our Strength organization and has co-chaired Taste of the Nation, a local event with a similar goal. Talk about extracurricular activities!
Jalisco Burro
A playful and flavorful take on the Moscow Mule, this draft cocktail was inspired by Wirtz Beverage mixologist Andrew Pollard. It’s made with Corralejo reposado tequila, Ancho Reyes chile liqueur, Reed’s ginger beer and fresh lime juice, and served in a Border Grill-exclusive stemless wine glass. Holley describes it as a balanced drink that goes well with your meal, as it cuts certain flavors and pushes others forward.
