One never knows where life will lead and what one can accomplish out in the world. Meet Derek Crow. From a small town in Wyoming, he became one of the most well-known and respected mixologists in Las Vegas, currently working as the bar lead at Bar Zazu and next-door Brezza at Resorts World Las Vegas.

“I had zero interest in bartending, believe it or not,” Crow says. But when the bartender at the restaurant he was working at in Casper, Wyo., called out and he filled in, well, that was it. He spent his 20s bartending and decided he wanted to swim in a bigger pond, so he made the move to Vegas and hit the jackpot. Crow has been mentored by the city’s top mixologists like Mariena Mercer Boarini and Tony Abou-Ganim and, today, more than a decade later, he has become a mentor to a new generation of bartenders.

“Not knowing where the ceiling is and how far you can take it, that’s what I love,” he says. Not only has Crow created impressive cocktail programs all over the city, and for the past three and a half years for Bar Zazu and Brezza, he also helps build cocktail menus around the country through his LLC.

“I’m an open book to the future,” he says. “I came from a small town and now I get to work in a great city with great people including guests and the bartenders I’ve mentored. When it comes to my career, I have zero regrets and am excited about the future.”

Photo by: Christopher DeVargas

Libation: Straightened Arrow

Available on both menus at Bar Zazu and Brezza is Crow’s creation, the delicious Straightened Arrow, mixed with Flecha Azul reposado tequila, raspberry purée, house-made rosemary syrup, cold pressed lime juice, ginger liqueur and Supasawa, a clarified super citrus that heightens the sour flavor.

Benefit: Order Derek Crow’s global award-winning cocktail, the Garnet, available at Brezza.

Resorts World Las Vegas. rwlasvegas.com

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