Hometown: Tacoma, WA

Role: Skillet Bar Manager; Started as a bartender in May 2011, two weeks before the diner opened

How you got here? It's ironic because a lot of bartenders I know started bartending to get through college. I went to college (Western Washington University) and got a BA in Business Administration so I could be a more successful restaurant professional.

Favorite thing about your job: I love learning about old cocktails and creating new ones. Skillet is very driven by creativity yet classically inspired. It's a great fit for me. We also have a great crew and a lot of fun there.

What's your favorite drink? As far as classics go I love a good gin and tonic or a well-made mint julep. It's a little archaic but here is a recipe from Jerry Thomas' Bar-Tenders Guide (published in 1862):

Whiskey Julep (Use large bar-glass.) Take 1 table-spoonful of white pulverized sugar. 2½ table-spoonfuls of water, mix well with spoon. 1½ wine-glass  full of whiskey. Take three or four sprigs of fresh mint, and press them well in the sugar and water, until the flavor of the mint is extracted; add the whiskey, and fill the glass with fine shaved ice, then draw out the sprigs of mint and insert them in the ice with the stems downward, so that the leaves will be above, in the shape of a bouquet.

What do you do on your off day? Embarrassingly, I like to spend my free time learning and reading about bartending/mixology history and trends (the information is limitless!). More importantly I like to spend time with my girlfriend/partner Sara and our wild animal of a dog Opal (she's a boxer). I also love a good TV series.

Any ridiculous/funny bartending stories? Before I started bartending I was a bouncer at some busy places in college. Ridiculousness was bountiful in those days.

How often to people try to get free drinks? Weirdly no one ever tries to get free drinks from me.

Cheers Skillet Nation! Hope to see you at the bar soon....Josh B.