To make the drinks, she brought out some A-list mixology accouterments, including a copper shaker and jigger and a special brass brander that stamps “Harrah’s” on the over-sized round ice cube. On a recent morning, Skarra got behind the bar at Spiked and crafted four cocktails that are on the menu for the holiday season. After she turned 21, she moved over to the bar world and later became a supervisor.
Too young at the time to serve alcohol, her first job was as as restaurant hostess. Skarra has been a Harrah’s Resort SoCal employee for 14 years, having started there when she was 18. “We gave up,” she said, throwing her hands in the air. It’s funny how one liquor can change everything.” Spiked, the casino’s clubby center lounge, now carries four kinds of mezcal, though no specialty cocktail made with mezcal. … There were six of us, and we just didn’t know what to do.” Finally, Skarra said, she realized it was the mezcal they were using the bar only had one brand at the time. I said, ‘This is going to be the ultimate cocktail.’ But it was terrible, and we had to rework it and rework it. Sometimes, however, they can’t get it just right. “Sometimes we have to do things 10 times, 20 times to get it just right.” “I think people think it’s really easy,” she said, adding that during a cocktail’s trial period, there are a lot of errors. But the job isn’t all swigging and swizzle sticks.
