Tristan Willey, a native New Mexican, in his previous life, was a runner and media correspondent before venturing to the East Coast in 2010 to manage running stores. Soon after, he sought out a position at East Village hotdog outpost Crif Dogs, where he fell down the cocktail world rabbit hole by virtue of sharing a wall and oversight with one of America’s most accoladed bars, PDT. With an aptness and adoration for all things alcohol, Tristan joined bitters-focused cocktail bar Amor y Amargo as a bartender. Tristan also served as Distiller at Kings County Distillery, where he produced bourbon, rye and moonshine, and developed the recipe for the distillery’s award-winning brandy (named the best brandy in the country by the American Craft Spirits Association in 2015). While working at Kings County Distillery the Momofuku team approached Tristan with the concept of operating a bar alongside former French Culinary Institute Director of Technology Dave Arnold. In 2012, they opened Booker and Dax, a 35-seat bar, which is considered to be at the forefront of modern cocktail techniques. Tristan has been awarded distinction as one of Zagat’s 30 under 30 and Eater’s National Bartender of the Year. Tristan instructs classes throughout the year at critical cocktail and spirits conventions domestically and internationally including Tales of the Cocktail, Portland Cocktail Week, Bogota Wine and Food Festival, and for the ongoing Bar Institute. His expert drinking advice is frequently cited in magazines and online as a contributor to Bon Appetit, Esquire, GQ, Saveur, Playboy and Interview Magazine.