A New Mexico bartender is shaking things up on the national scene.
Kate Gerwin, who co-owns Happy Accidents in Nob Hill, is bringing national recognition to New Mexico, earning three awards since June. Drinks International named Gerwin one of the Top 100 Most Influential People in the world within the cocktail industry.
Tales of the Cocktail recently named Happy Accidents the Best New American Cocktail Bar and Liqour.com named it the Best New Bar in September, according to a KOB 4 report.
Gerwin said she is “humbled, blessed, great, overwhelmed, honored, and very prideful," with the recognition.
“We’re here, we’re doing this, and people are paying attention, and I always make jokes like ‘We’re out here in the desert making waves,’ and I didn’t really think people were paying attention and it turns out they are,” Gerwin said.
“At the end of this very long interview they said, ‘We want you to make your favorite cocktail,’” she recalled. “I said, ‘I’ll be honest a lot of bartenders don’t drink cocktails, we drink beers or neat pours, we get a little cocktail’d out.'"
Gerwin and her partner at Happy Accidents said they prioritize their employees while still working to be profitable and successful. She said they ask themselves, “How do we make sure our staff knows that they’re cared for, that they’re not gonna be left out in the cold?”
To take care of the workers, the bar pays a living wage and offers health insurance, including 100% mental health coverage, KOB 4 reported.
“This is something to take pride in,” Gerwin said. “This isn’t something you just do while that other thing is working out. In L.A., it’s like I’m gonna be an actor or I’m going to school but this is something that has sustainability."
With all the positive attention, bartenders from across the country are looking to move to New Mexico.
“I want people to realize we’re building a craft cocktail culture and there’s something here to want to be a part of,” Gerwin said. “I’ve always been a proponent of small markets. I always feel like you know New York, Chicago, L.A., they always get the love, but you know we’re doing really good things out here.”