Leah
“The bartending world is still heavily male-dominated, and while that does present many challenges, I choose to take it as empowering - as an opportunity to show that I know exactly what I’m doing and that myself and the many other amazing women in this industry should be taken just as seriously as men. An interviewer once asked me, ‘What cocktail would you make a woman?’ And I said, ‘Any cocktail she wants.’ What a ludicrous question!”
Leah is motivated, inventive, and enthusiastic, characteristics that make her successful in her field of work. As a mixologist and bartender, she has extended her knowledge and expertise from the service industry into content creation, building programs and organizing events. Her creativity has expanded into the digital space, allowing her to start a blog, The Bar Director, in which she harmoniously pairs beverages with her love for films. From indie movies to horror classics and everything in between, she gives a detailed plot of each film and its characters while curating a cocktail recipe to enjoy as part of the cinematic experience. She faces any challenge head-on with a positive outlook, knocking down the limited perceptions placed on the art of drink making and leading the charge as a true visionary and pioneer. Meet Leah. This is her story.
K: Please introduce yourself!
L: My name is Leah Pupkin. I was born and raised in New York, where I went to school for vocal jazz performance. Like so many artists, I ended up getting suckered into the service industry. Luckily, I’ve found a home here. I’ve been a craft cocktail bartender, consultant, and content creator for almost ten years. I’ve worked in and opened bars and restaurants all over the world from New York to Portland, Australia, and now Los Angeles, where I run the bar at Stone Street Coffee Co. & Bathtub Gin. Cocktail culture is at its peak, and bartending is so much more than just slinging drinks. Curating cocktail programs and working behind the bar satisfies the creative in me, and I’m so grateful to be a part of such a resilient and inspiring industry.
K: Describe yourself in your own words
L: Driven, ambitious, creative, compulsively organized, witty, sarcastic, kind, hospitable, intelligent, stubborn, weird, clever.
K: What is your favourite thing about yourself?
L: I’m a very logical person. I’m quite emotional, too, but I’m in touch with my emotions and as I’ve grown, I’ve become more aware of how to deal with the difficult ones in a healthy way. Nothing will ever feel like the end of the world if you can rationalize your way around it and figure out the best course of action. That sounds very Vulcan of me (maybe your nerdier readers will know what I mean), but it helps me to be resilient and to know there is nothing the universe can throw at me that I won’t be able to handle. In spite of all my insecurities, I believe confidence in yourself shouldn’t be mistaken for cockiness, and knowing your strengths and capabilities in the face of adversity will get you much further than self-doubt.
K: Tell us a story. Have you had an experience that has defined you or made you stronger?
L: When I was 25, I went through a bad breakup. I had always wanted to travel to Australia, and I decided shortly after that that was the time to do it. I got a working visa and traveled to Australia by myself to live and work there for a year. It was exciting, but scary and I was full of anxiety. But I did it, and it was amazing. You learn so much about yourself when you take a leap like that and travel completely on your own. I didn’t know anyone or anything, and it was not easy, but I had incredible experiences and made connections that will last a lifetime with people from all over the world. I learned so much about myself and got to experience life in a totally different part of the world. If you ever get the chance, go live in another country. Or even just take a trip, by yourself. The world is very big but it’s also very small. You should see as much of it as you can while you’re here. Besides, international experience looks great on your resume. But that’s the Capricorn in me talking.
K: What is one piece of advice you’d give your younger self?
L: Don’t worry so much about the future. Don’t dwell so much on the past. Both are abstract concepts that only exist in the mind. All there ever is, is now. The present moment is all that exists, really. Everything else is a projection, so why waste energy worrying about it? You can spend your whole life saying “I’ll be happy when x, y, or z happens.” Or you can just choose to be happy now, and make the absolute most of what’s right in front of you.
K: What does being a woman mean to you?
L: Being a woman in my industry means having to work twice as hard as any man to prove that I’m capable of doing the same job as him. The bartending world is still heavily male-dominated, and while that does present many challenges, I choose to take it as empowering - as an opportunity to show that I know exactly what I’m doing and that myself and the many other amazing women in this industry should be taken just as seriously as men. An interviewer once asked me, “What cocktail would you make a woman?” And I said, “Any cocktail she wants.” What a ludicrous question!
I also think it’s a misconception that being strong and being feminine must be mutually exclusive. I love makeup and fashion and changing my hair color. I love getting dressed up and getting complimented on my style. But presenting as “girly” doesn’t make a woman any less powerful. Being a woman means being unapologetically yourself in a world where you’re constantly expected to apologize. Taylor Swift said it best: “A man does something, it’s strategic. A woman does the same thing, it’s calculated. A man is allowed to react. A woman can only overreact.” I hope one day that won’t be the case. But until then, you do you, honey, and fuck what anybody thinks.
K: Who is one woman that inspires you? What would you say to them if they were here now?
L: Betty White. Betty came up in a time where, as a woman, you weren’t allowed to be smart, strong, funny, and beautiful. You were expected to pick one. You either played the funny best friend or the beautiful leading lady. But people like Betty White and Lucille Ball came in and burned those restrictions to the ground. Lucy was funny and beautiful. Betty White was funny and beautiful and a television producer, which was unheard of for a woman at the time. She broke boundaries in television, opposing sexism, racism, and now ageism. Betty is an icon through and through, and if she happened to walk into my bar right now, I’d fix her a drink and say, “Thank you for paving the way. Now get back inside, it’s not safe out here and we can’t afford to lose you just yet.”