Rising Star Mixologist Justin Beam of Rattlesnake Bar - Biography

Justin Beam was born in McKinney, Texas, to a Southern Baptist Minister father and a school teacher mother that met while playing piano at a revival. He grew up committed to organized sports like baseball and football ... needless to say, without the pleasures of alcohol. At 15, to save enough money for a car, he took his first position in the industry, bussing and expoing at a breakfast-only restaurant near his home.

From bussing tables, Beam skipped bartending school and went on to train with some of the mixology world's greats: Dale DeGroff, Doug Frost, and Steven Olson. Beam worked his way up to a position as Beverage Director at M Crowd Restaurant Group in Dallas where he was involved in the day-to-day operations of 24 restaurants throughout Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and Kansas City. Beam was responsible for the development of the entire beverage program and able to work with two of the most influential men in the Dallas restaurant scene, and two of his biggest mentors: owner Michael "Mico" Rodriguez and Executive Chef Chris Ward. And his cocktail program at Craft and The Living Room at the W Hotel Dallas earned him a 2007 StarChefs.com Rising Star Mixologist Award.

Recognized as one of Texas's foremost mixos, Beam now runs the drinks program at the Rattlesnake Bar at the Dallas Ritz-Carlton.