Tony Abou-Ganim grew up in the bar business, learning the craft from his cousin Helen David at the Brass Rail Bar in Port Huron, Michigan, before going on to develop the cocktail programs of numerous restaurants in San Francisco (working with Harry Denton) and New York (working with Mario Batali) and at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas. He operates his own beverage consulting firm specializing in bar staff training, product education, and cocktail development, and also serves as the national ambassador of the U.S. Bartenders Guild. Mary Elizabeth Faulkner is a writer living in the San Francisco Bay area.