​Whether it’s coming up with an entire cocktail menu inspired by burgers or simply handing over a vodka soda to a guest, no task is done without taking the other person’s needs and tastes into account while also adding a necessary feminine touch.
How does a one inspire other women to thrive in a male-dominated industry? We caught up with the very woman responsible for showing Dallas what innovative cocktails and girl power is all about.
Hi, thanks for doing this. Real quick, just who exactly do you think you are?
I’m Betty Cocktail — a therapist, concoctionist, humanitarian, perpetual optimist, dog lover and cocktail enthusiast. I’m a bit of a Jane-of-all-trades with an affinity for creativity in the bar and kitchen and a fascination with understanding people. I once made a girl a drink “that tastes like tennis.”
But I’m also Chris Henley, a little country mouse who is lucky enough to be living in a big city.
You are known in the Dallas industry community as a wearer of many hats, but most importantly as “Betty Cocktail”, a cocktail consultant. What is that exactly?
Essentially, Betty Cocktail provides cocktail consultation and the idea of “if you can dream it (with alcohol), we can do it!” And that is everything — from ice to garnish.
Consulting means stepping back and taking a look at the bigger picture to help a business owner become more successful, whatever that definition is to them. I like building a relationship [with my clients] which involves looking at the bar, business, restaurant and staff as a whole and deciding how to improve it. Sometimes it’s just a cocktail menu and sometimes it’s an entire revamp.
What constitutes an entire revamp for a restaurant?
Starting from nothing. It can range from fixing someone else’s mistakes or adding a tweak here or there, to training a few bartenders that lack experience. Or, in some cases, it’s helping source a staff with experience. Although taste-testing drinks is what I’m best at. Just kidding. Kind of.
Betty Cocktail has a signature touch: female empowerment. What sprung that?
I was tired of working hard for other people by running bar programs and making other people money. On top of that, I didn’t really think I was very good at managing people. It’s tricky. Second, I wanted to start something that let people know women could do things too!
The “things” didn’t have to be sexy, bitchy or some other cliche. They could be empowering, interesting, wholesome and respectable. Don’t get me wrong: Being sexy is completely empowering but when it is the only expectation from the business, then we have a problem.
When we walk into a room, a class, training, work, often we are the one woman for every ten men. I was being put in these leadership roles but I didn’t know how to act. Former regulars hired me to run their bar but all of the sudden my jokes weren’t as funny, my boundaries weren’t as respected and I didn’t know how to communicate with these guys. I wanted to help and inspire other women get their bearings too.
What are some known spots you’ve consulted with?
Most notably the The Balcones Speakeasy at the new Rangers ballpark, Ka Thai and HD Liquid. In the past, I worked with Pub McKinney, District 30, Eastwood’s, Maplewood, a lot of corporate events and private bars.
I’m also very proud to have to created aromatics for Dahlia on Ross: “Dissent by Betty Cocktail.” It filled a need they had for spicy bitters on the menu.
You mentioned you once made a girl a drink that tastes like tennis. Did they specifically request a tennis-tasting drink? What’s the story behind that?
[I was working] at Bowen House before they had a menu and you had to know all classic cocktails by memory, including their weekly rotating cocktails. I had a set of questions I would ask [the guest]. It went like this: ‘What is your spirit animal? (tequila, gin, etc). Do you prefer your cocktail spirit-forward or something a little more mixed? What flavors do you like? Sweet, tart, spicy, fruity, herbaceous, effervescent?’
Finally, and usually the most important: ‘Is there anything you don’t like or can’t have?’
Occasionally you get the person that wants you to ‘just do whatever or surprise me’ and this particular woman’s request was ‘make me a drink that tastes like tennis.’
What could possibly make something taste like tennis?
I grabbed the Yellow Chartreuse, some gin, citrus, bubbles and poured it into a coupe glass. The girl’s mother arrived a few minutes later, and much to my amusement, she told me that this was exactly what tennis tasted like. I’m shaking my head just thinking about the whole thing. But what do I know? The tennis I’m familiar with tastes like sweat, bugs and the sun in your eyes.
For National Burger Day in 2019, you famously created an entire menu inspired by burgers. What prompted that?
I have a crazy rare medical problem where I can’t digest food properly. I’m hungry AF all the time. I wanted a burger, so I decided to turn the condiments into cocktails.
In one of the drinks, there’s a cocktail that has mezcal and dijon mustard. How did you even come up with that? 
​It’s spicy and smokey. It’s just made sense.
Actual dijon mustard in a cocktail?
Yes ma’am. Every single one had an actual condiment. Don’t knock the mayo if you’ve ever enjoyed a Ramos gin fizz!
Speaking of condiments, do you think Shiner tastes like soy sauce?
[laughs] That’s a hard no. I might be hungry but I don’t have a distorted palate.

Jessi Pereira wanted to know just who I am.
​And I let her know!
Read the October 20, 2020 Central Track article here. 

When I first started this business, I heard a lot of stories about the name Betty. There are the obvious - Betty Crocker, Betty from the Archie comics, Bette Davis. The name, the logo, the concept always seem to trigger an intense response.
At parties there is almost always one woman who snubs her nose at my business. I'm not sure why; perhaps she thinks this is no place for a woman, or maybe I laugh too loud, or I flirt too much. But for every one woman like that there are ten more smiling, praising, encouraging, cheerleading women. These are the women that tell me stories of the Betty they know.
Did you know that on the beach in California, a Betty is a kind, sweet, charismatic, female surfer? And who could forget the time I met a sweet 10 year old at a party who's name was, yep, you guessed it. Betty! Her parents encouraged me to go talk to her. She exclaimed the disdain for her name - stating it was for "old people." OLD PEOPLE!! Can you imagine? Cautiously, and fearful of the answer, I looked her in the eye and asked her if she thought I was old. She laughed and (fortunately for both of us), said I did not look that old. We swapped stories and she had no idea that being a Betty was such a compliment in California. I couldn't believe Betty White hadn't been on my radar after all these years.
And so, after all these years of being regaled with Betty stories, "being a Betty" became some kind of verb or adjective that I live by. It simply means to be a better person in whatever capacity is available to you. Be kind. Be smart. Roll with the punches. Try something new. Care about your neighbor. And all people. And animals. And the planet. Do what you can. Offer to help. Don't be afraid to ask for help. Express gratitude. Know you are worthy of love.
Well, why would you not want to do all of this all the time? Be. A. Betty. Everyday. And drink like a B.A.B.E. 

Where are you from?
Dallas, Texas
But really, where are you from? 
I grew up in Oak Cliff until middle school and then I finished high school in The Colony... Culture shock! I went from being in a predominantly black and Hispanic neighborhood to a white neighborhood. This was probably in the early 90's.
What cocktail are you making today?
I can make anything? *eyes wide open* *eyebrows arched with excitement* Sidecar! *dramatic pause* *proceeds to walk the bar like he's producing an infomercial* We're going to use Remy Martin 1738, Cointreau, fresh lime juice - that's what makes it different. And we're going to use a brown sugar and cinnamon on the rim. That's going to give it something special.

Pro is a guy that will have regulars until the day he hangs up his bar key. He's never met a stranger and he finds a way to connect with people with astonishing ease. Don't be fooled by his tough, tatted image. He's got a tremendous heart and would do anything to help a friend, even a friend that's just a cocktail waitress. 

Why does everybody love Joe? To be honest, it's impossible to not love Joe. He's honest and hard-working. He's a master of hospitality, probably improving to a dangerously fierce degree after working with one of the most hospitable bar owners in Dallas, Pasha Heidari, for half a decade.  He's a cocktail genius with an affinity for vermouth and botanically based flavors. And he's never met a stranger. 

Tiffany is probably one of the most straight-forward and earnestly chatty bartenders we know. She's quick to laugh, easy to engage, and constantly has her head on a swivel. And, who doesn't love someone who sees their job as a bartender as an opportunity to help get someone laid!