I met BC Hoffman at a Halloween party, where he was making color-changing cocktails and serving drinks in tiny hollowed-out pumpkins. So when we met at The Edison in Downtown LA, and I was planning to chat about his theatrical mixology. But things went a different direction.

After some bartender war stories from Tales of the Cocktail, BC explained how even the most seasoned professionals in the hospitality industry make bad decisions when there’s too much booze around.

We were then joined by surprise guest Coleen Morton, who was kind enough to talk shop with us on her night off. She and BC shared experiences with workplace intoxication, sexual misconduct, and the struggle to make friends in one of the loneliest cities on the planet.