One Tequila, Two Tequila…
When a job interview begins with “Do you like tequila?” and “Do you like to talk to people?” you know a dream position is on the line. Such was the case for Danielle Griffin, the reigning Tequila Goddess at Fairmont Scottsdale Princess.
Since the resort’s La Hacienda restaurant reopened about a year and a half ago, Griffin has been spreading the good word of tequila, whether it be tableside to a couple looking to learn more about the spirit or during a tequila-pairing dinner for 90 guests. “I’m not sure I have an ‘average day’ on the job,” she says. “I think that is why I love this job; every day is different.” Currently, Griffin is taking guests on a “sensory journey of tequila” during the Demystifying Tequila event at La Hacienda as part of the Fairmont’s new Passion Project.
Though getting to enjoy tequila day in and day out (La Hacienda has about 230 varieties to choose from) and traveling to its birth place—Mexico—are certainly perks of the Tequila Goddess position, exposing reluctant guests to the drink might be the most rewarding part of the job. “Some people come in and shun tequila because they have those bad memories from college or a summer on the lake where they finished a bottle and had a hangover they’ve never forgotten,” Griffin says. “I love being able to introduce a tequila a guest has never heard of, and after they try their first couple of sips, they say, ‘This is good!’ I try to convert at least two people a day to enjoy sipping tequila.”
Being tops when it comes to tequila isn’t Griffin’s only claim to fame, though. The former bartender used to be a member of the Phoenix Suns dance team, as well as perform as a concert flutist. “I actually was pursuing a career in classical music for about 18 years,” she says. “I studied with my professor, Alexa Still, at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in Australia and decided to come home after realizing how hard it is to make a living in the music profession.”
After moving back to Arizona, Griffin took up bartending and, eventually, found her dream job at the Fairmont. “Within the first week of starting [at La Hacienda as the Tequila Goddess], I fell in love with this job and spirit as much as I did with music.”
TO LEARN MORE
La Hacienda at Fairmont Scottsdale Princess
480.585.4848, www.scottsdaleprincess.com.
