Know Your Bartender: Brendan Galbraith at GRIT

Name and Hometown: Brendan Galbraith, Reston, Virginia.
Bars where you have worked: GRIT, Taylor
In your experience, what is the most common reason to have a drink? To relax and unwind with coworkers, friends, or family.
What’s your favorite ingredient or flavor combination? I love working with Velvet Falernum and mixing it with bitter liqueurs, like Aperol.
What is your most essential bar tool? Hard to pick, probably my muddler!
Where’s your favorite spot to sip? Also a tough choice! Blind Pig if I have to pick just one.

What are your personal specialties? Signature cocktails at GRIT using seasonal ingredients to create well-balanced, unique flavors.
Craziest request by a customer? Vodka & Diet Coke.
What drink do you recommend to someone who doesn’t know what to order? Depends on their preferred base liquor and whether they enjoy sweet, spicy, or bitter drinks. I can make a great drink with that info!
Most famous customer you’ve ever served: Jack Sonni / Archie Manning
If you could have a drink with anyone, living or dead, who would it be and what would you drink? John Lennon, Brandy Alexanders.
If you’re in charge of the tunes in your bar, what music do you play? Post-punk revival.
What’s the best live band you’ve seen in Mississippi? Third Eye Blind
Favorite movie of all time: Blood Diamond
Read any good books lately? The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Reckoning by John Grisham
Best joke to tell to a grumpy customer: Where are average things manufactured? The satis-factory 🙂
What’s the funniest thing you’ve seen in your bar lately? A guest’s rendition of “My Girl,” by The Temptations to a table of strangers.
Favorite after-shift drink? A classic Sazerac.
Where would you be if you weren’t behind a bar? Waiting tables on the floor!

Tags: bartender, brendan galbraith, know your bartender, Taylor

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TLV News The Local Voice is a bimonthly entertainment guide and newspaper based in Oxford, Mississippi, covering and distributed in North Central Mississippi, including Oxford, Ole Miss, Taylor, Abbeville, Water Valley, Lafayette County, Yalobusha County, and parts of Panola County, Marshall County, and Tupelo . The Local Voice is distributed free to over 255 locations in North Mississippi and also available as a full color PDF download worldwide on the internet.