Home town: Lacombe, Louisiana / Adopted by Oxford, Mississippi
Bars where you have worked: Ole Miss Catering Co. / Snackbar
In your experience, what is the most common reason to have a drink? To relax. It’s about sitting down with a friend, or with your local bartender, or your dog, or your favorite book, and knowing that the stresses of the day are over while you sip that well-mixed cocktail, ice-cold beer, glass of wine, or what-have-you. And, of course, sometimes we all just need a shot of whiskey as medication.
What’s your favorite ingredient or flavor combination? Angostura bitters and dark rum—not necessarily together. While I love making bitters, and we do make a wealth of our own at Snackbar, there is a reason that Angostura has been putting out the same recipe for hundreds of years: it’s delicious. As for dark rum, I find it can be the perfect thing to tie together a drink that’s missing something you can’t quite put your finger on it. All dark rums are slightly different, and I encourage you to try as many as you can, but I gravitate towards the blacker, buttery rums as even just 1/4 oz. can really change a drink in a meaningful way.
What is your most essential bar tool? A jigger. Any bartender worth his salt can eyeball a half ounce, an ounce, or two, but when a bartender gets overly confident and starts winging it is when consistency and quality can go down. We’ve all been guilty of free-pouring to save time, but using a jigger guarantees that the customers of your establishment get the same drink, every time, regardless of which bartender is working that shift.
Where’s your favorite spot to sip in Oxford / your hometown? I’m definitely one of those people who haunts my own establishment when I’m not working. But for just meeting up with a friend and having a beer, City Grocery is where you will normally find me. If I want an awesome cocktail and I don’t want to go to Snackbar, Delta Steak Company is the only other place in town that I can think of that is really doing some interesting stuff in that department. I wish we had more of a craft cocktail scene in Oxford.
What are your personal specialties? My personal favorite is also one of the simplest cocktails on our menu: the Perfect Oxonian. It’s a perfect Manhattan using black walnut bitters and bourbon. I still drink at least two a week.
What do you wish people would order more often? Less often? I love it when someone just tells me what they like and I get to whip something up for them. On the flip side, I’d be alright with never again making another chilled vodka “martini” with no vermouth. It’s basically a cold vodka shot in a fancy glass.
Early alcohol experience: My sister sneaking a warm 40 oz. of King Cobra malt liquor to me when I was 12, because she and her friends thought it would be fun to see me drunk. I hated it and didn’t get past the top of the label before giving it back.
Most famous customer you’ve ever served: Dan Aykroyd
Who would you most like to have a drink with; where and what would you imbibe? Bill Murray; the waterfall out towards Holly Springs; Tequila shooting contest. I’m not even a big fan of tequila, but I’d drink it if Bill Murray were going shot for shot with me.
What have you been listening to this year? A ton of guilty pleasure music: Tears for Fears, Hall & Oates, Huey Lewis & The News, and lots of nostalgic 90’s rock.
Favorite movie of all time: Brink!, the Disney Channel Original Movie
Favorite sport & team: American Football; New Orleans Saints
Who’s your favorite Rebel, and do you really ever go 18 MPH? Deuce McAllister, hands down. I got to serve him once a few years ago and he was the nicest person ever. As for the second part of the question—only when I’m on my bicycle. Even then I probably speed a little bit.
Read any good books lately? I just finished Punch by David Wondrich (a great history of punch recipes that predate the modern cocktail). I read it for bar research, but it was actually really entertaining. Last book I read purely for pleasure was Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (just a fun sci-fi novel with loads of 80’s pop-culture references thrown in).
What’s the funniest thing you’ve seen in your bar lately? Brian Dorris’ unbuttoned shirt.
Where would you be if you weren’t behind a bar? I’d be a starving musician sitting in front of one. 
