Bartender of the Month & Recipe
Brendan Gallagher, Bartender at O’Donnell’s Pour House, Sea Isle City
Q: How did you get into bartending?
A: We have a family business down here. We rent linens for people who come down for the week. It’s called G & T Linen Rental. When I was in my early to mid 20s, I was working there during the day, and then at night, I’d go out and spend all my money. Bartending was a way to stop spending money and make some money. I started as a doorman at Ocean Drive, and eventually moved up to bartender. When the Pour House opened in 1999, I moved over there. It’s the same owners. Now, I’ve been doing it for 30-plus years.
Q: What do you like to do outside of work?
A: I like to golf and spend time with my family. I have a daughter who’s a junior at Delaware studying nursing, and a son about to graduate high school. He’s heading to Penn State in the fall.
Q: Do you have a favorite local golf course?
A: I like Shore Gate. It’s close, fairly easy to get on. I’ll go out there in the afternoon and shoot nine whenever I get a chance.
Q: What’s the best life advice you’ve ever received?
A: I’m the kind of guy that just puts his head down and works, so I would say hard work pays off.
Q: If you weren’t bartending, what would be your dream job?
A: I’m very passionate about following the stock market. Trying to figure out whether the company is good or bad, whether to spend your hard earned money on it. Because you can lose it as much as make it. It could still be a gamble. I probably started when I was 27. I had no kids, no life and I had the money to spend.
Q: What’s the most interesting part of the bartending business?
A: The people. The contacts you make. The relationships you make. Like I said, I’ve been at this for 30-plus years, so I’ve made lifelong customer friends, lifelong coworker friends.
Key Lime Martini
“We are an Irish pub, and we serve a lot of Guinness, so I would be remiss not to say Guinness,” Brendan said when asked what drink he wanted to highlight. “But as far as a drink would go, I actually did a little poll, and it’s a Key Lime Martini.”
Ingredients:
Directions:
1.5 shots vanilla vodka
Half shot lime juice
Splash of pineapple juice
Lime for garnish
Add all ingredients to the cocktail shaker, shake it up, and serve in a martini glass, garnished with a lime.
Interview by Kristen Dowd. Photos by Bill Godfrey.