Bartenders

Olly Brading

Type

Bartenders

WHERE ARE YOU FROM?

The Sunny Isle of Wight.

WHERE DO YOU/HAVE YOU WORKED?

I was with JJ and my LCC fam since 2011 as GM London Cocktail Club Goodge Street, GM London Cocktail Club Oxford Circus and GM of Covent Garden Cocktail Club. Then I left to set up The Cocktail Trading Co. with Andy Mil & Elliot Ball which is where you'll find me now.

FAVORITE BARS?

…At the moment, The Red Room at Milk & Honey, Satan’s Whiskers, Blind Pig and Discount Suit Co. are right up my alley – however The Covent Garden Cocktail Club will always have my heart ;)

FAVOURITE DRINK?

A Corpse No.2 is a long time go to drink for me but it changes with the breeze… I’d take an ice-cold beer more often than not. I am a sucker for a Bacardi Breezer though… Orange, if you were wondering.

Bad ass barman/rock n roll moment?

My years at LCC were pretty badass, start to finish; to go into detail would probably result in legal action... I’ll never forget the time I bartended on a bar above Grandmaster Flash though, what a hero!

Ever done it on a bar?

I’ll leave this one to the imagination… CCTV footage is only legally required to be kept for 30 days right?

What's next for you?

Continuing to run “The Cocktail Trading Co” with Andy & Elliot.

Best/worst chat up lines you've heard at a bar?

They are all sh*t! I find it a lot funnier when blokes try to use the medium of crap dance moves to get into a girls heart.

Tell us a secret or something we don't know?

I was once a full blown musician way back when… I played the Isle of Wight Festival 2008 and I was in a Duran Duran cover band for a bit. One gig, I played a guitar solo, on my knee’s, under a spotlight, to a whole theatre, wearing a big frilly white shirt. It was epic.

If you were to make a barchick cocktail, what would you put in it?

A crisp wine cocktail for summer from our menu at The CTC: Calvados, sauvignon blanc, passion fruit, cardamom and citrus, called “Sauvignon Private Ryan”. And I would dress up like Tom Hanks to make it for you. You can hold me to that.

How do you like your Martini?

Gin, wet, fino, grapefruit twist.

What did you want to be as a kid?

A rockstar. Although when I was about 10 all I wanted to be when I grew up was a marine biologist… bit of a curveball for Mum... You got to keep 'em on their toes.