Behind the Bar with John Gallagher

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Glorietta Trattoria’s seasoned bartender is an expert with Wyoming Whiskey, among other spirits. 

If you’ve ever sat at the bar at Glorietta Trattoria — watching flames lick up from the wood-burning grill while a perfectly chilled cocktail lands in front of you — there’s a good chance bartender John Gallagher was behind it. Gallagher has been bartending in Jackson Hole since 2017, cutting his teeth in high-volume bars before leaning fully into the craft-driven, kitchen-collaborative cocktail program that defines Glorietta’s offerings. In 2025, he added another accolade to his résumé, winning the Wyoming Whiskey Cocktail Classic in his first year competing. We caught up with Gallagher to talk about how he landed in Jackson, what goes into building Glorietta’s seasonal cocktail menus and the drink he might be embarrassed to admit he enjoys. 

How did you end up in Jackson Hole? 

“After college, I was bartending on the East Coast — at a nightclub slash pizza place in New Haven. I was a barback on weekends and driving up to Vermont every weekend to ski. I always wanted to move out west, and it just felt like I could combine those things in one place instead of driving four hours every weekend. I picked Jackson pretty randomly. I had a friend living here who had a room open, and I just packed up and left.” 

What were some of your first bartending jobs in town? 

“I walked around downtown, throwing applications at every restaurant I could. The Silver Dollar was the first place to call me back, and I worked there until last year. I did a solid seven- or eight-year run there and loved it. It’s such a different environment — high volume, loud, live music. 

“Eventually, I wanted to try something more craft-oriented. I was reading books, digging into technique, and some friends I’d made in the industry were working at Glorietta. I was part time at both places for a while, and as more opportunities opened up at Glorietta, I decided to really pursue that.” 

Glorietta’s cocktail program is elevated but still very approachable. How would you describe your style? 

“You see these intense molecular cocktail programs in bigger cities, and while that stuff definitely influences what we do, we try to keep things understandable and doable — both for guests and for the staff. We work really closely with the kitchen. If we’re doing something like an olive oil fat wash, we’ll give that oil back to the kitchen to use. If the kitchen has byproducts — egg whites from pasta, citrus peels — we try to repurpose them. It’s about being sustainable, featuring local spirits as much as possible and keeping things streamlined so service stays smooth in a really busy restaurant.” 

How much does the food menu influence the cocktail menu? 

“A lot. Pairing cocktails with food can be tricky because cocktails are often really bright and intense, and you don’t want to overshadow the food. But richer, more savory cocktails tend to work well with proteins and pastas, while lighter, citrusy or effervescent cocktails are great earlier in the meal. We talk about placement a lot with the staff — where a drink fits in a meal.” 

What does the process of building a new seasonal cocktail menu look like? 

“I usually start by talking with our chef at the end of a season — seeing what ingredients or flavors he’s excited about. Then I look at what spirits we want to feature and build from there. You want balance — not just in flavor, but in glassware, ice, strength, bitterness and citrus. It’s like a big puzzle, rotating pieces around until everything locks into place.” 

Were there any cocktail trends that really stood out last summer? 

“Spritzes were huge. Limoncello spritzes especially. We started carbonating spritzes in-house — house-made limoncello, wine, bitters, everything carbonated together. It gave you these really crisp, champagne-style bubbles instead of just topping with soda. We ran Aperol, limoncello and grapefruit spritzes all summer, and they absolutely flew on the patio.” 

Is there a drink you love that people might be surprised to hear? 

“A good cosmo. A classic cosmopolitan. It’s such an iconic cocktail, and it’s actually a great exercise in balance. You’ve got some intense ingredients, and when it’s done right, you can taste everything without anything overpowering the rest.” 

On a rare night off, where are you eating or drinking around town? 

“If I’m going out, I love Kampai — anywhere you can get sushi like that in a mountain town is special. Trio is another favorite; it’s super cozy. And I’ll always love going back to The Silver Dollar Bar for nachos and a beer with the guys. I worked there for so long — it still feels like home.” 

If a guest says, “I don’t know what I want,” how do you help them decide? 

“I used to hate that question, but now I kind of love it. I’ll ask about things outside the bar world. Where do you like to vacation? If someone says the tropics, maybe you go citrusy or tiki-inspired. If they say cities, maybe something more spirit-forward. It doesn’t always land perfectly, but it gives you a good sense of who they are.” 

You won the Wyoming Whiskey Cocktail Classic in 2025 — what was that experience like? 

“That was my first time ever doing anything like that, so even being invited was exciting. Winning was wild. All the other competitors were friends — people we all know in the scene — so it was fun but also a little strange to be competitive. It made the whole thing more approachable. It was a really cool experience.” 

How do you approach creating a cocktail for a competition like that? 

“You start with the spirit, obviously. Then you think about who else is competing, what their restaurants excel at and what fits Glorietta’s narrative. My winning cocktail was a riff on an old fashioned. I pass drinks around to the staff constantly and ask for feedback. Every great cocktail comes after a few bad ones.”