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Zagat 30 Under 30: Rock Stars Redefining the Industry

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Originally in Oxford, MS to attend Ole Miss, McConnell soon found himself enjoying the restaurant life much more than the college one. He worked as a prep cook at Snackbar, and when the restaurant started a Saturday morning brunch bar, he manned that too, and in the beginning, he had a lot of downtime to experiment and read the Mr. Boston Bartender Guide. Soon he was hooked, with trips to NOLA to research, accolades behind the bar of sister restaurant City Grocery and eventually a move to Charleston to run the impressive cocktail program at Edmund’s Oast (a brewpub, restaurant and hip bar) and the BevCon beverage conference board. He’s known for bold and boozy cocktails, such as the Carpetbagger: rye, Cocchi Torino, Angostura amaro, bitters and orange oil.