The World’s Best Bartender Gets Sober

By Amy Paturel, MS, MPH

Jack McGarry (pictured above) was only 23 in 2013 when Tales of the Cocktail named him International Bartender of the year – the bar industry equivalent of winning an Oscar for Best Director. Not only was he the youngest person to ever receive the honor, but Dead Rabbit, the New York City bar he co-founded with buddy Sean Muldoon, won just about every award the industry has to offer, including “World’s Best Bar” in 2015.

But unlike most in his profession, you won’t find McGarry sipping a cocktail. Sober for more than three years, he has become a beacon of hope for others in the industry who are battling substance abuse.

We asked McGarry how he got clean and how his relationship with alcohol has changed.

Q: When did you know your drinking was getting out of hand?

A: I knew something was wrong as soon as I came off the stage three months after we opened Dead Rabbit. The bar won three awards, I had achieved my personal dream of best bartender and I felt nothing. But I didn’t hit bottom until I woke up in the hospital on March 25, 2016. The night before, I had gone out on the pier and got drunk. I picked up sleeping tablets on my way home hoping to just end it all.

Q: What did getting sober look like for you?

A: I have to manage the disease with ongoing therapy and AA. In recovery, I was in outpatient rehab for three or four hours a day, which lasted for almost a year. Now, I have a rigid structure in place to make sure I don’t fall back. I’m also a huge fitness person, which helps me stay on track. But it is a battle. I have to wake up and take each day as it comes. “Today, I’m not going to drink.” Then it just becomes a cumulative thing.

Q: How do you hope the industry will change to address mental health?

A: When I came out of the hospital, nobody talked about mental health. I knew I had a platform to raise awareness about mental health issues within our industry. I had a beautiful girlfriend. I was financially secure. I had good health coverage and I had the support that I needed. Most bartenders don’t have health insurance or the means to recover. So my goal has always been to get bartenders and restaurant professionals diagnosed and then connect the dots to help them get the resources they need, whether that’s medication, rehabilitation or some type of structured recovery. Unfortunately, we’re still a ways off from that.

Read more of McGarry’s story on wearechefs.com.