Chris Vola ’03 is the head bartender and general manager of LB Bar, formerly Little Branch, a legendary cocktail bar in New York City’s West End that has just the right vibe while one imbibes. He’s also the author of four books on cocktails, and has written novels, poetry, short fiction, essays, and book reviews. A mixologist in more ways than one.   

“Way back when I was first accepted at Loomis, I remember someone, maybe my aunt or uncle (longtime Loomis Chaffee librarian Linda Southall and athletic director Bob Southall), telling my parents that by the time I graduated, at the very least I would know how to write well,” Chris says. “The sophomore Writing Workshop certainly saw to that, but I was also fortunate to have had an academic Murderer’s Row of English teachers — Sally Knight, Fred Seebeck, Scott Purdy, and Jeff Scanlon — all of whom stoked my passion for reading and language in profound ways that continue to resonate and inform my relationship to literature and writing to this day.” 

Notice his use of Murderer’s Row — a nickname of the 1927 Yankees team that included Hall of Famers Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. His latest book on cocktails is Drink One for the Team: 75 Winning Cocktail Recipes Inspired by Legendary Sporting Events. 

“Oftentimes, I find that doing research can be the most enjoyable part of a project, especially when I’m learning about subjects that are completely foreign to me,” Chris says. “It was great to get a refresher on sporting events with which I was already very familiar, like the World Series or the men’s and women’s Final Fours, but delving into the fascinating politics of the Six Nations rugby tournament or the logistics of the World Marathon Challenge (in which participants must complete seven marathons on seven continents in seven consecutive days) gave me such an appreciation for the mind-blowing feats of athletes who I would never have otherwise considered.”  

Chris also has written The Cocktail Atlas: Around the World in 200+ Drinks and Cheers to Today: 365 Cocktails Because Every Day Is a Holiday. His first was Pour One Out: Cocktail Odes to T.V.’s Most Dearly Departed.  

He initially wanted his debut book to focus solely on Game of Thrones characters, but he says his agent thought that taking the “pour one out” concept and applying it to characters from many beloved TV shows would garner a wider audience. He said he spent “countless hours watching everything from The Wire and Breaking Bad to Seinfeld and The Simpsons, and of course more Game of Thrones. ... The template has been more or less the same for all of my subsequent drinks books: find something I’m interested in, whether that’s sports, geography, history, obscure holidays, niche musical genres, or whatever, and find some way to infuse my passion for cocktails and cocktail history into it.” 

The research process for the book about sporting events took about three months. Chris had to narrow the list to 75, find historical facts and anecdotes about each, and pair them with drinks. Some drinks needed no tinkering, like the standby Mint Julep associated with the Kentucky Derby.   

“On the other hand, something like the Frank Collins, which I use for the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, went through several rounds of alterations from its original recipe,” Chris says. “My unfortunate test subject for this slightly bonkers Bloody Mary riff — featuring gin, beer, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and hot dog water — or frank consommé as we say in polite circles — was my unwitting girlfriend, who, more than a year later, still brings up the ordeal when I ask her to try something new.” 

Chris is a 2007 graduate of University of Richmond, and he earned a master’s degree in fiction writing from Columbia University in 2010. 

“As an undergraduate student," Chris says, "I was a journalism major and creative writing minor, so I’ve been dabbling in multiple genres since I started taking writing seriously; the curiosity and desire to explore the written word in all its many forms has always seemed to come naturally to me.” 

He says different kinds of writing involve very different processes, and it is important to him that he not get burned out by any one of them. Yet the cocktail niche just seems to go down rather smoothly right now. 

“For the last few years, I’ve found writing about cocktails to be quite enjoyable and much freer flowing than my other work, as I’m not agonizing for hours over a minor plot point or phrase of dialogue like I would if I was working on a novel or story, or in the case of a poem, a single word,” Chris says. “That said, the itch to do different things will always be there, as the two outlined novels, unfinished poetry collection, and unpublished collection of literary criticism on my hard drive can attest. But one of the occasional drawbacks of being a working writer is that you need to balance your creative impulses with what makes the most sense financially so you can keep working. And with at least two more cocktail books in the pipeline – Yacht Rock Cocktails and Drinks of a Feather: A Boozy Field Guide to the Birds of North America – I’m fortunate enough to be able to continue to do what I love and make a living at it for the foreseeable future.”  

And there are other kinds of stories he can tell — if he so chooses.  

“Working at any bar in New York City for 18 years, especially a relatively high-profile cocktail den, you’re going to meet and work with just about every variety of human being imaginable, from the insanely wealthy and famous to wildly unique local characters to thirsty travelers from every corner of the world,” Chris says. “The celebrity stories I could tell, especially from my early years as a bouncer — including having to literally carry an A-list actress out of the bar on my back after she stole a bunch of other patrons’ drinks and refused to leave — would be enough to fill a book, if TMZ is interested. But for me, especially as I’ve gotten older, the best moments are the quieter ones: having a conversation with a relatively sane customer who’s genuinely interested in cocktails, nerding out over drink specifications with a co-worker, mixing up a perfect beverage that will stay with someone long after they leave the bar.”  

Bartending, he says, has given him the outlet he needs, the right mix.  

“Bartending has also been essential to my mental health as a writer,” he says. “Sitting for hours in front of a glowing box, consumed by your own thoughts, can be a lonely, grueling experience. It’s so refreshing to shut down the laptop after a long day of writing and be able to move my body, interact with other people, and use my brain in an entirely different way. I think that being able to drift between two unique careers has been integral to avoiding the serious burnout that I’ve seen in so many colleagues who only work at one of them.” 

He has two other outlets — softball and plants.  

“I will continue to play softball on as many teams and in as many NYC boroughs as I can until my knees/back/arms completely fall apart, which, now that I’m in my 40s, will probably happen sooner than I’d like. I’ve always had an intense competitive streak, well before my days on the water polo, baseball, and swimming teams at Loomis. Softball allows me to continue to feel like an athlete, albeit one who enjoys postgame beers and camaraderie with lifelong friends as much as the thrill of the game itself.” 

As for plants, he says the terrace outside his apartment is “very jungle-like,” Chris having gained appreciation for plants from his parents.  

“My oldest plant is a now-eight-foot-tall yucca that I bought at Whole Foods in 2012 for like $8, shortly before my first novel was published,” he says. “So it's been around for most of my professional writing life, which is pretty cool."  

Chris says he looks back on his days at Loomis Chaffee “with an inimitable fondness that only Pelicans can truly know.” 

“Whether being challenged in the classroom, competing in the pool or on the ballfield, playing drums in the NEO, or kicking back in the SNUG, Loomis Chaffee gave me an amazing foundation for life that I’ll carry with me always,” he continues. 

So the inevitable question: If you were to come up with a Loomis Chaffee cocktail, what would be in it and what would you call it?  

“One of Southern New England’s most interesting (and some would say weirdest) contributions to cocktail culture is the Connecticut Bullfrog, a slightly sour, slightly sweet refresher from the 1940s that features lemon juice, maple syrup and two normally opposing spirits, gin and rum. Combine that with components from the classic Pelican, a grapefruit-heavy mocktail, and you’ve got the Connecticut Pelican. Refreshing, citrusy, complex, and aromatic, with a bold maroon hue, its disparate elements, like the wonderfully diverse LC community, work together for the common good – in this case, an uncommonly flavorful sip worthy of a one-of-a-kind institution.”  

And here’s the recipe: 

Connecticut Pelican  

1½ ounces London dry gin 

½ ounce white or aged rum 

1 ounce fresh grapefruit juice 

½ ounce fresh lemon juice 

½ ounce grade-A maple syrup  

2 dashes Angostura bitters  

Club soda, to top  

1 thin orange slice, for garnish 

Combine the gin, rum, juices, maple syrup, and bitters in a shaker. Add 1 or 2 small ice pebbles, shake briefly, and pour into a tall, ice-filled glass. Top with club soda. Place the orange slice on the rim of the glass.