Chris Milligan

Born in Sewanee, Tennessee and raised in small town Georgia, Chris “Mr. Magoo” Milligan began tending bar while attending college. After graduating with a degree in psychology and philosophy from the University of West Georgia, Chris decided he wanted to move to the culinary Mecca of Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he has lived and worked for the better part of 13 years.

Chris’ 23 year career as a food and beverage professional has led him from family to fine dining, nightclubs, adult entertainment clubs, and international chains. Working in all facets of restaurants operation, Chris focuses on training, consultation and educating others about mixology and the world. of hospitality He has trained bartenders, managers, and restaurant owners all over the Southwest, and has helped pen training material for some of the top restaurants in the country.

Spending his spare time with his family, playing guitar, hiking and reading about cocktail history, Chris continues to be an influential part of the mixology world as the founder and writer of the Santa Fe Barman Blog. His writing and cocktails have been featured in several magazines and cocktail websites including Chilled Magazine, Bartender Magazine, Blush Cocktails, The Liquid Muse, The Materialist, Bitters & Twisted, Cocktails at About.com, Santa Fean Magazine, New Mexico Magazine, Imbibe Publications, Beefeater’s Gin, and One for the Road. The Santa Fe Barman Blog is also syndicated by Forbes.com and Santafe.com

Part Historian and part Entertainer, Chris still loves working each night behind the bar serving his guests and creating new drinks as well as cotemporary interpretations of cocktail classics. Currently, Chris is the Bar Manager and Mixologist at Secreto Lounge in the Historic Hotel St. Farncis in Santa Fe, New Mexico.