If you know G, you know that he’s EVERYWHERE. We first met G back in 2018 when we helped facilitate some events for Luxardo. Since then, we have seen him nearly annually when he comes to Toronto, we’ve hung out with him in Barcelona at the Paradiso Sustainability Summit and most recently in Mexico City at Barra México. G is the kind of global ambassadors that any brand should aspire to have. He truly cares about the work he does, he’s passionate and has such positive energy. We love that he is always working on something and always working to grow and improve.
Bartender Atlas: G, where were you born?
G Franklin: I was born in the UK, in a place called Kettering.
BA: What city do you mostly work out of now?
G: I pay rent in London and in reality I’m there most of the time but, you know, I travel a lot.
BA: What would you say you do in the hospitality industry?
G: So my role in my job title is Global Brand Ambassador for Luxardo. I think that’s a very loose title. I’d say one of the biggest parts of my role is training our sales teams. Not just on the brand but on bar culture because you know salespeople. They might be salespeople for life and they might not really understand the bartending culture. We want our brands to be represented properly so that’s a massive part of it. Obviously doing trainings for bartenders is a big part of it as well. I do guest shifts, but then I do other things like create video content and design merch and all kinds of things.
BA: Where do you go out to eat and drink on your days off when you don’t have to be G from Luxardo?
G: I go to a bar in London called Home Bar. It is the smallest bar in the world. It’s probably not but… they have a bartender there named Rasa. She is Lithuanian, she’s just got the most aggressively awesome hospitality in the world. She will introduce you to everyone in the room and you will not escape without doing at least, let’s say, X amount of shots of tequila.
BA: We’ll let someone else decide how many that is. What do you do outside of work for fun? What hobbies have you got?
G: I like to go running, I like to go to the gym. The gym for me is like meditation. I wake up in the morning and I go to the gym and for that one hour I don’t have to think of anything apart from pick the shit up, put the shit down, you know what I mean? I find it kind of zen. Outside of that, I have been in the industry now for 16 years as a bartender, 13 years doing this… a long time. You know, it encapsulates your life. There’s not much outside of it but I would say I like eating in dope restaurants not necessarily the most fancy ones.
BA: What’s an album that you think everybody should listen to?
G: Now that is a hard one – there’s so many that come to mind. As soon as I say a name, I’m going to think of a different one as well.
BA: Don’t worry, it just goes on the internet.
G: Yeah, I’m going to get rinsed. I would say Nas Illmatic. I think it defines an era.
BA: I think that’s the right answer.
G: Also, I think that 90s boombap is the perfect soundtrack to any bar. I think it’s got that tempo that makes you nod your head. You don’t necessarily need to listen to the words or anything. It kind of stimulates conversation.
BA: What’s the best advice you’ve ever gotten?
G: Don’t take it too seriously, man.
BA: What’s something that you’re excited about?
G: I am kind of lucky that I’m in this role where I’m just bombarded by constant stimulus on a daily basis. Where I am meeting people who are new friends, old friends, being in different cities and stuff like that so it’s kind of hard because you’re always excited. The thing that excites me the most would be tasting culture. I don’t always get to see the famous thing that you’re supposed to see in each city, but I do occasionally get to taste some new flavours with a cultural story behind it and that’s exciting because it gives you a really good understanding of where you are, what the culture is and what the background to it is.
RETURN TO ALL HOSPITALITY GEMS
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Posted August 20th, 2025
