Mixologist of the Month

spencer tate

@ Rosey's Bistro

212 Broadway N, Fargo roseysfargo.com

The transition from summer into fall has begun outside and our tastebuds must start to make this adaptation as well. We spoke to Spencer Tate at Rosey's Bistro about his latest season appropriate concoction.

BY Alexandra Martin PHOTOS BY J. Alan Paul Photography

JOURNEY TO BARTENDING

I started off in restaurants when I was really young. I've actually lived in and worked in restaurants in 5 or 6 different states now. I went to school for game-design, so I worked in video games for a while. I was working in an office setting or a cubicle, but there were times then were I'd go back to bartending when I need the extra money or something like that. I spent the last 10 years, before I came up to Fargo, in Phoenix where I worked at a couple different restaurants there and a lot in a catering setting. I came up to Fargo about a year ago and started working here at Rosey's after I was just in town for 2 or 3 months and then it was just a few months later that I became bar manager here.

It's really great for my personality because it's fast paced and I never have to do something monotonous for a long time, I'm just constantly on the move and working quickly. I also get to use my creative side from my degree, so that helps with the creative parts like the colors and presentation of drinks and making a fun atmosphere for people.

GO-TO COCKTAIL STYLE

I like classic cocktails, I like things with whiskey, especially bourbon. My next favorite would be gin. I like classic cocktails that don't have a lot of ingredients and don't have a lot of volume of liquids, so like a 3-4 oz drink that have very simple, homemade ingredients. We like to do things here where we make a lot of specialty syrups and things like that. So I'm not just throwing together things you can buy anywhere, I'm creating things where you can come here and have a unique experience.

MOST POPULAR DRINK AS OF LATE

Our number one selling drink here is actually mules, we do more mules than anything else, so much so that we have a mule on tap that I batch up. I like batching cocktails because it makes them really consistent and it speeds up your volume so that your service is better.

ABOUT THIS DRINK

I started by throwing together a few different drinks, but a lot of them I was still stuck in summer-mode and so I was doing stuff with gin and they were light, but they just felt like summer drinks. I've got that tinge in the air of fall, so felt I needed to make something that felt a bit more like fall. I thought I'd come together with some things I was playing with and see if it could work in a different form. I tweaked a recipe that I was doing with gin and did it with bourbon and I added the campfire whiskey to make it have a bit of smokiness.

FOOD PAIRING

I think it would pair well with our BGT sandwich. Something that is a little savory, like with the gouda fondue, but also a little sweet with the wild rice cranberry bread and the candied bacon on it. A little sweetness that wold pair well against something savory.

PRAIRIE MANHATTAN

• 1 1/2 oz. American Prairie Bourbon

• 1/2 oz. Campfire Whiskey

• 2/3 oz. Antica Vermouth

• 1/3 oz. Pineapple Syup

• 2 dashes orange bitters