Nathan Robertson: An Interview with Head Barkeep and Mixologist of Social
Originally from Kremmling, CO, Nathan Robertson “bounced around the US and Europe for about twenty years” before coming back to Colorado four-years ago. I interviewed Nathan at Social about his bartending days, favorite cocktails, his mentor Raffi, and his journey through the art of mixology.
Graham: How long have you been in mixology?
Nathan: I’ve been a bartender for about 11-years now, but actively practicing this style of bartending for only about 4 1/2. Kind of went away from it, bartended all the way through college, before and after as well, then became a financial advisor for about eight-years. Needed to move back to Colorado and I was looking for a different gig anyway; Wells Fargo that wasn’t making me very happy, so I moved back to Fort Collins to help my grandparents out and Social was hiring. Started out as a bar-back and worked my way up. It’s a great job though it makes me happy.
Graham: Last time I was here [at Social]I had the Old Stogie. I should have guessed by the name, but I didn’t expect it to smell like an old-stogie. It doesn’t taste like it, thank god.
Nathan: Right [laughs], it was funny we had a Yelp review, I guess it’s been about a year and a half ago now, that said: ‘I didn’t like the old-stogie it smelled like an old-cigar’ [laughs].
Graham: You said you bartended for 11-years, what made you take that next step into mixology?
Nathan: It took me a while to get into actual bartending here, but once I did I really learned to love it. A lot of research on my own, you know, through books, online YouTube videos, and things like that. Of course Raffi Jergerian who used to be the head bartender here, who currently owns Union with the people that own this place. Just through his example I learned so much, you know, he’s just an expert at flavors and understanding the way flavors work together, and how to creatively create and name cocktails.
Graham: Do you design your own drinks?
Nathan: Yeah, so [pauses]…well I just took over as bar manager here after [Raffi Jergerian] he moved over to Union, so Social in general does design their own drinks. The whole first page of the menu is either our recipes or variations on classics, and then the second page is classic cocktails. Sometimes we tweak them a little bit, modern tastes have changed, you know, to skew away from sweeter drinks in general, so we’ll tweak ’em so that they’re [pauses]…better to what modern palates like. It’s a pretty collaborative process, Raffi was the star of the show and rightly so. Going forward it’s going to be drinks from each bartender, we’re all going to get together, it’s called Death and Company-style.
Graham: What does that mean?
Nathan: Death and Company is a really famous bar out of New York, still there. Consistently ranked one of the top five speakeasies in the world. The way they do their menu program is all the bartenders get together once every quarter, I believe, and submit their recipes. They all taste and they all make constructive or deconstructive criticism, destructive criticism [smiles]. Then they just decide, well these are the menu cocktails for this quarter, basically. With minor tweaks here and there sometimes, and if you got a great drink then it’ll be on the menu and that’s kind of the way it’s going to be here too.
Graham: What’s the craziest experience you’ve had behind a bar either here or anywhere else you’ve worked?
Nathan: You know that’s one of the most asked interview questions, that’s interesting [chuckles]. You know at Social we don’t really have a lot of that.
Graham: It’s a classy joint, so…
Nathan: Well one of the things I love about it is we have a very eclectic clientele. We have 21-year-olds celebrating their first legal drink and grandmas sipping on Jameson and everything in between. I think that anyone can feel comfortable here. It’s just a happy vibe here we don’t get a whole lot of crazy unhappy stories. Occasionally when you cut some one off they get upset. That’s usually where those crazy stories would come from. I guess, one time this guy threw his water-glass at me. This glass here [points to a glass of water he’s been sipping on]
Graham: Oh no!
Nathan: I dodged it and he picked up another one and I just grabbed his hand out the air [mimes a grabbing action] and Ty, the owner, was sitting right across from him and called the cops. Luckily, most people here drink very responsibly.
Graham: What’s your favorite drink?
Nathan: My favorite drink? Kind of depends on the day, the weather outside, my general mood, and all that. If I’m drinking a cocktail in the winter-time, I’ll usually skew towards heavier, browner spirits. The summer-time, I love an aged-rum daiquiri. Actually, I could drink that all-year-round. That’s probably my favorite cocktail, really. I love all spirits and just coming across a new and unique spirit that tastes amazing, that I’ve never had before is really exciting. I like looking at the history of the world through the lens of alcohol because so much of human history is shaped by alcohol. You don’t realize until you start looking into it. I like drinking drinks sometimes just because of their historical nature. I love lighter drinks in the summer, effervescent drinks, aperol spritzes and champagne cocktails. Which people often times don’t really think of when they’re thinking of what a cocktail is. That’s some of my favorites, patio pounders, drink all afternoon in the summer and not be drunk at the end of it.
Graham: So you can have a good time throughout the day and not have a hangover at the end of it.
Nathan: Right. But if I’m at home I usually just drink Tecate. Mexican lagers in general, Model Especial is my favorite, and I drink a lot of tequila. Silver and reposado I don’t really go towards añejos. I got a huge bar at home which I pretty much only use for menu research.
Graham: That should be fun.
Nathan: Yeah, it is! When that time of year comes around. But I make enough cocktails at work that when I’m at home I’ll just drink a Tecate and a shot of tequila and call it good.
Graham: Tecate is my favorite Mexican lager.
Nathan: Really? That’s a solid one. We carry it here just because we all like it so much.
Graham: That’s awesome when you get to make the menu.
Nathan: Yeah [laughs]
Graham: What got you into bartending?
Nathan: I first started bartending at the country club I was working for, I got hired as a busser, and by the time I left there 10-years later I was doing pretty much everything. I bartended there for quite some time, I think about seven-years there. I wouldn’t really say I cut my teeth there because I didn’t really know what I was doing. You know, there it doesn't really matter what the cocktails tasted like as long as they were strong enough to get you drunk off one. That’s all people cared about. I was pouring Schweppes tonic-water and gin into the same glass and calling it bartending. That’s a little bit different than what we do here. That’s how I got my start. In college, I bartended a few college bars, here and there. Then took some time off and started at Social. Just kind of fell into it really, wasn't a conscious decision to be a bartender as my life career, but it’s definitely my favorite job, working here.
Graham: Would you consider Raffi your mentor?
Nathan: I would but I don’t think he would [chuckles].
Graham: No?
Nathan: He kind of has a hands-off approach to teaching. He sets a great example by what he creates and expects you to figure it out. He’s more than happy to answer questions you have along the way, but he’s not a proactive teacher. Despite that, I learned 90 percent of what I know about bartending from him, so he’s definitely been my mentor, although, a reluctant one.
Graham: Do you have a favorite drink on the menu here?
Nathan: Absolutely. The Marble Rye, one of Raffi’s drinks. When I first tasted it, I kind of knew I wanted to work here. It reminds me of a Vieux Carré.
Graham: What’s a Vieux Carré?
Nathan: Vieux Carré means old square in French. It’s a classic New Orleans cocktail: Peychaud’s bitters, Agostura bitters, cognac, rye whiskey, sweet vermouth. That used to be my favorite cocktail until I started working here and the Marble Rye kind of supplanted it. Marble Rye has a lot of similar ingredients: it’s got Punt e Mes, which is a bittersweet vermouth from Italy. Oh, Bénédictine was also in the Vieux Carré I didn’t mention that. [Marble Rye] It’s got Bénédictine, it’s got rye whiskey, it’s got bitters, so there’s a lot of similar components but the Marble Rye is just more well balanced and more interesting, in general. It’s got Cynar in it which is an artichoke amaro from Italy. So that’s probably my favorite menu cocktail, but honestly, I like all the drinks we serve. We don’t put a drink on the menu that we don’t like.
Graham: Right.
Nathan: I guess if I had to pick one of my least favorite drinks on the menu, it would be the Corpse Reviver. Which is unusual because I like all the ingredients in it. It’s got absinthe, Lillet Blanc, which is a fairly sweet dry vermouth, gin, lemon juice, Cointreau. I like all those things but for whatever reason I don’t really care for the combo. It’s probably our third most popular cocktail, and the people that order it love it.
Graham: So it stays on the menu?
Nathan: It stays on the menu. It’s a classic. It’s not our recipe.
Graham: Have you made a drink yourself that’s on the menu?
Nathan: Yeah, I’ve got a few that are the menu right now. The Rhythm & Booze, which is a riff on the B&B, Bénédictine and Brandy. Which is a little bit less sweet and less viscous than the classic B&B. Served neat in a snifter, warmed. What I want to be drinking when I’m sitting in a cabin, in the dead of winter and the snows falling outside, and I’m reading a book next to the fire. That’s what I want to be drinking. There’s a few but I’m having trouble recollecting. Most of this menu is still a holdover from Raffi’s. He just finished his final shift here about three weeks ago.
Graham: Did you guys have a big party for him?
Nathan: Not really [chuckles]. He’s just right around the corner, you know. We did give him a bottle of Hudson Baby Bourbon which is one of his favorite bourbons. We’ll see him on a daily basis still. It has been nice, he comes into drink a lot more now that he’s not working here. It’s been nice seeing him in that capacity; having a good time on the other side of the bar.
Graham: Do you pick his brain when he comes in here or do you just talk about whatever?
Nathan: [pauses]…yeah absolutely. Especially now that I’m the bar manager, a lot of the non-bartending related tasks that I have: ordering, inventory, staff-personnel management, things like that I’ll definitely seek his advice on. Which he is very willing to offer, which I appreciate.
We had to cut our interview short because Nathan had to start his shift. Social is located at 1 Old Town Square #7, Fort Collins, CO. Disclaimer: The Old Stogie truly smells like an old cigar but tastes terrific.