Masters of Mixology
Spirited stars behind the Valley’s best bars
By Alison Bailin Batz / Photos by Claudia Johnstone
Whether hoping for a new menu recommendation, counting on a classic to be delivered to perfection, ordering a customized creation or just looking for someone to converse with, the bar team at a restaurant or lounge can really make or break an experience. Here, five kings and queens of the local cocktail scene are answering all of our burning questions – you’ve got the inside scoop.
Samantha Hunsaker
Director of Operations and Cocktail Creator, The Whining Pig Hospitality Group
A Winchester, Virginia, native who moved to Arizona in 2002, Samantha Hunsaker got her start in earnest in the industry at 20 years old. She started small, making basic cocktails at Half Moon Grill, before diving into mixology headfirst with bartending roles at SumoMaya and Windsor, both focused on all things craft and cutting edge. In 2021, she began working behind the bar at Pigtails in Downtown Phoenix, earning her leadership role in 2024.
Favorite fictional bartender:
Liz Taylor from The Blue Parrot at Hotel Cortez in American Horror Story: Hotel. Liz is a transgender bartender in the haunted hotel who knows everyone’s secrets. She knows she’s a queen, and she doesn’t let anyone treat her differently. Her presence is as entrancing as her fabulous outfits, and she’s just as elegant as the crystal-clear martinis and perfect whiskey pours that she serves.
Best song to make cocktails to:
The Spins by Mac Miller & Empire of The Sun. You can’t be sad when that song is playing.
Favorite drink order you’ve received:
My favorite drink order I have ever received was a lovely girl at my bar top who said “make me a drink that will make me feel like I’m in a Wes Anderson film,” so I made her a bright, creamy, teal-colored cocktail, put it in the weirdest glass I could find, and topped it with a bright pink orchid.
Best fall drink:
Femme Fatale from Pigtails Downtown. It is a play on a classic old-fashioned that incorporates Creme de Noyaux, salted caramel, and black walnut bitters. It is smoked and served with a beautiful orange peel rose. The campfire vibes that the smoke gives paired with the warmth of the whiskey and the caramel is divine.
Favorite cocktail on your current menu:
My favorite cocktail on our current menu is the Black Magic Woman at Pigtails Downtown. This one is a hitter and was written by my favorite coworker, Brenda Juarez. It’s an elevated play on a whiskey sour, infusing the whiskey with blackberry, introducing vanilla, and topping it all off with a divine blackberry dust and three perfect blackberries sprinkled with buzz button.
The Whining Pig Hospitality Group includes Rough Rider, Pigtails Downtown, Pigtails Desert Ridge and Coabana
Stevie Raeann
Beverage Director, Broken Plate Concepts
Arizona native Stevie Raeann – who went to school for metal smithing – first got into cocktails through music. At 21, she loved nothing more than frequenting then-rock ’n’ roll dive bar The Rogue in Scottsdale, and through it started getting into making drinks herself. While bartending at Bar Smith in Downtown Phoenix, one of her regulars was the general manager for Silvana Salcido Esparza’s beloved Barrio Queen, and he eventually recruited her to join the brand. She would leave Barrio when Esparza moved on, continuing to hone her skills at Mables on Main and then in Tucson before making her way to Broken Plate Concepts just after the pandemic in 2021, earning a leadership role with the brand by 2023.
Favorite fictional bartender:
Collectively the entire “gang” from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
Best song to make cocktails to:
I love all music. Metal, rock ’n’ roll, dark wave, shoegaze, punk and pop! My mom naming me Stevie after Stevie Nicks was the only thing my parents agreed on, and her taste in music was a jumpstart to my ever-growing library.
Most memorable drink order you’ve received:
You’d be surprised by what people ask for sometimes. I’ve has some doozies, including espresso martinis but with Macallan 12 (google the price!) or even with a gin, and dirty martinis but with tequila.
Coolest celebrity you’ve served:
When I was working at a local dive in south Scottsdale that is now a Yoga studio, we threw rock ’n’ roll dance nights and as a result had musicians like Andy Rourke from the Smiths and East Bay Ray from the Dead Kennedys DJ sets and order from us. Tommy Lee from Mötley Crüe and Dave Navarro even popped in.
Most underrated cocktail ingredient:
Sometimes all you need is a touch of salt.
Favorite cocktail on your current menu:
A Night in San Gimignano, which is pink peppercorn-infused rye, fig, Smith & Cross rum and a house blend of sweet vermouth. The pink peppercorn gives the rye a little sweetness, while the Jamaican rum compliments the rye. And the fig? It is from chef’s backyard.
Broken Plate Concepts includes Fat Ox and The Mission
Michael Lopez
Bar Manager and Creative Director, Born & Raised Hospitality
This Glendale native got his first job behind the bar at Tommy Bahama Restaurant when he was 18, albeit as a barback given he was underage. His star would grow when he served on the opening cocktail team at Maple & Ash, and then he moved behind the bar at Clever Koi in 2021. Within two years, Lopez was promoted to beverage manager and creative director of Clever Koi’s parent company, Born & Raised. In addition to this role, he is a leader within the Arizona Bartender’s Collective, or ABC, which works with local hospitality professionals and establishments statewide to showcase their work and give them a platform to shine nationwide.
Favorite fictional bartender:
Brian Flanagan from Cocktail. It was the first industry movie that I ever saw, and it really piqued my interest because of how they showed the way the bar patrons responded to the character. This movie shows his progression of trying to achieve that amount of trust and also showed all the ups and downs of the life of a bartender and the possible issues you could be faced with.
Best song to make a cocktail to:
In my opinion, bartending during service should be very fluid like a dance number. I prefer listening to jazz and Lo-Fi house music when I bartend.
Coolest celebrity you’ve served:
I once made a drink for Devin Booker. I was working at Maple & Ash in Scottsdale, and he had come in late at night. He was super nice and kind of kept to himself. He didn’t say much as I didn’t expect him to, but I know he liked his drink because he finished every last drop.
Best fall drink:
That’s an easy one; a sidecar is usually my go-to. It is a cognac-based cocktail with lemon juice, simple, dry curacao and a sugar rim. It is surprisingly bright but has nice, rich fall flavors with a dry finish that the sugar rim quickly rounds out.
Most underrated cocktail ingredient:
Shiso, in my eyes, is the most underrated ingredient and that is because most people aren’t familiar with the herb. It is a Japanese herb that is in the same family as mint. It has a more subtle flavor but a tad more bitterness than with normal mint.
Born & Raised Hospitality includes Clever Koi, Across the Pond and Fellow Osteria
Bryce W. Fox
Beverage Director and Assistant General Manager, The Ra Ra Room
Bryce W. Fox relocated to Phoenix in 2024 to lead The Ra Ra Room’s beverage program, where he dreams up riffs on old classics and wholly new recipes. Originally from Oregon, Fox initially fell in love with spirits after tasting W.L. Weller 12-Year Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. The entirety of his career has been behind the bar, notably at award-winning hotspots including The Roxy on Broadway and Sinners & Saints, both in Colorado, and Saloon 16 in Tennessee.
Favorite fictional bartender:
Arthur the android, played by Michael Sheen in the movie Passengers. Despite being an android devoid of programming that is capable of understand the harrowing predicament that Chis Pratt’s character finds himself in, Arthur brings a certain sense of cynicism and humanity to the situation.
Best song to make cocktails to:
Any song by Post Malone. During my time at Saloon 16 in Knoxville, there was a tradition that no matter if the University of Tennessee Volunteers football team won or lost, we would play Post Malone as a collective release. As a forever emo kid at heart, I’ve always found ways to weave in elements of heavier music or pop-punk during my shifts. While that genre doesn’t quite suit the elevated atmosphere of a space like The Ra Ra Room, there’s ways to get creative with artists like Vitamin String Quartet who do orchestral and classical versions of those songs.
Most memorable drink order you’ve received:
During my first bar gig, a guest ordered a Pappy 23 old-fashioned. We graciously suggested an alternative. Another honorable mention, I recently had someone order Bailey’s Irish Cream and soda…that was a first.
Coolest celebrity you’ve served:
I had the distinct pleasure of launching Peyton Manning’s collaboration with Graduate Hotel’s at Saloon 16. During our first year, Peyton released Sweeten’s Cove – named after a golf course outside of Knoxville, where the pre-tee tradition was to drink whiskey. Along with friends and colleagues, Peyton launched the brand, and we were able to open the first bottles and serve them from our bar.
Favorite fall drink:
My preferred fall beverage is typically Tiki-inspired and infused with baking spices. It’s perfect for those times where you’re not quite ready to let go of summer but still want something a little bit warmer and inviting.
Ashley Cibor
Beverage Director, Tell Your Friends
Originally from Rhode Island, Cibor first got interested in mixology when she was 18, after getting a position as a dishwasher and then a hostess in a restaurant. Her favorite part of the job was being surrounded by the energetic bartenders. After getting her start on the East Coast, Cibor moved to the Valley in 2014, honing her skills behind the bar at The Ostrich and UnderTow, before being tapped as beverage director of Tell Your Friends in 2024. Under her leadership, Tell Your Friends was recently named “Bar of the Year” at the prestigious The Bar & Restaurant Expo Awards. To celebrate, Cibor debuted a wholly new menu, the first full update since opening day.
Favorite fictional bartender:
Horace from Family Guy. I am from Rhode Island, where Family Guy is based, so if I could be any bartender, it would only make sense that it would be at a small dive bar in my hometown.
Best song to make cocktails to:
I love anything by Taylor Swift! I’m one of her die-hard fans, and she has a song for every mood. If I had to pick one ...Ready For It? is my go-to hype track behind the bar.
Coolest celebrity you’ve served:
Recently, Vicki Gunvalson from The Real Housewives of Orange County came in, and I was shaking from excitement. I love the series, and she’s always been one of my favorites, so having her in the same room as me, drinking my cocktails, was absolutely surreal.
Best fall drink:
In the fall, I love a hot cocktail. One of my favorites is an excellent apple cider with aged rum. The rum perfectly complements the cinnamon flavor, and it’s fantastic for curling up on a patio chair once it actually cools down in Arizona.
Favorite cocktail on your current menu:
My all-time favorite cocktail is the Decadence in Disguise. It was inspired by one of my most loved desserts: carrot cake. I set out to translate every element of carrot cake into its liquid form, and when it all comes together, it’s uncannily spot-on. The cocktail isn’t overly sweet and layers carrot, cinnamon, ginger, sherry, walnut and goat cheese together in the perfect way.