Everyone knows Boston loves to drink. From our intense celebrations during St. Patrick’s Day and the Boston Marathon to the notorious “drunk train” that is the B line, to being consistently named America’s drunkest city, we get a reputation for being more than willing to partake.

What is often overlooked, though, is Boston’s appreciation for craft beer, locally made liquor, and remarkable craft cocktails. We have some of the best people in the country behind the stick, and one such barman, Tenzin Samdo, wants to make it known.

As @bostonmixdrink on Instagram and Twitter, Tenzin shares his own specialty cocktails as well as those he experiences throughout the city and on international travels – and he knows his stuff. His accounts are filled with gorgeous shots of unique drinks, beautiful sights, and his adorable son, and his IG has gained over 8,000 followers in less than two years.

With a mocktail of watermelon juice, basil, and cucumber in hand, I sat down with Tenzin at his home turf, Trade, and chatted about social media and the Boston bar scene.

How did @bostonmixdrink come to be?

It started as a joke with buddies. I was a theater student studying set design and film, with photography roped into that, going to college and working the bar for extra cash. My attention to detail led to it kind of becoming an obsession. A friend behind the bar told me about Instagram and I downloaded it even though I thought it was dumb. You know how Instagram has that link to Facebook? It dragged my friends to follow me. I didn’t really pay attention to it.

One day I took a picture of something at the bar and didn’t say anything about it. I went home and woke up with 100 followers. I was super pumped, but I still didn’t really take it seriously. Soon after, though, I posted a drink and Ketel One, Hendrick’s, all these crazy accounts started following me. It just blew up from there.

In the beginning @bostonmixdrink sounded like such a rookie name; now it seems perfect. The response I’m getting is great. People come to the bar asking for specific products, they’re sending letters, they tag me in photos.

What brought you to Trade?

In my dreams I always wanted to work for Chef Jody [Adams]. All you’d ever hear about in the industry was how awesome she was. I grew up in India as a Tibetan refugee. My parents escaped Chinese occupation, so I was born and raised there. Luckily, my dad won a lottery to come to the States. We came here in ‘96 and I went to high school in Cambridge.

People are always messaging me asking, “What is Tibetan?”, thinking it’s a liquor. There aren’t many Tibetans in Boston, so I’m proud I’m representing that. No one thought a Tibetan kid from the Himalayas would be here. Not only am I Tibetan, I have a lot of family in Italy. That means I have a lot of background in food. Talking a lot of herbs, spices, helps me be creative. I experiment with all that stuff behind the bar.

When the Instagram account blew up, I was thinking about building @bostonmixdrink as a brand. I took a month break from the bar I had been working. People were sending me jobs left and right but I wasn’t interested. Then someone told me Chef Jody was looking for a bartender and I jumped at that chance.

Did you expect this outreach?

Even I don’t believe it right now. It’s a humbling experience. I feel like a lot of people in the city don’t realize that. Every night I spend about two hours replying to emails. I have emails from Australia, Singapore, Thailand, Beijing, India – they even come from countries I’ve never heard of. And there’s a lot of people from the US who come in to my bar because of it. I feel like I’m representing the city. There’s never a negative message. It’s always super positive.

Because of that, I’m trying to introduce a lot of local product and promote the city. I have been focusing a bit on New York lately, but Boston is my main thing. My son is a big part of my life, too though. He makes me smile. I think people deserve to see that. So I post a lot about him.

Have you had any weird interactions because of your Instagram?

I always get great messages. It’s always genuine appreciation. Or real questions. Some cool stuff: A lady emailed me saying she followed me and that my account was really great. She asked for help making three cocktails for a dinner party. One had to be blue. We came up with a lot of ideas. I told her that it’s always nice to greet guests with a champagne cocktail and then suggested she end with the surprise blue cocktail.

Finally, she sent me an email thanking me, saying everything went fantastic. She turned out to be a member of British Parliament and the 21 guests were delegates. Stuff like that is so cool — I technically hosted royalty from Thailand!

How do things like #tradecreates come to be?

We came up with it a little while ago. No other bar in the city does that. This is what I always do anyway. We communicate based on your tastes rather than an order. A Ketel One with soda? That’s cool, but what’s the point? You can get that anywhere. I want to make it into a collaboration. I’m happy making whatever, but I want you to be a part of it. You create your drink. You live out your fantasy of being a bartender.

I’m so glad that #tradecreates got so much attention. A concept like this, bars like Drink or bars with mixologists have it, but we want to communicate directly and have something you can share. We’ve come up with a lot of amazing drinks for ourselves out of it, too.

How do you do that?

We ask the kitchen for anything and they’ll do it. They’re always so supportive. I can ask them to make a spicy syrup and they’ll do it. We use basil or mint flowers. A lot of people don’t use that so we take them straight from the kitchen. From that, we make infusions, syrups, etc.

We don’t carry flavored liquor. We infuse flavors ourselves. That’s what makes it a lot of fun.

Do you use social media to connect with other bartenders?

onthebar helps me a lot. A week ago, I went to an industry event and met a few bartenders I’ve always dreamed of meeting but never had the chance. When I first met them, it was easy to read them because I knew them through social. We talked about what we’ve posted on onthebar and Twitter. I’m always connected to everyone and I’ve started to go out as much as I can.

I want to link up with a lot more local bartenders. I want to find the future “stars.” When I was younger, it started up as just to pay the bills. Later on, it became an obsession, a passion. The first thing I started researching was local role models that are published. This city, those people, meeting them the first time just blows my mind. Any good thing you do in this city, people notice you. A lot of bartenders think they don’t get noticed, but they do.

What’s your favorite social account?

There are so many amazing photographers and bartenders. Bob Peters (Twitter: @bobthebartender) is one. He inspires me not just for cocktails, but as a person. He’s a good bartender and person – he always sends me tips and stuff. Good father, good husband, good bartender. He grew just as fast.

Some days you want to take a break from cocktails, so I basically just follow my friends.

What now?

In my spare time, I’m working on menus for other restaurants, consulting and building cocktail menus. I’m focusing on helping other people out so this becomes a widespread community. I don’t really care what’s next, but I always have a dream.

I just want to stay happy and live comfortably, me and my son. You’ll see me behind the bar somewhere.