What is Mixology Mentoring?
Have you ever wanted to create delicious classic or unique cocktails in the comfort of your own home? Have you wondered why your home creations just don't have that craft bar quality taste or mouth feel? Would you like to have a get-together with friends or colleagues that will be memorable, fun, and thought provoking, which will culminate in a new set of skills that you can immediately use to create delicious and unique cocktails catered to your own personal taste?
Allow me to be your Spirit Guide through Mixology Mentoring!
My Mixology Mentoring program is an engaging and interactive way to learn skills and secrets that will elevate your mixing to a whole new level. Whether you are interested in perfecting classic cocktails, recreating cocktails that use a specific liquor or define a geographical area, or you want to compose your own unique cocktails, I will guide you through the process of how I research and reproduce classic and popular drinks, and how I conceive of and produce brand new cocktails, from brainstorming, to testing, to enjoying the final product.
I will begin our session by presenting a brief history of the spirit or style of cocktail you have chosen to focus on, and by introducing the tools I use to create and build cocktails. Then I will give hands on guidance as we build a variety of cocktails. Between each one you will have time to drink them and enjoy the company of your guests. To conclude I will answer any questions you have for me.
I am constantly trying out new cocktail ideas and combining ingredients in various ways. These are three spicy cocktails; the Hellfire Margarita, the Brush Fire, made with gin and a strawberry shrub, and the Bold Fashioned.
These are two fall themed cocktails made with a local Amish cider. On the left is the Manzanarita, an apple spiced margarita, and the bourbon-based John Chapman is on the right..
Below is a description of each of the current mentoring sessions available. If there is a style of cocktail or a specific liquor you are interested in that is not part of the current curriculum, I can fashion a mentoring session catered to your personal preferences.
Classic Cocktails: A Boozy Primer
If you have ever wondered how cocktails came to be and how they have evolved over the past two hundred years, this is the session for you. I will share the history and lore of six cocktails that are widely considered the blueprint by which every subsequent cocktail is based; how to make them, and why they hold such a hallowed place in the world of craft cocktails.
The Old Fashioned, the Martini, the Daiquiri, the Sidecar, the Whisky Highball, The Flip.
The Modern Craft Cocktail Renaissance: Building on the Palates of Giants
Since the late 1980s and particularly since the turn of the 21st century, there has been an explosion of creativity behind the bar. Contemporary bartenders have created iconic creations using the classics as templates. We will explore this movement and try to understand why these drinks have become so widely celebrated.
The Cosmopolitan, The Espresso Martini, The Paper Plane, The Penicillin, Intro to Aperol
Whiskey Cocktails: Old Fashioneds in Manhattan with Rob Roy
Whiskey cocktails (or whisky in Scotland and Canada) are where it all began, and they continue to be celebrated as some of the most popular cocktails in the world, both classic and contemporary. We will dive into the barrels and discover why this is the case.
The Old Fashioned, the Manhattan, the Sazerac, the Whisky Sour, the Penicillin
Stumbling Through New Orleans: Treat Yourself to a Liquid Lagniappe & Laissez les Bon Temps Rouler
Some of the most popular cocktails today originated in the Crescent City during the 1800s, where they still know how to let the good times roll. History is interchangeable with folklore, and we will parse fact from legend while we throw ourselves our very own fais do do.
The Sazarac, The Vieux Carré, The Pimm's Cup, The Hurricane, The Ramos Gin Fizz
Champagne, Prosecco, Cava: Celebrate with Bubbly Cocktails
The French have historically shunned the boorish booziness of cocktails, and so they added their own twist to the movement; low ABV cocktails using Champagne in place of harder spirits. The rest of the world has embraced their defiance and added to the canon, particularly the Italians. Let's join the celebration!
The Champagne Cocktail, the French 75, the Sbagliato, the Aperol Spritz, the Mimosa, Airmail
Gin: It's Not Just for Bathtubs Anymore
While the English created this spirit, the rest of the world has joined the party, developing flavor profiles beyond juniper and easing stiff upper lips everywhere with cocktails featuring this herbaceous liquor.
The Martini, the Negroni, Corpse Reviver No. 2, The Bees Knees, The Ramos Gin Fizz
The Violent History of Rum: "Arrrrr" You Ready to Awaken Your Inner Pirate?
The signature spirit of North America has a rich and wild history, developing and maturing in harmony as well in defiance of America. We will explore U.S. history with our palates and somehow find ourselves in the South Pacific.
The Flip, The Daiquiri, The Dark & Stormy, The Mai Tai