We have changed the June 3rd class a Bitters class! I’ve had multiple people ask when the next class on bitters was being held and made the executive decision to offer it June 3rd.

Click here for the updated class schedule here.

If you just want to sign up for the Bitters class now, see below.

June 3, 2012: Bitters

If you enjoy cocktails and have always wanted to know about the dash or two of mysterious elixir your bartender is adding to your drink, this class will let you in on the secret. Learn and taste different types of bitters, their uses and the history of bitters. You’ll also learn some tips and tricks on making your own bitters at home.

Class is on June 3, 2012 and limited to 10 people, so get your tickets quick!

Cost: $50 per student
Where: Last Exit, 3155 Mount Pleasant Street, N.W., Washington, DC
When: June 3, 2012 at 5:30 pm

Along with a mainstay, Home Bartending Basics, I’m very excited about offering classes on tiki drinks, punch, tequila/mezcal and spirits from the good ole USA! The schedule is below and you can also click here to head over to our Classes and Consulting page.

May 5, 2012 at 3:30pm:  Spirits of Mexico

Celebrate Mexican heritage with a discussion on the national spirits of Mexico, tequila and mezcal. We will discuss, and taste, the differences between tequila and mezcal and learn how to use them in cocktails. We will also learn the importance of quality in these spirits and how important they are to many of the small villages who make artisanal tequila and mezcal.

Please note that this class begins at 3:30pm at Last Exit.
This class is $50 per student and limited to only 10 students.

May 19, 2012: Punch into Spring

When entertaining at home, having a punch or two for your guests keeps you chatting with them instead of stuck in the kitchen mixing drinks. In this class, learn the history of punch and the basics to punch making. This is not your parents neon green sherbet-topped fruit punch or the Rubbermaid tub of anything goes punch from your college days! This punch is based in traditional cocktail methods and culinary flavors.

Class begins at 5:30pm at Last Exit.
This class is $50 per student and limited to 10 students.

June 3, 2012: Bitters

If you enjoy cocktails and have always wanted to know about the dash or two of mysterious elixir your bartender is adding to your drink, this class will let you in on the secret. Learn and taste different types of bitters, their uses and the history of bitters. You’ll also learn some tips and tricks on making your own bitters at home.

Class is on June 3, 2012 and limited to 10 people, so get your tickets quick!

Cost: $50 per student
Where: Last Exit, 3155 Mount Pleasant Street, N.W., Washington, DC
When: June 3, 2012 at 5:30 pm

June 24, 2012 and July 15, 2012: Tiki Lounge

Summer is here and what better way to celebrate than relax with an icy, fruity, boozy tiki drink? This summer when you invite friends and family over for a cook-out and some drinks, throw in a touch of Polynesia by serving the best tiki drinks around! Learn the history of tiki drinks, the tricks to making them and how Tiki became synonymous with Americana.

Choose whichever date fits your schedule!
Each class begins at 5:30pm at Last Exit.
This class is $50 per student and each class is limited to 10 students.

 

Dates

June 24, 2012 July 15, 2012

July 1, 2012: All-American Spirits

Celebrate the forthcoming July 4th holiday with a class on the greatest gift America bestowed on the world – Cocktails! We’ll discuss how American ingenuity propagated the cocktail phenomena worldwide and sample some of the best American made spirits.

Class begins at 5:30pm at Last Exit.
This class is $50 per student and limited to 10 students.

From the Museum of the American Cocktail site:

Join award-winning mixologist, Dale DeGroff for an evening of stories, cocktails and songs from legendary watering holes and his forty years of working and carousing them! Accompanied by Washington’s own piano virtuoso Dan Ruskin, DeGroff takes us on a journey through bar life in America, from Colonial times to the present, revealing the colorful history of the cocktail and the antics that drove this amazing cultural phenomenon. Classic cocktails from The Passenger and tunes from the Great American Songbook make for an unforgettable evening!

$45.00 per person pre-register

The ‘at-the-door’ fee will be $50.00.

Thursday, April 12 2012, 6pm

Warehouse Theater (entry via The Passenger)
1021 7th Street Northwest

Click here for tickets.

Take a break from worrying about your taxes and learn everything you wanted to know (and probably more) about cocktail bitters. If you enjoy cocktails and have always wanted to know about the dash or two of mysterious elixir your bartender is adding to your drink, this class will let you in on the secret. Learn and taste different types of bitters, their uses and the history of bitters. You’ll also learn some tips and tricks on making your own bitters at home.

Class is on April 15, 2012 and limited to 10 people, so get your tickets quick!

Cost: $50 per student
Where: Last Exit, 3155 Mount Pleasant Street, N.W., Washington, DC
When: April 15, 2012 at 5:30 pm

 

Unfortunately, I didn’t find any Shoo Fly pie but I did find a few interesting things that will lend themselves to cocktail making very well. First was the jams and jellies. Tons of flavors and all looked delicious. Jams and jellies are a great way to add flavor, sweetness and texture to cocktails. The best thing I found though were shrubs!

A shrub is usually the juice of a fruit mixed with an acid and sugar. Most of the time the acid is vinegar. The Tait Farms Cherry Shrub I bought is made with cherry vinegar, lemon juice and cane syrup. On the first sip, you get a burst of fresh cherries. Then, on the back end, your lips start to pucker and your tongue will tingle from the acidity.

For a great article on shrubs and how to make them, check out the Serious Eats article.

I picked the Cherry Shrub because right now, DC is in the middle of the famed Cherry Blossom season. As a result, I’m constantly thinking of a way to create fantastic cherry cocktails. This shrub definitely made a great addition to the following cocktail. It’s sweet, tart, refreshing and has a pleasant cherry flavor.

District Cherry Blossom
1.5 oz London dry gin
1 oz Cherry Shrub
.5 oz simple syrup
.25 oz maraschino liqueur
.25 oz lemon juice
2 dashes Bitter Truth Burlesque Bitters

Shake all ingredients with plenty of ice. Strain over fresh ice in a chimney glass and add seltzer water. Stir briefly to combine and garnish with mint.

I’m curious, what are your favorite cherry flavored cocktails? Let me know in the comments!