fall SEASONAL CLASS:
TAVERN COCKTAILS
Learn about the roots of the American Cocktail in eighteenth-century tavern drinks. We’ll be using spirits that were immensely popular during this period, namely aged rum, Cognac, or applejack. We’ll also employ fortified wine, in the form of sherry or madeira, as well as ale, which were essential to this genre of proto-cocktails. Fall flavors of apple, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger will be highlighted in a series of three drinks. We’ll make a homemade “gingerbread” syrup — the brown sugar base makes it taste just like the familiar molasses-laced dessert — and bake our own apple quarters for a special hot toddy. We’ll even use a whole egg in one of our drinks! See below for photos and notes on each of the drinks we’ll be making.
PUBLIC CLASS INFO
Price: $50 per screen; $15 per additional participant in your screen
Duration of class: 1 hour
— Click “BOOK NOW” below to see dates when this class is being offered —
PRIVATE CLASS INFO
Price: $350
Duration of class: 1 hour
Class size: 10 Zoom windows (not including Al), limit 3 participants per window
— Click “BOOK NOW” below to book this class for your group —
THE RATTLE-SKULL IS MY FAVORITE OF ALL THE COLONIAL “COCKTAILS.” ALES WERE ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT INGREDIENTS IN THESE EARLY MIXED DRINKS, AND THIS ONE PUTS ANY MODERN “BEER COCKTAIL” TO SHAME. RICH, TOASTY PORTER ALE MINGLES WITH LIME,GINGERBREAD SYRUP AND AGED SPIRIT(S) IN THIS EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY TAVERN FAVORITE.
THE FLIP IS THE IDEAL DRINK TO SHOW THE EVOLUTION OF THE COCKTAIL AND ITS ROOTS IN THE TAVERN. SINCE THE EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY VERSION REQUIRES A FIRE AND A PIPING-HOT PIECE OF IRON CALLED A FLIP-DOG, WE’LL BE MAKING THE MORE REFINED NINETEENTH CENTURY VERSION, WHICH WILL ALLOW US TO BETTER UNDERSTAND HOW COCKTAILS AND BAR TECHNIQUES EVOLVED OVER THE COURSE OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. OURS CALLS FOR FORTIFIED WINE AND SPIRIT, PLUS GINGERBREAD SYRUP AND FRESH NUTMEG GRATED ON TOP.
FAMOUS BARTENDER JERRY THOMAS RECORDED A HOT APPLE TODDY AS ONE OF THE MANY DRINKS IN HIS BARTENDERS GUIDE, FIRST PUBLISHED IN 1862. TODDIES ARE ESSENTIALLY SWEETENED SPIRITS, SERVED EITHER HOT OR COLD (YES! THEY WEREN’T ALWAYS HOT!). THEY WERE AN IMPORTANT GENRE OF DRINK AS THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY DREW TO A CLOSE AND THE RISE OF THE COCKTAIL AS WE KNOW IT BEGAN. OURS, LIKE THOMAS’S, CALLS FOR A QUARTER OF A BAKED APPLE AND SPIRIT PLUS A LITTLE INNOVATION IN THE FORM OF FORTIFIED WINE, BLACK TEA, AND GINGERBREAD SYRUP.