STAFF REVIEW: BRIGHTON COCKTAIL MAKING AND MIXOLOGY COURSE
Do you find yourself always making the same cocktails over and over again and wanting to learn how to make something more exciting? The Brighton Cocktail Making and Mixology Course has been designed to teach anyone wanting to learn how to make a number of delicious cocktails, how to free pour and a beginners level of general knowledge in a fun and informative experience. The course is run by cocktail professionals to make the experience as useful as possible and provide on hand help throughout.
After a very quick 20 minute walk from Brighton Station to the venue, we arrived at the warehouse. It was excellent to be instantly greeted by three welcoming members of the Mixology team. The venue definitely over-reached our expectations as what we thought was going to be a basic warehouse had been transformed into a modern replica of a real bar.
At the start, we were given a brief introduction to what to expect from the course. It was fantastic that the course covered such a variety of different elements of cocktail making and mixology. The first part of the course covered the different types of glassware used and an interesting explanation of why. Following on to tools of the trade, ice, bar and station set up, then garnish and fresh ingredients prep. I found that Brandon our host was a brilliant mixologist having an impressive knowledge to share with the group.
As the experience ran throughout the day from 11 am to 5 pm it included a half an hour break for everyone to have their lunch. As most of the group didn’t bring food it was appreciated that Brandon recommended a fantastic sandwich shop just around the corner!
After our break, we went on to the second stage of basic bar mechanics which involved free pouring. Personally, whilst waiting at a bar I find it very entertaining to watch the tricks and skills that staff present when free pouring. Although I always find this impressive I never realised that it required such skill to achieve the accuracy. As there was a small group of us on the day it was fantastic as we each got our very own bar space to work in.
It was appreciated that Brandon gave a demonstration of the correct way to successfully complete each activity before we had our turn. Throughout the free pouring, we started off with the easiest level of just doing one single shot. Although I found that initially most of the liquor ended up being outside the glass, we were all given the opportunity to try as many times as we needed to master the skill. Once we felt confident we moved onto the harder levels. The next levels involved doing double shots and then two glasses at the same time!
The next activity was what I was most looking forward to. Not because we got to drink a number of cocktails, but because I really wanted to learn what goes into my favourite cocktails for future knowledge. Included on the list was the making of the most popular cocktails; Mojito, Margarita, Martini, Collins, and an Old Fashioned. At the start, as always Brandon would demonstrate the different stages of what goes into the cocktail and then allowed the group to try. It was great because we all got to pick our own brand of liquor and garnishes to suit our preferences. Once everyone had finished it was time for the really hard work, to try everyone’s drink!
Overall, the Brighton Cocktail Making and Mixology Course was a fantastic experience to really learn at a beginners level a wide range of useful skills. It was nice to see that other people had come to educate themselves for future career paths and also just to learn for making cocktails in the home. I personally am very pleased that I have learnt a few party tricks and am looking forward to hosting a cocktail party with all my friends now I have the right knowledge and skills.
I would like to say a massive thank you to Brandon for being such a lovely host throughout and I think we can all agree that all your tricks were very impressive!
