Ten Manchester Street's new masterclass aims to teach you how to shake, muddle and mix cocktails like a pro.
A good cocktail is a thing of beauty. When lovingly crafted and served ice cold, there is no better drink to kick a night off with.
The downside to all this care and time is that they are blimmin' expensive. Usually priced around a tenner in any decent bar or hotel, it's impossible to have more than one without running up a serious bill. In the past, I've avoided cocktail masterclasses as I always thought they were the realm of the 'quirky' hen party but it strikes me that if you find the right class, focusing more on quality ingredients and enhancing your knowledge, you can more than likely avoid ones that are populated by people who just want to get pissed. Plus, they're a great way of learning how to craft your own delicious drinks at home, at a snip of the price.
Today I'm at boutique hotel Ten Manchester Street in Marylebone, which is running a series of cocktail masterclasses, themed around ingredient and brand. With a different class each month from now until June 2012, you can learn all sorts of tricks from hot toddy-making to the perfect champagne-based concoction. My class is themed around rum which is lucky, as I'm a big fan.
A helpful hotel receptionist points me in the direction of the heated cigar terrace where head mixologist Joel Lawrence has laid out a table full of shakers, fresh mint, glasses and buckets of ice. Also present is Carl Stephenson, co-founder of Elements Eight Rum who gives us a short introduction to his brand and joins in with the class, adding extra details as we go along. Elements Eight produce three rums (gold, platinum and spiced) and it's fascinating hearing Carl talk about the process and time that goes into creating each product. We try several of the rums on their own over ice, and particuarly like the spiced rum, made with over 10 different spices, giving it a warm and Christmassy taste.
Joel then matches the rums to their most complimentary cocktails, so we start with a daiquiri made with the platinum rum, (charcoal-filtered to remove the colour, resulting in a purer looking drink); followed by a 'Millionaire's mojito' using gold rum, topped off with champagne; before finishing with a 'dark and stormy', adopting the spiced rum.
Three of my favourite cocktails as it happens, but I have no idea how simple they are to make. All have the basic components of rum, sugar syrup and lime or lemon juice, with a few added extras like ginger beer for the dark and stormy and mint for the mojito. That said, Joel gives us some necessary tips to lift them to bar quality, such as the best way to mash the mojito limes, mint and sugar; the exact measurements and order of ingredients; and how to correctly use a cocktail shaker. Interestingly, Joel once created the world’s most expensive cocktail, costing £30,000. He's also a fountain of knowledge. Did you know only five people in the world know the recipe for angostura bitters?
To soak up some of the alcohol during the two and a half hour session, we are served canapés at regular intervals. From gooey goat's cheese and onion bagels to mini beef burgers, and prawns coated in a crunchy pork scratching batter, they are equally delicious and it's all I can do not to wolf the whole lot before my fellow classmates have got to them.
After we've polished off all the cocktails and food, we're then invited to try a cigar from the vast selection housed in the walk-in humidor on the terrace. Opting for a skinny probably end up resembling something closer to a demented goldfish. All in all, it's the perfect relaxant to a fun and animated session.
The class costs £69 per person but considering that on top of the cocktails, we are given a complimentary glass of champagne before the session starts, are fed exceptionally well throughout and finish off with a top quality cigar, I think it's fairly priced. I come away buzzing with plans for my own cocktail evenings and endeavouring to seek out more quality spirits; they make all the difference. I couldn't recommend the evening highly enough. Let's just hope the hens don't catch on...
Ten Manchester Street master class evenings cost £69 per person and run from 6:30–9:00pm.The next session is on the 17th October, where you can learn all there is to know about Irish Whiskey.
For further information on classes and booking please visit www.tenmanchesterstreethotel.com or call 0207 3175 900.
Best of the rest:
69 Colebroke Row, Islington
£40 pp
This place is right next to Spoonfed Towers, so we can account for its amazingness. Classes are informal and interactive with questions encouraged throughout. Guests are supplied with a list of cocktails and the recipes for each. Check out the holiday themed classes coming up, where you can learn to make your own Halloween punch and eggnog.
Lost Society, Clapham
£30 pp for 2 hours, £40 for 3 hours
At this south London art deco bar you can choose what cocktails you want to whip up, be it an espresso martini or a mai tai, and whether you want a two or three hour class. On arrival you will be taught a little history of the cocktail, before creating your own concoctions at the bar. Snacks, soft and hot drinks are also provided.
Skylon, Southbank
Free
Held on the first Monday of every month at the Royal Festival Hall bar, head mixologist Zoran Peric will teach you how to make a different cocktail every time. Lessons are free and all you have to pay for is your drink. The next class takes place on November 7th where you can learn how to make a Manhattan.
Return to Spoonfed's London food and drink section.
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