PENSON team does slamming team building parties. So when our industry friends from Kvadrat and Verpan offered to take us out to a cocktail making class, boy we were excited. We measured, poured, muddled, squeezed, stirred, shacked – we did it all and we were getting better with every drink.
The class took place in Shoreditch, in a cool event space run by Mixology Events. Our lovely host and a rockstar bartender Johan greeted us with drinks & tapas, which we jumped on it like vultures. He also explained how the session would run, which was pretty straightforward:
Johan makes cocktails. We watch.
We try to make cocktails. Johan watches.
Everyone guzzles.
Repeat.
COCKTAILS WE MADE:
Espresso Martini – the key to this one is to shake vigorously in order to get the frothy top otherwise your cocktail will end up looking like flat coke. This round revealed who has been skipping gym recently. We sip up and comment on the flatness/frothiness of our drinks.
Gin Fizz – this one was all about herbs. You don’t want to bash them around too much, especially if you’re using it for garnish. To release the natural aroma and oils of the mint, a firm clap is just enough.
Passion Fruit Margarita – I can’t remember much about this one because I was either taking too many photos or already feeling a bit tipsy. Oops.
The Zombie – things were getting OUT OF HAND as we started free pouring. I think it’s fair to say that everyone was getting boozy by this time. Next up was a shared cocktail which we set on fire. We used matches to make proper flames.
The last thing we did was cocktail freestyle competition where we had to come up with a new drink. Johan announced that my team won and I saw it made another team crumble. We gathered to finish a round of zombies and left the venue in high spirits.
Five stars for our host Johan, five stars for the venue, five stars for Joanna, who suggested a recipe of a winning cocktail.
So if you’re on a look out for something snazzy to do while getting sozzled in London, Mixology Events are your guys.
