Mixed drinks

The basic idea for the class is: let's do three workshops on cocktails with a focus on different eras. Class 1 (tentative date: 2/17): Common, basic types of mixed drinks, as they came to be defined pre-Prohibition (i.e., recognizing that a "cocktail" is a class of mixed drink, not a generic term for mixed drinks in general). Link to the Wikipedia page on this There are many drink categories on Wikipedia, but here are a few that gives a sense of the range: - Cocktail (e.g. G&T, White Russian, flaming Sambuca and why coffee beans are popular in sambuca shots... some of these are technically Highballs, I guess) - Fizz (e.g. gin fizz, Manhattan cooler... a lot of overlap with the Flip category) - Flip (Port wine flip could be good, sleeper) - Punch ("Bajan (Barbadian) Rum Punch is one of the oldest rum punches and has a simple recipe enshrined in a national rhyme: "One of Sour, Two of Sweet, Three of Strong, Four of Weak." That is: one part lime juice, two parts sweetener, three parts rum (preferably Barbados), and four parts water. It is served with a dash or two of Angostura bitters and Nutmeg." - Pousse-cafe (expensive to make?) or julep We want a little history on each, how they came to be, etc. Powerpoint? Hand-out? Shaken versus stirred taste test? Prereqs and materials: fire extinguisher glasses and cups - ikea? - Steph ice cooler (at the space) shaker and strainer- Sean Justin will put together spreadsheet with alcohol sambuca Class 2 (date TBD): The second one would go in to preparing one's own ingredients: simple syrups, infusions, bitters, etc., and incorporating them into more varied versions of the drinks covered in the first course. - Simple intro to the idea of fermentation versus distillation. How water and oil both dissolve in water and how that relates to infusions Class 3 (date TBD): The third one will go in to cutting edge preparation techniques, stuff like different applications of dry ice or liquid nitrogen (if we can get it), or carrot juice caviar.