The latest spring fling includes inspiring new drinks for the season.
As winter’s cold weather finally leaves us, warm hot buttered rum and hot toddy cocktails need to be stored away to make room so all the fresh spring flavors can sprout from your glass. To get fun new ideas on what to shake, stir, pour or mix, new classes are being offered around the Pacific Northwest to get those spirits lifted.
When I think of spring, fresh fruits, the bright flowers and lush vegetables come to mind. So it’d make sense that one of the best ways to render these fruitfully fresh flavors in any cocktail is a helpful bitters.
Originally intended for medicinal purposes, today bitters of all kinds help to aid the creativity of mixologists around the world.
At Chef Maria Hines’ Golden Beetle in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle, students can learn the history of bitters and get a chance to make their own as well as the restaurant’s signature, and bar standard, orange bitters in a two-part class taught by bar manager Andy McLellan.
In the first class on April 13, students will make their bitters and store them until next time. In the second on April 27, they will return to find their bitters’ ready to mix, and learn the best ways to incorporate them into their favorite cocktails.
Similarly, as part of their “Spring Cocktail Class,” Sun Liquor’s Lounge in Seattle will also host a bitters class April 21. Known for their use of seasonally fresh ingredients, and homemade syrups and bitters, this class is taught by bartender and distiller Erik Chapman. Students here will not only be shown the art of making a bitters out of their favorite flavors, but also how to create a fruity shrub and syrup.
Although both classes are currently sold-out, Sun Liquor and the Golden Beetle are known for holding regular cocktail classes, so be sure to check back with them soon.
To find other new ideas for spring cocktails, Seattle’s Sorrento Hotel’s Hunt Club Bar will continue its monthly “Drinking Lessons” series with the theme of gin, May 8 at 6:30 pm. In this 90-minute class, taught by Chapman as well, students will learn the history of the piney liquor, how it’s made, taste cocktails from the Hunt Club’s own mixologists and go home with a few new recipes. This class runs $35 a person, which includes the class, drinks and bites. Reservations to this class will be available soon and must be placed in advanced here.
Portland’s Mint/820 offers a cocktail class with renowned owner Lucy Brennan is sure to spark some creativity this season. Brennan is also known for her use of fresh ingredients in cocktails. Students of this class will learn the how-tos of three signature cocktails in 90-minutes. Her next class is on April 27 at 2:30 pm and cost $75. These classes also typically sell out, so make reservations here early.
In Vancouver, a cocktail seminar at the Brandywine Bartending School will take you around the world to find inspiration in a glass. On May 5, the school will host an international cocktail tasting from 6 to 8 pm, where attendees will learn about worldly cocktails and how to craft them. Reservations to this event are $100 (Canadian) and can be made here.
Raise a glass, spring is here at last!
