For the first time this spring, Herzog Cocktail School founder Brian Hoefling will be hosting a weekly cocktail seminar online! (Sign up here!)
For ten Fridays from March to May, he’ll talk you through the history and preparation of foundational classic cocktails, covering three recipes in each lesson for a total of thirty. Come to any lesson for an entertaining and informative evening, or come to all ten for a comprehensive grounding in mixological theory!
We’ll cover the core techniques of shaking, building, and stirring; chilling, dilution, and Arnold’s Fundamental Law of Traditional Cocktails; David Embury’s six basic recipes; and eleven dimensions of flavor and texture which can be used as the building blocks of mixed drink recipes, from sweetening and bittering to lengthening and effervescing. There will be time at the end for a Q&A each week.
Each session will begin at 8pm and be held over Zoom. Tickets to individual sessions are $35; you can also get a multi-class pass for $150 and pick any five to attend. Register here!
The course will roughly follow the first chapter of Brian’s forthcoming book, The Cocktail Seminars, and will conclude just in time for its publication. Seminar all-stars who come to all ten classes will get a free signed copy of the book when it comes out!
Upon registration, you will receive the Zoom access information and a list of ingredients and tools to have ready for the class. If you would like additional assistance, get in touch using our “Contact” page and we can help you set up a spirits delivery order through Drizly and/or a bitters, syrups, and bar tools order through The Boston Shaker.
This first week’s lesson covers “built” drinks, that is, cocktails prepared and served in the same glass. As we go through the recipes for the Mint Julep, Old Fashioned, and Hot Toddy, we’ll talk at length about the origin of the cocktail, the bourbon base common to all three recipes, and the major techniques employed by these deceptively simple drinks: sweetening, bittering, aromatizing, warming, and lengthening.
The full syllabus is as follows:
March 05 - Old Fashioned, Mint Julep, Hot Toddy
March 12 - Martini/Gibson, Manhattan, Rob Roy
March 19 - Whiskey Sour, Daiquiri, Sidecar
March 26 - Bee's Knees, Jack Rose, Gimlet
April 02 - [Good Friday; No Class]
April 09 - Ward Eight, Bronx, Corpse Reviver
April 16 - Stinger, Grasshopper, Brandy Alexander
April 23 - Scotch & Soda, Bourbon Highball, Screwdriver
April 30 - Gin Rickey, Tom Collins, Gin Fizz
May 07 - Champagne Cocktail, French 75, Mojito
May 14 - Margarita, Moscow Mule, Bloody Mary