Do Online Cocktail Classes Still Have Value in the “Post-Pandemic”* World?
During the height of the pandemic, they were near-inescapable. Are they still a great way to learn?
In the spring of 2020, as everyone’s access to what we’d all previously considered “normal” became sharply limited, we adjusted.
Office workers, suddenly stuck typing at their kitchen tables, got accustomed to attending meetings via laptop screen. And as bars and restaurants shuttered (some temporarily, others permanently), cocktail drinkers realized they would have to make at home what they could no longer order at their favorite spots.
The two changes combined to produce an explosion of online cocktail-making classes. Most were aimed at cocktail novices, teaching students how to assemble simple combinations of ingredients into drinks rarely more complicated than a French 75. (They clearly were successful; I read recently that two-thirds of all cocktails are now made at home.)
Those elementary classes paved the way for a more advanced level of class aimed at more knowledgeable drink-makers. Dave Arnold and Jack Schramm, of Booker & Dax and then Existing Conditions (both now closed), taught cocktail science to true drinks nerds in their show Balancing Act. Sother Teague of Amor y Amargo taught bar pros and advanced home enthusiasts how to make bitters and cordials. There were many others, aimed at varying levels of drinks expertise and all areas of interest.
But now that bars have been open again for quite some time, and many of us head into offices for in-person meetings, is there still a place for online cocktail classes? Are they still a great way to learn?
Well, my answer depends primarily on your skill level. For those looking to learn the basics, perhaps as a bachelorette party activity or a corporate team-building exercise or even just an interesting date night, you’re probably better off taking a class in-person rather than online so you can get hands-on, personal attention and instruction. Many bars and bartenders are offering them, and you’re sure to find one wherever you live. Here in New York, the Raines Law Room frequently holds classes, for example.
But for professional bartenders or advanced cocktail enthusiasts, online classes offer something you can’t get any other way: access to the knowledge and expertise of people at the very top of the industry. These classes are essentially graduate-level cocktail seminars, and the instructors/hosts of the shows don’t really offer their wisdom any other way (outside, perhaps, of books they’ve written). They’re especially beneficial to people not located in major cities, who might not have a local top-tier drinks mentor to consult.
I admit I’m biased. I’ve watched two online cocktail series for their entire run: Jack and Dave’s Balancing Act and Sother’s Sother Hospitality (fka The Bitters Truth), both produced by Gush.
Balancing Act, which ran for three seasons and has now ended, essentially took the high-level cocktail-science techniques that Dave described in Liquid Intelligence—think acid-adjusting, clarification, the importance of saline, etc—and brought them into his online classroom, breaking these advanced concepts down into easily understandable form and teaching why and how to employ each technique. Its hosts were terrifically entertaining as well as informative, and the classes were one of the true highlights of my pandemic times.
Sother Hospitality has just entered its fourth season. The show has evolved quite a bit during its run; Sother, of course, is known for his bitters expertise, and in its earliest iteration the show essentially taught how to make bitters at home, largely using a plug-and-play system similar to that of a standard cocktail kit with pre-made ingredient mixes. It evolved to include making cordials and shrubs, and cocktails that incorporate them. The current season promises to delve more deeply into widely applicable techniques; the first episode includes four methods for making syrups and covers potential uses for each, and later episodes will include smoking, batching, and recipe developing. (One might equate it to moving from giving a man a fish to teaching him how to fish, a change I deeply approve of.)
But how do you find the online class that’s right for you? The most critical thing, I think, is to find a class that matches your level of knowledge: It’s frustrating to be stuck in one that covers basics you’ve known for years, and a too-advanced class isn’t likely to teach you much if you’re struggling to grasp concepts that students are assumed to already know.
You’ll obviously also have to consider: What do you want to learn? What will be useful to you? Most classes and courses have a theme, and you’ll want to find one you’re genuinely interested in pursuing.
Prerecorded versus live is another consideration. Prerecorded classes (think Lynnette Marrero and Ryan Chetiyawardana’s Masterclass) are scripted and smooth; they deliver what they’ve promised to teach in an easy-to-follow way and at a predetermined pace. You can watch them on your own schedule, versus having to be available at a set time. The downside is that you can’t interact with the presenters and get any questions answered immediately, in the way you generally can during live presentations.
Classes done live, such as the ones offered by Gush or, say, Campari Academy and the like, have their own pros and cons. On the plus side, you get to engage and interact with the presenter and ask questions and offer comments. It’s a way to have access to people at the very top of the industry—use it! Often a sense of community develops among the attendees over the course of the seasons as they interact with each other as well as with the presenter. And there’s a benefit to the unscripted content: in many instances, my most valuable takeaways from the classes are insights offered in throwaway asides or digressions (such as, Why has a bartender changed his house gin? Or, How do you properly peel a knob of ginger?). Also, if the scheduling of the classes doesn’t work with your calendar, they’re generally recorded and available for viewing later.
On the other hand, in order to get the benefits of interacting with the presenters, you have to clear space in your schedule to watch it live. Sometimes the pace of the presentation isn’t optimal for non-professionals, and you’re rushing to keep up as the presenter speeds ahead in cocktail-making. Sometimes a recipe hasn’t been sufficiently tested in advance and it shows. (Looking at you, mango-chipotle concoction.) On occasion, the presentations simply devolve into chaos: An off-topic question from an attendee might sidetrack the discussion for a bit, or a guest on the show might unintentionally derail the entire thing if they have their own agenda or, in one memorable instance, get wildly overserved. But here’s the thing: Part of the learning happens when you see how the pros recover when things go wrong.
To answer the question we started out with: Do online cocktail classes have a place in current times? I would say, Absolutely! Are they worth it for you? That’s for you to decide, based on your level of knowledge, preferred method of learning, and what you hope to get out of the class.
And if you’re wondering where to start, here’s where to find the classes I’ve mentioned above:
Sother Hospitality: Season 4 has just begun. The first episode aired at the end of March, but Sother will be reprising it on April 11. I’m told there’s still time to sign up and order the ingredients kit if you do it right away (and trust me, having the kit allows you to get much more out of the classes).
Balancing Act: This class has ended, but prior subscribers can still access recordings of past shows via the subscriber portal, and it seems as though new subscribers can as well.
Campari Academy: The education arm of the spirits conglomerate holds many live, in-person events for bar professionals, but occasionally also offers free seminars online, such as the recent Drinks on Draft (exactly what it sounds like, an intro to offering on-tap cocktails at bars) and the upcoming Drinks Theater (“how to add magic, wonder, and interactivity into hospitality service”) on April 29. Get on their mailing list for a heads-up on upcoming presentations.
Masterclass: This 17-lesson prerecorded course is largely aimed at novice-level cocktail makers or bartenders at the beginning of their cocktail careers. The polished production makes it very easy to watch, and more qualified hosts—Lynnette Marrero and Ryan Chetiyawardana—could scarcely have been found.
Raines Law Room: This New York City favorite offers a variety of cocktail classes both online and in-person, from “Mixing with Mexican Spirits” to “A Taste of the Tropics.”
Let me know if there are others you’d recommend!
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*I hate using the term “post-pandemic,” fwiw. Covid is still very much with us, and we continue to be in a pandemic. More than 1000 people are still dying EACH WEEK from it in the US. I use the term, therefore, to refer to the fact that most people’s lives once again look much as they did in 2019. People are going out to bars. Many companies no longer allow their employees to work remotely. Etc.
The Sidecar
Speaking of Lynnette, she launched a line of RTD cocktails called Delola with Jennifer Lopez (of all people) last summer—and it’s honestly one of the best RTD lines I’ve tried. I’m particularly fond of the orange spritz, which I’ve tried side-by-side with Aperol’s official bottled spritz, and the Delola puts the Aperol version to shame. Highly recommended.