This Thanksgiving, impress your friends and family with your mixology knowledge and skills, courtesy of the Viking Hotel in Newport. Photo from the Instagram of the Viking Hotel.
This holiday season, impress your guests with your new or improved mixology skills, courtesy of Viking Hotel in the island of Aquidneck. The following Cocktail Club The class, which takes place on Wednesday, Nov. 24 at 6 p.m., focuses on the essentials of Thanksgiving drinks that pair well with the appetizers, main courses, and desserts on your menu.
Christina Mercado, Deputy Director of Food and Beverage at the Viking Hotel, has been a mixologist for five years and is always learning something new about the art of mixology. She and Alex Pendergrass, the food and beverage manager, had held similar classes at a former hotel where they had worked together and recreated the educational class to fit the modern, upscale setting of the Viking Hotel.
From time to time, the focus of the class rotates; This quarter, the duo are focusing on spirits education, such as the basics of tequila, rum, bourbon and more. The following quarter, classic cocktails including margaritas, Manhattans and old school cocktails take center stage.
“The goal is to share techniques and information with our customers so that they can have more confidence when looking at a backbar or a cocktail menu,” says Mercado.
With the Cocktail Club, customers have a better insight into how spirits are made, what the age markings on the bottle mean, and all the information needed to help them entertain their family and friends at home or on the go. ‘an evening. “People who attend the course not only learn how to make a cocktail (or two during the holidays!), But also to taste the spirits – noting the changes in flavor and aroma – as well as to support product knowledge. “, explains Mercado.
The Thanksgiving Cocktail Course invites participants to explore the use of traditional Thanksgiving preparations (think cranberry and sweet potato) and blend them with compatible cocktail ingredients. “Guests will start with a tasting of classic American spirits like Applejack and Bourbon with a short discussion of their history and modern use,” says Mercado, “then we’ll build our two cocktails!”
At the start of the course, expect to see three spirits laid out on a tasting mat, along with tasting notes on the sheet (sometimes blank for an exciting blind tasting), depending on the course. Mercado and Pendergrass examine each spirit one by one and discuss its smell and taste before creating the cocktail. They also go over the bar tools needed to craft them or possible alternatives that can be used to recreate the drink at home.
“Once the cocktail is prepared, we’ll take out the canapes that the chef has prepared for pairing, and guests are then invited to sit down and enjoy their drink, or join us for dinner,” says Mercado. .
Each class costs $ 55 per person and has a limit of twelve people, so reservations are required. Stay after class for dinner at the Viking Hotel and get a 15% discount on your meal.
Mixology classes take place Thursdays at 6 p.m. Watch for sessions from January through March, which focus on classic cocktails and two holiday specials. Viking Hotel, 1 avenue Bellevue, Newport, 401-847-3300, hotelviking.com
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