School of booze

A few weeks ago I was allowed to sit in on a class at Bourbon & Branch's Beverage Academy. So far they're doing three courses- one each on bourbon, tequila, and gin, offered once a month on Tuesdays. The class I attended was on gin, lead by Todd Smith, though from what my friend said about the tequila class she took the previous week with Ryan Fitzgerald, the classes are run similarly. We covered the history, production, current products on the market, and use of gin in cocktails. We made several cocktails in class and were served both an introductory and an end-of-class drink, plus samples of about five different types of gin in a blind tasting. There were powerpoint slides, a bound take-home booklet with topics and (some of B&B's most famous) recipes covered in the class, and a mid-class break for them to change out the glassware for the second half. I don't want to describe the class in too much more detail because that might take away some of the fun of attending. Though the two-hour classes cost $100 (mine ran to nearly three), they've put a lot of work into making it a high-value experience. I was really impressed.