Items of Interest for Tuesday

For some reason my Google news alert doesn't pick up the New York Times or I would have noticed this awesome story a while back on blender drinks in the New York Times starring our own Martin Cate of Forbidden Island. Bic has drink-themed lighters. Bill Dowd has a photo essay on wood from trees to barrels. Sonya finds discovering the new menu at Death & Company like walking into class during a pop quiz. I largely suck at taking cocktail photos and bottle shots, but am trying to learn. Here's a video tutorial on shooting a bottle of whisky.

All about absinthe

Bourbon & Branch's Beverage Academy has a few spots open for tomorrow's absinthe class with Lance Winters. Lance makes St. George Spirit's Absinthe Vert, and is a fun speaker to boot. Backing him up is Todd Smith who will be making absinthe cocktails during the event. If you can't make it tomorrow, the next one is July 29th. The Beverage Academy has also started teaching Cocktails 101, also lead by Todd Smith, who will teach you how to get the most out of making drinks at home. Get tickets here.

Branch news

News from Bourbon & Branch:

• They've added classes on Cocktails 101, Rum, and Absinthe to the Beverage Academy
• Taking co-management positions after Todd Smith's departure are Joel Baker and Yanni Kehagiaras (pictured)
• Russell's Room, an additional private room built into the former barbershop next door, is scheduled to open in April.

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.