Mixology 101 is led by award-winning bartender David Alan. The courses opens with the origins of alcohol in pre-modern medicine, travels through cocktail history from the golden age of the 19th century to the 'noble experiment' of prohibition and its aftermath, and concludes with the modern cocktail renaissance that has taken place over the last decade.

2/21 Week One: Getting Oriented

• Course outline
• History/overview of drink before 1920
• The origins of fermentation, distillation & role of alcohol in the development of early medicine
• Punch, grog, & the pre-cocktail era
• The Cocktail Era—recreational drinking comes of age
• The Temperance movement and Prohibition

2/28 Week Two: History - Prohibition & Beyond

• History/overview after 1920
• A brief discussion of Prohibition
• The Dark Era and The Vodka Revolution
• The Tiki Craze
• The 1980’s—Glimpses of Hope
• The Classic Cocktail Revival-- 1990’s-Present
• Classic cocktail demonstration: Moscow Mule, Mai Tai, Cosmopolitan, Gin Gin Mule

3/6 Week Three: Intorduction to Tools, Technique, & the Spirit of Hospitality

• Equipment 101-History and Development of tools of the Trade
• Hospitality Theory
• Basics of recipes & drink families 
• Role of eggs in cocktails
• Cocktail demonstration: Sherry Flip and Modern Flip (Guest Speaker)

 3/12 Week Four: Distillery Tour; How to Taste Spirits;  History of Distallation 

• Distillery Tour
• Distillation from ancient times to the modern era
• The technique and vocabulary for tasting spirits
• Tasting iconic spirits by category: Gin, Vodka, Rum, Brandy, Whiskey, Tequila
• Classic cocktail demonstration  

3/20 Week Five: Rum

• Styles, origins, history of cane spirits
• Classic cocktail demonstration: Mojito, Daiquiri, Navy Grog
• Modern Cocktail demonstration: Corn & Oil (Anvil style), Cable Car

3/27  Week Six: Brandy and Cognac

• Styles, origins, history of grape distillates
• Guest Speaker: Hugo Chambon, Cognac Ferrand 
• Classic cocktail demonstration: Sidecar, Stinger, Brandy Alexander, Vieux Carré

4/3 Week Seven: American Whisky

• Styles, origins, history
• Classic cocktail demonstration: Old Fashioned, Manhattan
• Modern Cocktails by guest speaker

 4/17 Week Eight: Scotch, Irish, and Japanese Whisk(e)y 

• Styles, origins, history
• Classic cocktail demonstration: Rob Roy, Blood & Sand

 
4/24 Week Nine:  Gin and Vodka

• Styles, origins, history
• Classic cocktail demonstration: Martini, The Last Word, French 75, and Aviation

5/1  Week Ten: Tequila and Mezcal

• History of Agave spirits
• Classic cocktails: Margarita, Paloma

5/8 Week Eleven: Testing Out

• Passports Due
• Take-home final Due
• Written in-class test

Must be 21+ to participate