Class Details

• Discussion of the role of the bartender
• In-Depth Spirits Tastings
• Comparative Cocktails--what do different brands bring to the party?
• Cocktail Creation, with an eye on specific spirits
• Loud Music and Mayhem
• A Trip to Tom’s Tavern (if you’re lucky)

Sunday Evening

At 7:00 p.m. sharp, you’ll meet the rest of the class on the Upper West Side of Manhattan , pile into a tacky stretch limo, and come up to the Hudson Valley . You should arrive by 8:30 latest, but of course, this always depend on traffic conditions.

You’ll throw your kit into your very smart room at Painter’s, come down to the bar, grab some dinner, and maybe a drink or two, then we’ll pack you off to bed cos you’ve got two very grueling days ahead of you.

Monday/Tuesday

There’ll be coffee and a light buffet breakfast waiting for you at 8:00 a.m. each day.

Want eggs and stuff? There’s a cool place right across the street. Take your wallet. It’s not expensive, but we ain’t paying.

At 9:00 a.m. each day the Workshop begins. If you like to linger in bed, worry not, if you aren’t downstairs by, say, 8:30, we’ll come right into your room, drag you out of bed, and prop you up at the bar.

Much of the rest of the time is fairly free-form inasmuch as we’ll eat when we’re hungry and sleep when we’re tired, but don’t expect a vacation.

We’re here to learn. We’ll have a damned good time in the barroom/classroom, but we’ll be discussing serious stuff and working hard at the tasting tables and on both sides of the bar.

Expect to be subjected to:

• In-depth comparative liquor tastings covering multiple categories
• Comparative cocktail tastings
• Hands-on cocktail creation (show us your stuff)
• Lots of group discussions

Most students don’t spend a dime while they’re up here, though Gary does try to sell them his Regans’ Orange Bitters T-shirts, and books, and stuff.

Drinking will be restricted to featured products--there’ll be an ample supply of a very wide variety of spirits, liqueurs, vermouths, etc.--and we’ll let you sip a little beer and wine, too.

Want a real expensive single malt. You’ll have to pay for it. Painter’s has an incredible list, though.

If we have a field trip to Tom’s Tavern, the local shot-and-a-beer joint with chilled Jaegermeister, a pool table, bikers, and retired cops, it’ll be your round.

Wanna hear what some of the bartenders who came up for the 2006 series had to say? Click the testimonial link below.

Testimonials

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