Shaken not stirred: Golden Beetle offers cocktail classes

If you’ve always wanted to learn how to create a great cocktail, you’re in luck: Ballard’s Golden Beetle (1733 NW Market St) is offering a series of four hands-on cocktail classes. The classes will be taught by the restaurant’s “craft cocktail producers” Andy McClellan and Aaron Robinson, who have been serving up cocktails at the restaurant since it opened in early 2011.

The classes will extend beyond learning how to make a great cocktail; participants will also gain background knowledge about the ingredients and the craft of cocktail-making. For instance, the classes will cover things such as, “the difference between bitters (i.e. Peychauds from New Orleans and Angostura from the Caribbean), a brief history of the cocktails (perfect for sharing at your next cocktail party), when to shake and when to stir, and what to stock your bar with for making classic cocktails, creating your own recipe and working up one in a pinch!” according to a press release from the restaurant.

Each class will also offer a selection of small plates of beef fat fries, hummus with wood fired flatbreads, and other offerings. The lessons will be personalized and will provide a worksheet for notes.

The classes offered are as follows:

Class #1: Whiskey & Whisky – Saturday, July 28th at 2:30 p.m. – Bourbon, Scotch, Whiskey & Rye

Class #2: Clear Spirits – Saturday, August 11th at 2:30 p.m. – Gin, Vodka, Light Rum, Silver Tequila, Batavia Arrak

Class #3: Aged Rum & Tequila – Saturday, August 25th at 2:30p.m. – Aged Rum, Reposado & Anejo Tequila, Spiced Rum, Black Strap, Falernum

Class #4: The New Classics: Signature GB Cocktails – Saturday, September 8th at 2:30 p.m. – Beirut Fizz, One Good Conundrum, Granada Gimlet and others to be voted upon

The classes are roughly an hour and a half and cost $50. The cost to take all four is $175. Register for the classes by emailing/calling (206) 706-2977 or email aaron@golden-beetle.com.