HISTORY OF THE COCKTAIL. Since the days of mead, honey, wine, and toast, people have been mixing alcoholic beverages in an effort to make the intoxication process go down a little smoother. Throughout the middle ages, distilled spirits were strong and fiery, so plenty was done to tame them. They were mixed with water, wine or beer, and flavored with herbs and sweeteners. From this tradition, we get many of our classic liqueurs, vermouths, and digestifs. 

But it wasn’t until the early 17th century that a drink called ‘punch’ was first served in India, taking its name form the Sanskrit word for five. All the building blocks were in place for the rise of the modern cocktail. Punch spread throughout Europe and the many British colonies, crossed the Atlantic, and became a popular mainstay in bars everywhere. Its classic five-part recipe (sour lemon, sweet sugar, strong alcohol, weak water and spices) proved to be an adaptable template which would evolve into other categories of drinks, such as egg nogs, flips, juleps, slings, and of course, the modern cocktail. 

I love cocktails as much as the next person, but I have to admit, I never really gave much thought to it, other than trying to drink as much of it as I could. During my pre-baby days I was never seen without a drink in my hand whenever I was out, and I would always order my favorite cocktails: Whisky Sours, Mojitos, Daiquiris and Martinis. Now that I’ve taken a long break from drinking I am seeing the cocktail in a whole new light–I have a newfound appreciation for it, especially after taking a Mixology class by Bevtools.com.

The Baby Barangay (Bianca, Cat, Nicole, Patty and I) took a Masterclass on the Fundamentals of Craft Cocktails (it sounds so serious, I love it), which of course, became a super fun night of drinking, mixing drinks, and drinking some more. We used the coolest-looking bar tools (also by Bevtools) and by the end of the night were shaking, stirring and pouring like pros. The class was moderated by amazing bartender/mixologist/brand ambassador for Bevtools Kath Eckstein, who broke down the essentials for us and made bartending incredibly fun. Scroll down to see what went down that night.

Welcome drink. Tonic water, ice, gin, and lemon.

Learning has never been so much fun.

Cat and Carl made old fashioned Whisky Sours–egg white, whisky, lemon juice, simple syrup, and angostura bitters.

Gorgeous bar tools by BEVTOOLS.com.

Bianca and Uli demonstrated how to make Moscow Mules–vodka, lime juice, ginger beer, and mint or lemon/lime.

Cat and Carl.

Kath teaching us the fundamentals of cocktail mixing.

Intently listening. We were never this focused in school.

We all made daiquiris. This tasted so good. Now, to find a way to make Stevia-syrup.

Perfect excuse to drink all night.

Pretty Cat.

Patty enjoying her Old Fashioned–bourbon, sugar cubes, angostura bitters, and orange peel.

  My gorgeous ladies having a blast.

We couldn’t have done it without our excellent bar tools from Bevtools.

The Pats are now experts at making Old Fashioned.

How to shake that Cobbler Shaker.

Simple and amazing. Gin and tonic.

Cant have that Moscow Mule without that Copper Mug from Bevtools.

Nic made a perfect daiquiri.

Absolutely love these copper bar tools! They are so pretty!

How fun was this class?!!

What you don’t hear: our graduation song! Yes, we had graduation rites for this Mixology class!

We did it! And in just one night.

                      Congrats to the Baby Barangay, for finishing this super fun course! I actually don’t mind taking this class again though.

FUN times.

Thank you, Bevtools for this amazing class. The Baby Barangay (minus the babies) had so much fun! Till the next one.

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Bevtools.com offers Bar Consulting, and services like Bar Fabrication, Bar Layout and Design, and Bar Program. Apart from that, you can order the most gorgeous bar tools, glassware and other bar needs on their website: www.bevtools.com. Plus, they also do Drinks on Demand: beer, wine and spirits delivered to your doorstep within 90 minutes (www.bevtools.com/drinksondemand).