We've been having some very low key weekends lately, and I have to say, I'm not complaining one bit! The weather has been quite warm (understatement) and we've been enjoying afternoon cocktails in the yard.
My husband has a certain obsession with all things tiki, and we are always on the lookout for new tiki bars and events (we're even thinking of a little day trip to San Diego very soon for Tiki Oasis!) So, when I was scrolling through Facebook late last week and happened upon a post from Greenbar Distillery announcing they still had spots for their Tiki Cocktail Master Class, I jumped.
We've been to several events at Greenbar - tours, tastings, classes - so we knew it would be a fun event and we would finally learn to make a proper Tiki cocktail. The thing I love so much about Greenbar is that they do a great job of breaking down a cocktail into sections and explaining why you need a certain ratio of sweet, sour, alcohol and extras to make the perfect drink.
After an explanation, and a short demonstration, we moved to tables set up with everything needed to concoct the perfect adult tiki beverage (I'm bummed I didn't take a photo of the set up - I was so excited to get started!). The one thing I tried to keep in mind as I made my cocktail is making sure the flavors I was combining were complimentary. I don't like overly sweet, but I don't like sour at all. Greenbar provides the guides (above) so you know exactly how much of each item/ingredient is necessary, and the lines across the circle mean you can mix that ingredient with another. For example, for the 1 oz. of alcohol, I could have done 1/2 oz. of the Grand Poppy Amaro and 1/2 oz. of their Tru Gin or Vodka. I wanted to keep it simple so I didn't mix too many different alcohols together. My first cocktail included mango fruit juice, Grand Poppy Amaro, Fruitlab Ginger Liqueur, honey syrup, lemon juice, and a few dashes of saffron bitters.
And then you get to shakin'!
After the pour into the official tiki glass (shown at the top!) you can garnish it with whatever you desire, and start sipping! We were able to make two cocktails, and the vibe is totally relaxed and fun. There is staff on hand to help with any questions or to get you out of any jam (like when your shaker won't come apart, not that that happened or anything...). We left with our recipes, ideas for more tiki-inspired drinks and another fun memory to cap off the weekend.
