Last Thursday night I again went to Cocoon Bar (where I am now Mayor on FourSquare for those of you playing at home) to indulge in a night of cocktail tasting. Organised by the lovely Kimberley of Escapade Events, seven ladies crowded around plates of bread and dip to try out cocktails specially selected for us by our waiter and cocktail specialist, Christian.
We started with some basics of cocktail making and a bit of history. Cocktails date back to 1806 and were at the time described as any type of mixed drink. Cocktails are experiencing a rise in popularity in recent times due to films such as James Bond (martini) and Sex and the City (Cosmopolitan), so it seemed only fitting that the first drink we would try was the super sweet concoction the four ladies of New York prefer.
One of my personal favourites, the Cosmo consists of Vodka, Cointreau, lime and cranberry juice. The technique used to create this cocktail is to pour and shake – and Christian tells us ten times is the optimal number of shakes. The cocktail is sweet and just as I remember it. Fabulous.
Next up we try the Passion Martini, made with kiwi Vodka, Vanilla Vodka, passionfruit pulp, sugar syrup, lemon juice, an egg white and strawberries. While this cocktail smells divine and everyone else love it, I can’t get past the fact that I think it tastes like medicine. I think as a child I was subjected to a large quantity of sugar syrup enhanced antibiotics. This one wasn’t for me.
However I had no such problems with our third cocktail. Paraiso Bliss was a delightful concoction of Midori, Lychee Liquor, orange juice and cranberry juice. This cocktail is beautiful just to look at and it’s almost a shame to drink it. A layered cocktail, the liquor is poured first, then each of the juices slowly to create individual layers.
As we moved on in the evening and the laughs came quicker and faster. Next up was Toblerone, another classic and a fave. It was now I was introduced to Mozart Gold, a chocolate liquor. Practically liquid gold you might say. Together with Frangelico, Kahula, Baileys and thickened cream, the Toblerone tastes like a chocolate milkshake and is deceptively easy to drink.
Finally, Vertigo was our final cocktail of the evening. Mandarin Vodka, Frangelico, Chambord, blueberries, strawberries and sugar come together to create a fruit filled drink with lots of flavour – and the strongest alcohol tasting cocktail of the evening.
Christians best advice of the night? ‘A nice garnish goes a long way’ – When you are paying $15 for a drink, it seems everyone loves a bit of decoration.
You can attend your own cocktail tasting at Cocoon Bar, at $30 a head for 5 cocktails to taste and your own waiter for the evening. It’s a great girls night out and an opportunity to learn a little about what you are drinking, or just have a reallty good time!
