Truth is, for all the time we spend in bars, we’ve found our efforts to drink great cocktails frustrated. Generally, Sue drinks wine. I order bourbon.
It’s rare to find a truly great cocktail in Toronto. There are a few exceptions. Rice Bar in Kensington Market is awesome. (And Brock Shepherd taught me everything there is to know about foam, incidentally.) Southern Accent makes a terrific bourbon sour. They have good drinks at the Paddock. Splendido’s Carlo Catallo is a total pro and is always concocting something interesting.
Other than those few places, though, we’re usually disappointed.
Toronto is a little behind the times – we still use the word “martini” where we shouldn’t. There are a shocking number of drinks involving cranberry. Some people still think a four ounce martini is a good thing. Others think it can be made with vodka.
We simply haven’t embraced the pre-prohibition, hand-crafted, artisanal approach utilizing fresh ingredients which has taken New York and London by storm.
We’d like to change that. One drink at a time, if necessary. If you’d like to be part of our “campaign for real cocktails,” we’d love to come and talk to you about how you can tweak your menu and train your staff. Your bar could be part of our campaign.
We’ve trained staff and consulted on menus at some of Toronto’s most prestigious and seedy bars. We’re more comfortable in the latter, of course.
EDUCATION
Interested in learning how to mix drinks with juice and flavoured vodkas? Us neither.
We have devoted our lives to reviving the great, lost tradition of hand-crafted cocktails, which elevate bartending to an art. Call it what you will, mixology, bar cheffery or just plain making drinks, we teach our students to concoct tasty drinks made with fresh, home-made ingredients and integrity.
We’ve never met a pre-made mix we liked. Nor a flavoured vodka. But we love infusions and freshly-muddled, freshly-squeezed ingredients which, when combined, make for tasty drinks.
Whether you’re trying to learn mixology for home entertainment or are already a bartender and want to upgrade your skills, this class will provide you with a solid foundation in mixology, from which you can splash out and get creative.
Call (647)839-4211 for more information.
IN THE NEWS
"Two bartenders team up to provide custom cocktails—and a bit of history—at events.". Erin Letson - BizBash Toronto
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"At about the mid-way point of my most recent "liver tour" of Manhattan, a group of us decided there was a distinct difference between the "sprinters" of the group and the marathoners. I have been given a gift – endurance – and it would be a sin not to use it.". My Day Off: A Cocktail Tour of Manhattan - Gremolata.com
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"Christine Sismondo, author of Mondo Cocktail, is hoping, along
with her business partner Sue Ketcheson, to change the perception of
mixers and also the culture of the cocktail". Taste of
T.O. - Food & Drink in Toronto
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