JessKa's Kitchen

To enter the competition to win a box full of Consol Glass products – please head on over here

Ah, cocktails, magical concoctions, that if brewed just right, leave the recipients feeling like they have been transported to a faraway place, filled with sun, sand and umbrellas. I enjoy a good cocktail, and I like to measure a place by the quality of their Strawberry Daiquiris. That being said, I hardly ever make my own cocktails, opting for premixed or the creation of some talented bartender.

However, cocktails are super fun to make. We went on a team building for work once, where we got split into teams and had a competition to see who could make the best cocktails under instruction from very patient bartenders. I don’t remember who won, but I do remember that it was probably one of the best team building’s I have ever been on. Although making Mojito’s with your boss is kind of weird.

When I saw the cocktail making classes on offer at the Taste of Christmas festival this past weekend, I knew I had to fork over my crowns (the currency used at the festival) to participate. I anxiously waited for the class to start at 5, and when we began, we were given an explanation of all the fancy cocktail making tools (like a muddler and a hawthorne strainer – sounds like something out of Harry Potter) and proceeded to make a “Full Moon” cocktail. This was a mixture of rasberries, cranberry juice and a Castle Milk Stout. Now I am not fond of beer, and even though this was my least favourite cocktail of the night, it was still sweet enough to drink without gagging.