You won’t find any neon fishbowls at the Sept. 2 Prohibition 101 class at the Speakeasy at Quintana’s Barber & Dream Spa. The class aims to teach students about the art of classic cocktails. “We’re rediscovering a lot of old spirits and cocktails, and styles of bartending,” says bartender Leanne Kubiez. “It’s definitely piqued an interest with a lot of people.” We talk with Kubiez and fellow bartender Kevin Patrick on how to serve up the Kentucky buck — a twist on a mule.
MIX IT UP
Add 1 1/2 ounces of ginger syrup, 1 ounce of fresh squeezed orange juice and 3 dashes of orange bitters to your mixing glass. Lastly, pour in 2 ounces of Kentucky bourbon. “People have a lot more interest in more spirit-forward cocktails,” says Kubiez. “Bourbon and gin are making a huge comeback —
so is brandy.”
SHAKE AWAY
Pour 1 1/2 ounces of soda into a Collins glass, the original glassware used in the cocktail’s preparation. “I think we have a really good balance of Old World style and New World taste and technique,” Kubiez says. Shake your mixing glass and strain it into the Collins glass, over the soda.
GET FRESH
Top your drink with ice and garnish with an orange rind and a mint sprig. “It’s bright, refreshing, oaky, spicy,” says Patrick. “You get nice orange notes, good bite from the ginger, a tiny bit bitter from the orange bitters, and then still with a nice forward bourbon flavor as well.”
