Survival

Daniel A. Stern is New Orleans Haus’ cocktail menu mastermind and head professor at Booze School, a cocktail class that meets at the restaurant every other Thursday. A recent transplant from Portland, Oregon, Stern knows his cocktails: his first class, in June, was titled New Orleans Cocktails: History and Technique, and The Origins of the Cocktail followed soon after.

He started off New Orleans Cocktails with a jigger of history - the invention of Peychaud’s Bitters in 1830 was, apparently, one of the most significant events in cocktail-making’s muddled biography - confirming my suspicion that bartenders make good teachers (but probably not the other way around).

But a good drink (or how to make it) is what most people really want, and Stern accordingly devotes most of each class to recipe instruction. Past "menus" have included the Brandy Crusty, the Orange Blossom, the Roffignac, the Sazerac, and a New Orleans classic, the Ramos Gin Fizz. Sampling each cocktail is a must, and don’t worry about not getting enough: drinks are handed ’round before class is dismissed. The class is €6 - pretty much the cost of a good cocktail at most bars in Berlin - so whether you learn something or not, you still get immediate value for money.

This week’s class (Sept 2) promises Monastic Liqueurs: Chartreuse, Benedictine and Getting Drunk Like a Monk; the seductive fad that will never go away will be discussed in September 23’s Absinthe: Fact, Fiction, Faeries and Flames.

BOOZE SCHOOL | Every second Thursday, 19-20:00. Book in advance at Tel 030 8965 5485