LCS cocktail enthusiasts combine learning with drinking at Trailer Happiness
On a busy Friday night, when the bar is packed with a crowd baying for blue drinks and ‘something with cream in it’, the discerning cocktail customer might seem like a myth.
So it is nice to see the London Cocktail Society emerging from the urban mist seeking new bars and exotic drinks, much like Victorian explorers but without the pith helmets.
Set up by three cocktail enthusiasts, Mark @thecocktailgeek, Kate @londoncocktail and Emma @ginmonkeyuk, the LCS arrange tasting sessions and demonstrations for their members at various bars around the capital, with a focus on deepening their knowledge of spirits, cocktails and how to enjoy them.
This week Trailer Happiness hosted an LCS tasting with El Dorado rum, led by award winning ambassador, Stefanie Holt.
Starting out by describing Guyana’s rum-related history and then covering production methods and the differences between white, gold and dark rums, the 30 or so strong crowd moved onto a guided tasting session of El Dorado 3, 8, 12 and 15YO.
After the tasting, the LCS members were told how to make a Swizzle, paired up and guided to mini bar stations that had been set up around Trailer, and encouraged to make their own.
The resulting cocktails were tasted by the Society founders and Stefanie, with winners Paul and Roger taking home a bottle of El Dorado 5YO each by way of a prize.
While the presentation is geared very much towards consumers and as such might not provide too much new information for your average bartender, the hosting bar clearly benefited by gaining some trade on a normally dead Tuesday night, and the potential to create a few new regulars.
Spirits brands who support the LCS also gain a valuable chance to talk directly to consumers with an active interest in premium spirits. Society member Lauren, originally from Atlanta, Georgia, told me:
“I would be much more likely to try a more expensive rum now that I understand the differences between the ages and the way they taste.”
To get involved with the London Cocktail Society, email info@londoncocktailsociety.co.uk