Mixology Class at The Folly

Several glasses of V & T (vodka & tonic – never G & T – bleurgh), knocked backed with a few chasers of Tequila Gold, is my poison of choice on a night out.  If dining, then it’s wine, and for Sunday lazing, beer. Cocktails rarely factor, but I do love them, one of my favs at the mo is Espresso Martini introduced to me by The Forge and Foundry.

So, being quite partial to the odd cocktail or two, I was quite up for being tag-along friend when my mate Kat received an invite to a mixology class at The Folly. The venue is just up the road from Monument Station and it’s mega big inside packed full of botanical delights.

The Folly

The mixology classes are held at the back of the vast first floor, which is where we met our mixologist for the evening, Cuan. Cuan travels the world gathering inspiration and teaches us to make two innovative cocktails currently on the menu. A very bolshy and rather masculine one called Smoke and Mirrors – which would go well with barbecued food and a Fairground Millionnaire its polar opposite, which is sweeter and lighter. Both are really easy to do, have a go – The Folly kindly gave us the recipe to share with you (see bottom of post).

Spirits for mixing

Cuan – Mixologist

Cuan went into the history of some of the spirits sharing titbits of info; like the fact that the Mescal worm found at the bottom of a tequila bottle, came about by the agave worm eating it’s way into the agave plant and being cooked up in the production process…um, nice.

We shared a couple of flatbreads; one was roasted butternut squash, the other chorizo. The chorizo was sourced from Borough Market and by far the better of the two – spicy, flavoursome and a welcome interlude between drinks.

Chorizo Flatbread

Smoke and Mirrors

It was just the two of us on the class, but they cater for groups and I gather a fav for hen dos too. It’s fun and fairly priced at £20 per person for two cocktails (food is additional), but can vary depending on the spirits used and how many you make.

We loved the environment there, so after the class we stuck around for one more cocktail each: Goldfish in a Bag, and an unusual but good, beer cocktail called Damson in Distress. I recommend ordering the Goldfish in the Bag just for the novelty factor alone – it’s quite potent too!

[gmc_recipe 6783]
[gmc_recipe 6795]

Food I Fancy attended as a guest.

The Folly
41 Gracechurch Street
London EC3V 0BT
Tel: 0845 468 0102
www.thefollybar.co.uk