About this Event
About the class:
Guests will be greeted at Nina's cocktail bar and lounge with a freshly prepared welcome cocktail before starting the class. Michael and Brooke will dive into a guided tasting of the different styles of rum and provide a general history and context of rum and the Daiquiri cocktail, also known as the bartender's handshake. Finally, guests will learn to prepare two classic rum cocktails.
Michael and Brooke will also reveal why the Daiquiri is known as the ultimate Bartender's handshake or challenge in the bartending world. Lucky guests will get a taste and inside look into what makes rum so special.
Meet your trusty bartenders & rum connoisseurs:
Michael Toscano: A graduate of Ball State University in 2005, he spent his early career in corporate sales and marketing before transitioning into hospitality in 2013. This new career helped take him from bar-backing in Indianapolis to traveling the globe with the world-renowned 2019 #1 bar in the world, "Dante," as their head bartender, to becoming the New York City Brand Ambassador” for Woodford Reserve advocating on behalf of the world's #1 premium bourbon. After spending some time in the growing NA spirits sector as the National Director of Trade Marketing with Spiritless, he’s teaming up with his wife, Brooke Toscano, and other respected industry professionals to cultivate a community of service, hospitality, and inclusion within the food and beverage space.
Brooke Toscano: Indiana native Brooke Toscano has come a long way from her beginnings at Hard Rock Cafe. From dive bars to 4-star hotels, working each-and-every position along the way she was focused on learning every facet of the beverage world. An in-depth spirit’s course halted the corporate ladder chase and there began the love of cocktails and spirits. The shift of leaving a volume-driven business for a cocktail-focused bar changed everything; she was all in.
She and Michael made the leap to New York in 2016. She took a job hosting at Pouring Ribbons once a week and worked her way up to General Manager and a Partner with Alchemy Consulting. There, she consults on flavor and cocktail development for liquor and spirit-free brands globally. She’s focused on lowering the bar’s waste and encouraging a new creative way to utilize ingredients.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Nina's x Liquid Lab, 150 Lafayette Street, New York, United States
USD 75.00