PUBLISHED June 6th, 2020 05:00 am
Bottled cocktails have become the ‘new normal’ (much as we hate the term) for Singapore’s bars during this long circuit breaker. But when you’re thirsting for the classics, there’s no quicker fix than mixing them up at home – all you need is the booze and some basic bartending know-how. Keeping us well-supplied with both are the tipple mavericks over at The Spiffy Dapper.
Self-dubbed the ‘worst bar in Singapore’ – a claim we refuse to back up – this Amoy Street speakeasy has been livening up lockdown with livestreams of everything from bartender chats and music acts to a pie auction series called “Will It Pie?” Their latest brainwave? Personalized cocktail masterclasses over Zoom to get you sloshed at home – educationally.
“We’ve been doing in-person masterclasses for a while now. We believe bars are all about connecting with people, so when circuit breaker started we started doing livestreams to stay in touch,” shares spiffy head honcho Abhishek C. George. In pre-COVID days, the bar has long offered popular gin-and-tonic pairing workshops. From there, it was a short step to virtual classes for all kinds of classic cocktails – a necessary life skill for barflies now that our usual haunts are down.
Four class options are currently available, all priced at a wallet-friendly S$75. For those who like it stirred, there’s an Old Fashioned & Manhattan as well as Martini & Negroni class. If your cravings skew crisp and citrusy, the Margarita & Daiquiri and Whisky Sour & Clover Club options will get you shaking things up. Purchase of each hour-long class comes with a delivery kit, packed with all the booze, bar tools, and garnishes you’ll need.
Fretting about putting your bartending skills to the test? The masterclass can easily be adapted to your tastes and skill level – expect plenty of handy pointers on drink-making basics. Case in point: we opted for the Margarita & Daiquiri class – the crowd-favourite choice, according to Asha – and received a solid intro to the order of adding ingredients, the key differences between shaking and stirring, and even how to taste our tipple. The beauty of making your own cocktails, of course, is tweaking them exactly to your taste – we like our daiquiri more tangy, for instance, and thanks to the team’s step-by-step guidance we got the balance down pat.
If a taste of the classics has whetted your creative thirst, the class rounds up with a teaser on how to design your own bespoke tipples. Think nuggets of wisdom on creating your own liquor infusions, along with the not-so-secret formula that the Spiffy Dapper team uses for bespoke requests. It’s the perfect time to pull out all the boozy questions you’ve always wanted to ask, no holds barred. Oh, and savour your spiffy pair of homemade cocktails – you’ve earned it.
Check out The Spiffy Dapper‘s Zoom cocktail masterclasses here.