Estrela Bartending School

I like a good mixed drink every now and then. I used to be a G&T kinda girl. I had a daiquiri flirtation for a while, but I just couldn't stop worrying about the calories. Robert's something of a margarita connoisseur, so I've shared quite a few of those in his quest for the best margarita in Colorado. My current mixed drink of choice is the gin martini and it is a hard thing to find. That said, it never occurred to me to wonder how the bartender learned his or her craft.
About a week ago, I got an email from a friend inviting me to an open house at his new bartending school. Tom Lucas was manager of the Cherry Creek Grill for a while and still lovingly describes some of the signature dishes there. I knew he loved food, but we'd never discussed mixology. Turns out Tom can mix a drop dead gin martini!

He did a respectable margarita for Robert.

Robert's comment was good, but not the equal of the Original Margarita. In Tom's defense, Robert didn't order an Original Margarita, the recipe for which is:

Margarita (1948 Original)
* 1 oz. Cointreau
* 2 oz. Tequila, white
* 1 oz. Lime Juice
The true authentic margarita invented by Margarita Sames in Aculpulco in 1948. Shake with ice and pour into a coupe glass with a lightly salted rim.
Estrela has two classrooms, one is a classic bar for the mixology classes.

The other has comfy couches, tables and such and will be used for wine appreciation classes, wine and food pairing instruction and other enrichment classes. And, none of my pictures did it justice. Sigh...
So, Estrela is going to be quite an interesting place with two general categories of instruction. The first, and main, purpose is preparing people in the art of mixology. Tom has an appreciation for the whole experience, the wood smoke that draws a diner into a restaurant, the fun antique game on the bar that attracts a patron to order a second drink while mastering the game, the well-told story (ask him about the Al Hirt poster in Jillian's office across from the bar). The second purpose for Estrella is enrichment -- Wine 101, food pairing, and such. These classes are a relatively inexpensive $50. I'll be signing up for the food and wine pairing very soon now!