It wasn’t the same as sitting at the bar, but our Virtual Happy Hour on Saturday was a welcome reminder of when things weren’t so overwhelming. Brian Lorusso, bartender at Dogwood Southern Table, kicked off the event by showing how he makes Dogwood’s old-fashioned, giving attendees time to mix up their own drinks to enjoy during the happy hour.

It was almost like we were all sitting across from Brian at the bar. He shared how to make an old-fashioned out of other spirits, ways you can create various flavors of simple syrup using items in your spice cabinet, and how to decide which whiskeys to use with which syrups. He shared the reality of how it felt to be in the restaurant industry right now, and detoured from the demo a bit to answer questions such as, “How do I smoke a drink?”

At the end of the happy hour, before a group toast, Brian told us, “I miss everyone so much, and thank you for coming out. It was a beautiful distraction for me to be able to do this, and I look forward to seeing everyone soon.”

It was a beautiful distraction for us, too, so we’re making our Virtual Happy Hours a series. On Wednesday, Stefan Huebner of Dot Dot Dot will join us for a session on rum. He’ll demo a classic daiquiri, then explore how to make the drink your own with different flavors and spirits.

Here’s what one attendee had to say about the debut online event: “Because of the craziness here, the cocktail hour was a great distraction and the highlight of the day. My parents, due to age and health, are basically quarantined inside for a while and this was a highlight for their day too. Said differently, what you guys are doing has an awesome impact beyond what you may realize. Also, glad others got to see Brian’s passion too.”

Find all of our upcoming classes here. —Kristen Wile

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