Shake up your cocktail-making skills at Apotheke NoMad

Sure, you could whip up the same, sad vodka sodas you’ve been swilling since you were a coed or you can learn how to make real-deal grown-up cocktails from the pros themselves.

Already a longtime staple at their Chinatown outpost, the Apotheke crew is introducing Apotheke Academy mixology sessions at their Nomad location this spring. 

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Hosted on Saturdays and Mondays throughout April and May, the cocktail-making classes will feature hands-on guidance by Apotheke NoMad's skillful bartenders, who will lead you through making a quartet of cocktails over the course of two hours ("We strongly encourage having a light meal prior to your Apotheke Academy session," per the bar team) and each session will revolve around a given theme:

• Effervescence (Saturday, April 22, at 1:30pm, and Monday, May 1 at 5:30pm): Think bubbles. We're talking all manner of carbonated cocktails from spritzes and flips to fizzes and highballs. And, yes, there will be Champagne.
• Spices (Monday, April 24, at 5:30pm): Yes, you don't have to just cook with them, you can stir with them, too. The Apotheke team has always been progressive in their use of spices in cocktails and here you'll learn to do the same, creating dynamic drinks around savory flavors like cinnamon, star anise and habanero.
• New York Classics (Saturday, April 29 at 1:30pm): Can you even call yourself a real New Yorker if you don't know how to make a good Manhattan? This class is all about those classic tipples that have been fueling NYC nights for decades, including the Old-Fashioned and the Martini. Learn how to make them the old-school way as well as how to make them your own.

Tickets for each class cost $200 per person, but if you don't want to make new friends in a shared Apotheke Academy session (because who ever met someone at a bar?), you can opt for a private group or team-building session of up to twelve people, with your choice of theme, ingredients and liquor. Private sessions can be booked via email at reservations@apothekenomad.com.