Mastiha Masterclasses at Olive Tree Brasserie #Blog

Briony Wilson
9th August 2017

Calling all Cocktail lovers, this one is for you! The other night myself and the girls took part in Olive Tree Brasserie’s fabulous new Mastiha Masterclasses – our group is made up of Gin Drinkers, Vodka Drinkers, Wine Connoisseurs (self-proclaimed) and even Real Ale Drinkers so pleasing us all can be a challenge. But the team at Olive Tree changed all our minds by introducing us to the wonder that is Mastiha.

To start off, Olive Tree Brasserie is the perfect setting for these classes ideal for birthday parties, corporate functions, hen parties or like us; a wonderful start to a night out in the city. We were lead upstairs to the main bar – the ideal place so we weren’t bothering the other diners with our fits of giggles when things didn’t quite go to plan – and were introduced to Danny who would attempt to turn us from just cocktail drinkers to bar girls.

When we arrived at the bar Danny wanted to make us a bit more aware of the spirits we would be using since Mastiha wasn’t quite on our radar yet. We tried 3 different types of Mastiha; Kentos, which was more like a liqueur, Enosis; which is a weak spirit and finally Fatourada. All of which we would be using in the Cocktails. Danny then gave us the choice to pick from 5 different cocktails on the menu to give them a try. There was 5 of us so we chose 1 of each to give us the chance of trying them all, surprisingly the one we were most reluctant to try turned out to be the favourite of over half the group. So, when given the chance to give it ago ourselves it was first on my list.

Due to the size of the bar we split up in to twos and took turns to make the cocktails, which made it even more fun, especially when you are used to sitting on the other side of the bar. The cocktails we got to choose from were; Mastiha Mojito, Dionysus’ Sangria, Sweet Red Pepper and Strawberry Daiquiri, ‘Figs’ Up Look Sharp, and Olive Tree Espressontini; believe me it was a hard decision to pick between them. My cocktail of Choice was the ‘Figs’ Up Look sharp – a slight hint of Ouzo paired with Cherry Vodka, Fig Liqueur and Cranberry Juice, topped with a poached Pear foam. We started by using a jigger to measure out the ingredients in to a mixing Glass and added ice, we then proceeded to shake it up in the Boston shaker until the tin became cold, this part brought fear to all the girls and Danny as we had all chosen to wear white. Luckily under Danny’s supervision no spillages occurred! Upon removing the glass from the shaker with a bit of a slap, we used a Hawthorne strainer to separate the cocktail from the ice and whilst straining it a second time with mini sieve in to the champagne saucer. Finally, we used a soda siphon to top the cocktail with Poached Pear foam, this added a lovely sweetness and flare to the drink, but must be done with a very light touch due to the pressure within the soda siphon. As you can see below – we didn’t quite manage to master this part of the class!

We were lucky enough to do our master class on a Friday night so had amazing live music being performed next to us whilst we polished off the rest of our creations. We had so much fun and I would highly recommend it to any group looking for a great night out in the city, and if you get the chance to try Mastiha for yourself, don’t pass it up. Danny and the team know so much about these fabulous spirits they will certainly look after you. They cost just  £19.95pp and can be booked via [email protected] or call 01244 956 643.