Your blogger became a mixologist for a day during the #SolaireMixology event last June 11 at Eclipse Entertainment Lounge in Solaire Resort and Casino in Parañaque City.  Check out how I unleashed the creative cocktail chef in me!

Nope, mixologist is not a term for someone who compiles different songs onto a mix tape. 🙂 It’s actually another term for a bar chef, someone who has the artistic skill of mixing cocktails and drinks. It’s a little more sophisticated than your regular bartender, in my opinion, because they don’t just prepare drinks–they focus on the art and craft of mixing cocktails and concocting new and exotic drinks. A chef who specializes in drink, if you ask me.

Last June 11, Solaire Resort and Casino invited me to the #SolaireMixology event at Eclipse Entertainment Lounge. Together with some bloggers, the head Mixologist of the bar taught us how to mix cocktails and drinks.

The first drink that he taught us is called “Duchess.” It’s a combination of Bourbon whisky (15ml), Chambord (15ml), Cherry Herring (15ml) and Cranberry Martini (30ml).

We simply mixed the said ingredients to a shaker filled with ice and did the “shake.”

Everyone loves the “shake.” Anyone can do the “shake.” Even @showbiznest did the “shake”:

After over-shaking, it’s time to pour the drink into a martini glass.

But don’t forget to leave some room for the mango and pomegranate espuma to create a foam crown. The foam will give the drink a sweet finish, just like icings on a cake, because it’s a dessert cocktail.

The second drink that we created is the “Margarita.” This time it’s a combination of Reposado Teguila (30ml), Cointreau (15ml), Lime Juice (15ml) and Demerara sugar (15ml).

The Margarita is the classic all-time favorite lady’s drink which was first made in 1941 in Mexico. There were some stories told that this drink was named as such because it was made for the daughter of a German ambassador to Mexico named Margarita Henkel.

For our version of Margarita, we put Agave caviar pearl to float and decorate the drink.

The third drink that we concocted is perhaps the most expensive of them all. It’s called “Aged Negroni” and it’s a combination of Campari (15ml), Campano Antica (15ml) and Hendrick Gin (15ml).

This cocktail is aged in an oak-barrel cask for 1 month which gives it a unique flavor. We poured it in a glass with an orange ice ball to decorate the cocktail. The ice ball was created using the Japanese ice ball machine which costs around half a million peso!

We added a couple of orange peels for garnish and voila, we created a sophisticated cocktail!

On a side note, Negroni is a popular Italian cocktail made in Florence, Italy during 1919 making this creation not only the most expensive but also the oldest of all the drinks that we’ve made for the day.

The last drink that we learned is called the “Smoked Russian.” This time, vodka (30ml) is infused with hickory chips smoke using the smoking gun. It’s mixed with tobacco infused Kahlua (10ml) into the rocks glass and garnished with a cinammon stick.

Vodka is very popular among Russian men, considered heaviest drinkers in the world. If you’re a heavy drinker and you like tobacco, then you’ll definitely love the “Smoked Russian.”

I can’t believe I made all of these! I’m now a Mixologist, well at least for a day.

Photo op: Bartenders on the left, bloggers on the right. What a great mix!

So if you’re looking for cocktails that you won’t find anywhere else, visit the Eclipse Entertainment Lounge in Solaire Resort and Casino. It’s the perfect place for the spirits wanderer where cocktail concoctions are infinite…well almost.

Capping our mixology class is a bartending exhibition performed by the Eclipse bartenders who assisted us at the #SolaireMixology event. Check it out: