Cocktails In The Country

Cocktails in the Country was a two day bartender training retreat that Gary Regan began in 2001. It was held at Painter's Tavern in his home town of Cornwall-On-Hudson. At these retreats, Gary would share with the small group of attendees (typically 10 per session) his thoughts and approaches on how to be a mindful bartender, how to approach creating a new recipe, and how to approach bartending in a way that will provide the best opportunity for success.

The format of the class evolved over the years, with a typical schedule of the more recent classes looking something like:

• DAY 1
  • 11:00 am : Pick-up in Manhattan in a Luxury Mercedes-Benz Sprinter
  • 1 pm : Arrive at Painters, check in, settle down, get to know each other
  • 2- 5 pm : The Mindful Bartender :
    This will be an expanded session of gaz’s Mindful Bartender Workshop.
    Topics will include:
    • Preparation for a Shift Behind the Stick
    • Tapping into Intuition
    • The Rewards of Mindful Communication
    • Effective BarSpeak
    • Dealing with Anger
    • Changing your Reality
    • Changing the World
  • 5 – 7 pm : Break for food and refreshments
  • 7 pm : Set up the bar
  • 8 – 11 pm : Organized Chaos
    Each bartender will be assigned a specific base spirit with which to create new cocktails, and everyone will take a turn behind the bar making drinks for us all to sample.
• DAY 2
  • 10 am – 10:30 am : How to Write a Cocktail Recipe
  • 10:30 am – 11:15 am : The Secrets of Success
  • Noon – 2 pm : Lunch
  • 2 – 5 pm : Organized Chaos
    A second round of cocktail creation. Each bartender will be given a specific base ingredient with which to create a new cocktail which will be sampled and discussed by all and sundry.
  • 5 pm : Luxury Mercedes-Benz Sprinter back to Manhattan