Tropical Mixology: Crafting Tiki Cocktails With Shannon Mustipher
This course has already started! However, you can still join if you’d like to (and we hope you will!). Students enrolling after the course start date and time will have access to a recording of the first session (which will be emailed to participants within 72 hours) as well as the option to attend remaining sessions live. Please select the “Join Late” ticket type to enroll after the course has begun.
In this four-part lecture series, trace the history of the Tiki drink, learning the backstories and recipes of the early cocktails that brought the category international fame.
Course Description
Nearly a half-century before Tiki drinks emerged as a defining moment in American mixology, a category of easy-to-make, easy-to-enjoy cocktails were already setting the stage for drinks experienced as vehicles to “far-flung” and “exotic” places. In this course, we’ll dive into the history and recipes behind iconic, quasi-ubiquitous, and often underrated drink templates based on local drinking traditions. We’ll look at them through the kaleidoscopic lens of bartenders, bon vivants, and expats, zooming in on the people who pushed these drinks onto the global stage. We’ll touch on the backstories of these classic templates, the ways in which they’ve shaped modern mixology, and ingredients and preparation hacks so you can recreate them at home. By the end of this course, you’ll not only have the sourcing knowledge and technical skills to make rock-solid renditions (and personalized riffs), but also a deeper understanding of how this genre of cocktail came to be—and how it came to impact the way we drink today.
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Syllabus at a Glance
This course includes four total sessions, each lasting 1.5 hours on four consecutive Thursdays beginning April 21.
Session 1 (Thursday, 4/21, 7–8:30 PM ET)| Sign of the Times: The pisco sour and the rise of the daisy
Session 2 (Thursday, 4/28, 7–8:30 PM ET)| Taste of the Tropics: Iconic hotel serves
Session 3 (Thursday, 5/5, 7–8:30 PM ET)| Tiki Takeover: Iconic serves and ingredients
Session 4 (Thursday, 5/12, 7–8:30 PM ET)| Spirits Deep Dive: A primer on pisco, rum, and agave
Between Sessions
Students will receive detailed notes on each featured cocktail and the related spirit covered in class, as well as cocktail riffs and sub recipes, to test out on their own time. They’ll also have access to links to relevant articles and a list of recommended books, which will be sent out at the end of the course for those who wish to delve deeper into related material.
Course Materials
Students who wish to make all drinks covered in class can expect to spend around $50 on ingredients per session (unless they already have a bottle of the requested spirit on hand). We’ll be making one cocktail and one sub recipe per session. Each spirit will average around $30 retail per bottle.
Pricing Options
This course is available at three ticket prices. This tiered pricing model is designed to increase access for a wider range of students as well as to support our instructors. In addition to tiered tickets, we offer a limited number of no-pay spots for students who would not otherwise be able to take this course. No-pay spots are selected via a randomized drawing two weeks before each section begins. For more information and to apply for a no-pay spot, please click here. To learn more about our pricing model and randomized selection process for no-pay spots, please visit our FAQ page.
Community Guidelines for Students
Please take a moment to review our community guidelines for students, which aim to share our classroom ethos and help set the stage for the best possible learning experience.
Atlas Obscura Online Courses
Atlas Obscura Courses offer opportunities for participants to emerge with new skills, knowledge, connections, and perspectives through multi-session classes designed and taught by expert instructors. To learn more about our current course offerings, please visit www.atlasobscura.com/online-courses. For answers to commonly asked questions, check out our FAQ page here.
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Once registered, you’ll receive a confirmation email from Eventbrite that will provide access to each class meeting. Please save the confirmation email as you’ll use it to access all sessions of your course via Zoom.
Shannon Mustipher is a cocktail consultant, spirits educator, and the author of Tiki: Modern Tropical Cocktails (Rizzoli/Universe). After launching a Caribbean rum-focused bar at Gladys Caribbean in 2014, she went on to found Women Who Tiki, a tropical cocktail-centric pop up that gathers a team of women bartenders to share their talents and collaborate on creating a one night only experience.
In 2020, Shannon's work garnered a number of accolades: She was awarded the Tales of the Cocktail Pioneer Award and inducted into the Dame Hall of Fame. Her book, Tiki: Modern Tropical Cocktails won the IACP Best Book in Beer, Wine and Spirits.
Shannon's writing, cocktail recipes, and opinions have been featured in a number of publications, including Vinepair, Saveur, Imbibe, GQ, New York Times, Liquor.com and more. She currently resides in Brooklyn, New York, and enjoys traveling, cooking, and collecting too many books.
This lecture series is designed so students can participate live or watch a recording of each session, after it airs, at a time that is convenient for them. Sessions will take place live over Zoom, with dedicated Q&A segments for students to ask questions via video or chat. Within 72 hours after each session meets, students will receive access to a recording of the live session, which they can watch for up to two weeks after the course concludes.
Instructors may use Google Classroom to communicate with students outside of class. While students aren’t required to use Google Classroom, instructors may use this platform to post resources, discussion questions, or assignments. This platform also offers a space for students to connect with one another about course material between sessions.
We provide closed captioning for all of our courses and can share transcripts upon request. Please reach out to us at experiences@atlasobscura.com if you have any questions, requests, or accessibility needs.
