by Bryana Wilson, December 18, 2018

This quarter was a whirlwind of academics and creativity. Upon entering my first term of Capstone and the Spirits and Mixology course, I was filled with excitement and anxiety for what was to come.

With a focus in beverage management I have taken many beverage courses with John Laloganes and couldn’t have been more thrilled to return to his classroom once more for Spirits and Mixology. As a bartender, I already have a fairly solid foundation, but John’s course offered valuable content to build upon that foundation – learning essentials to managing a bar. The final consisted of producing an original cocktail with a partner. I had the pleasure of working with Benton Givens who was also my teammate for capstone. Seeing his culinary and creative genius in his capstone cocktail bar concept was inspiring I highly anticipated collaborating with him. With his assistance we were able to bring to life a culinary cocktail delight – the PB & C. The drink was a playful take on a childhood staple elevated to a complex adult treat, consisting of peanut butter infused rum, bourbon barrel aged rum, raspberry liqueur, chocolate bitters and egg white.

The trial and error in creating this drink gave me a newfound respect for the art of mixology and opened my eyes to the endless possibilities in the beverage business. I can’t wait to carry this knowledge with me into the workforce.