The Cocktail Lab: Halloween Edition

A 90-minute, hands-on cocktail workshop built around one advanced technique: layering. Build two Halloween showpieces, including one that changes colour in the glass. Leave with a shopping list and a party plan for your spookiest gathering yet.

What this class is

The Cocktail Lab is a seasonal workshop series from Fine Art Bartending. Each cocktail-making class is 90-minutes. You'll learn one advanced technique from our professional bartending curriculum, and two finished drinks you build and drink yourself.

This edition is our most theatrical of the year. The technique of the night is layering and colours, the tricks that make a whole room turn and look. You'll learn why some ingredients sink and others float, and how professionals use density to build a drink in visible layers. You'll also learn the colour-change chemistry of butterfly pea flower, which shifts a drink from violet to magenta in front of your guests.

Every drink is poured zero-proof in class. Real spirit profiles, real technique, all the craft of the cocktail with none of the morning after. Every recipe also works both ways. Your take-home cards include the zero-proof build you made in class and the full-proof version for your home bar. Costumes enthusiastically encouraged.

The two cocktails on the menu

• The Bloody Sunrise · a Tequila Sunrise turned sinister, layer by layer
• The Dark Magic Mojito · a colour-shifting potion that transforms in the glass

What you'll learn

• How to layer a cocktail: sugar density, pour order, and the back-of-the-spoon float.
• Colour-change chemistry: why butterfly pea tea shifts from violet to magenta with citrus.
• Halloween garnish theatre, from a convincing "blood" drip to edible glitter.
• How to jigger, shake, stir, and strain the way professionals are taught.
• A Halloween theme, a ready-made seasonal shopping list for hosting a cocktail party at home.

What to expect

• 6:00 · Arrive, welcome sip, and station intro
• 6:10 · The technique: layering, density, and colour, with a live demo
• 6:25 · Build your first cocktail
• 6:50 · Build your second cocktail
• 7:10 · Turn it into a party: hosting tips, seasonal shopping list, and the instructor's recommendations
• 7:25 · Wrap-up, recipe cards (both versions), and photos

Who this is for

Anyone. No experience required, just an interest in making genuinely great drinks. Perfect for Halloween party hosts, date nights, friend groups, and anyone who wants their October gathering to have a signature moment. Every build starts from the core ratios taught in our Commercial Bartending Course. This class is for everyone, and it's also a great way to extend your knowledge if you've trained with us.

What's included

• 90 minutes of hands-on instruction with a professional bartender.
• Both drinks you build, you drink in class!
• Take-home recipe cards for both drinks, in zero-proof and full-proof versions.
• A seasonal shopping list and hosting tips so you can stage the same theatre at your own party.

Logistics

• Date: Monday, October 26 · 6:00 to 7:30 PM
• Location: Fine Art Bartending School, 319 Pender St W Unit 10, Vancouver, BC
• Price: $69 · Class size capped at 12
• Age: 18+. Every drink poured in class is zero-proof.

The rest of the series

The Cocktail Lab wraps for the year on Monday, December 14 (Holiday Edition: silky foams and festive texture). Missed September's Fall Flavours Edition? Each class stands alone. Take all three to build a full seasonal repertoire.