Wht sin
Around Town
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THE BEST EVENTS, TALKS AND SPORT
* OB V Netherlands Top level basketball returns to Scotland for the first time in 30 years, as the GB Men’s team play against the Netherlands in the run up to the 2012 Olympic Games. Meadowbank Sports Centre, 139 London Road, Sat 9 Sep.
* Look Who’s Talking: George Alagiah There are not many places that the BBC news presenter hasn't been to in the course of his career. Here he talks about his experiences of working and living in Asia, Africa and Europe. Theatre Royal, 282 Hope Street, Fri 75 Sep.
* Merchant City Festival This five day cultural celebration returns to Glasgow packed with art. film, theatre and music. Highlights include performances by comedians Adam Hill and Jason Byrne. Van'ous venues, Merchant City, Wed 20—Sun 24 Sep.
* The Northern World and Its Significance for Scotland A lecture by Magnus Magnusson. probably most famous as the guardian of Mastennind’s black chair but also author of The Vikings. a chronological account of the Norse warriors. Here he gives a public lecture to open a two- day conference entitled ‘The \fikings in Scotland'. Royal Museum, 2 Chambers Street, Wed 20 Sep.
Movers ad shakers
Chris Bradley takes a cocktail masterclass at Bar Soba. Now, if only he could remember what went into that Flippin’ Blueberry Martini . . .
‘x c _iu.st crcatcd in) \cr} o\\ n cocktail. tltc l‘lippin' Blucbcrr} Martini. and mcrymc agrccs it‘s going doun rathcr \xcll. l'd sharc thc rccipc \Vllll sou. but to bc honcst l‘\c complctcl} l'orgottcn. hasing alrcad} partakcn ol a l’omcgranatc and Passion l-‘ruit Martini. a Monkc) .lam Sour and a ('ucumbcr and l.cmongra.s.s (‘oolctz 'l‘hc intriguing lattcr Varict} \\tls im'cntcd just for inc and m} l‘ricnds. not It) minutcs
carlicr. b_\' Scott Stcxcns. rcsidcnt mi\ologi.st at Bar
Soba. This is all part ol‘ lltc .scr\ icc at onc ol' Soba‘s ncu intcractnc cocktail cwnings. subtitlcd 'Mmct‘s and Shakcrs'. 'l'hc basic prcniisc is that thcrc's onl_\
onc thing guarantccd to gct thc part} startcd duickcr
than a long list of cxtrmagantl} namcd and slltllllclc‘ssl) alcoholic cocktails. And that's thc cocktails bcing scr\cd tip b) _\'our own pcrsonal mixologist. who also talks _\ou through thc proccss and shows _\ou hon it‘s donc. Stcwns. who has l3 _\cars of cocktail c\pcricncc. l'ound mixing \sas .somcthing that camc naturall_\ to him. ‘lt‘s all about gctting thc right balancc' hc sa_\s. making it sound incrcdibl} cas}. l'nl'ortunatcl}. as a bcginncr. \sitlt .sc\cral drinks in inc alrcad). balancc is somcthing I don't ha\c. and m} cl'l'orts arc turning out distinctl} sour. lintcr thc c\pcrt \\ ith a splash ol' this and a dash of that. to transl‘orm it into a highl) drinkablc Martini.
Stmcns has bccn running cocktail mastcr classcs down at Bar Soba tor a \shilc now With a background in c\cnts organisation. hc u anch to gct back to his roots. 'Mo\crs and Shakct's‘ is thcrcl‘orc an intcractnc shou. taking thc idca of thc mastcrclass onc .stcp l‘urthcr. .-\.s “CH as dcmonstrations. tips and
inl'orniation about thc products and tools ol thc tradc. thcrc's an opportunit} to takc part in tcam challcngcs. such as a ‘(icncration (iamc' st_\|c c\cnt. \slicrc participants arc scorcd on thcir attcmpls to cop} thc c\pcrt. ()l~ coursc. c\cr_\bod} is plicd \sith drinks throughout. and thc cscnt can also bc combincd u ith a lull mcal. In Tact Soba can catcr Tor prcll} much an} rctluirctncnts or an} si/c ol group l'rom \sork cxcnts to birthday and hcn nights. You can cxcn ha\c thc part) in _\our honic or ol'licc. courtcs} ol‘ thcir mobilc cocktail bar.
And sonic ol' this c\pcricncc might cscn rcmain in thc morning. l‘xc lcarncd about lccliniqucs such as l‘rcc pouring and la}cring. and also a littlc about thc histor} ol thc drink. such as hou cocktails bccamc popular in dcprcssion-cra Atncrica as a ua} ol' succtcning thc tastc of rough bootlcg alcohol. 'l‘his proccss gas c its such lcgcndar} \ariations as tltc Manhattan and thc Bcllini. Stc\cns ma} bc hcrc to cducatc tts. but hc is \scll auarc uhat appcals most about thc c\cnings. 'Numbcr onc. it‘s thc alcoholf hc conccdcs. "But pcoplc also loxc lcarning about cocktail-making tcchniqucs. ()l'tcn thc participants arc ablc to go hotnc \\ ith skills and tricks thc} can usc at thcir on n cocktail partics to imprcss thcir lricnds.‘
\Vcll. pcrhaps. lt's lunn} hou _\otlt' mcmor} ladcs al’tcr just a l’cu \scc drinks. What has in in} our] mastcrpiccc l'll ncscr knou. but it u as l'un putting it togcthcr.
For details of setting up your own cocktail night, call Bar Soba on 0141 204 2404
7 .V‘ ’,4::. .923" THE LIST 25