Cocktail masterclasses, downstairs.

Most cocktail classes happen in a kitchen with a fluorescent strip-light and a borrowed shaker. Ours don't. You learn in the bar, on the same equipment we use for service, with a bartender who works the room every night.

That's most of the difference.

And when the bug follows you home, we've written down exactly what kit we'd buy for a home bar, so the class doesn't have to end when you leave.

What you actually do

Two hours, three drinks. A short walk through the basics, then you make each cocktail yourself, plate it on the bar, and drink it. The bartender corrects technique as you go, talks you through why each drink is built the way it is, and answers the awkward questions about why your old-fashioned at home tastes thin.

By the end, you've got three drinks you can recreate at home and a real sense of why bartenders measure, stir, and shake the way they do. You leave with a printed recipe card and the muscle memory.

What it costs

£75 per person. Minimum four, maximum twelve. Includes the three cocktails you make, a welcome drink on arrival, and a small grazing board to keep the room friendly. Sundays and Mondays during the day; private classes on other days by arrangement.

Who it's for

Birthday groups looking for something better than a regular dinner. Teams who've done escape rooms three times and need something new. People who've watched too many cocktail videos and want to actually know what they're doing.

It works for absolute beginners and for people who've been making negronis at home for years. Different people get different things from the same two hours.

What you'll learn

• How to balance a sour properly, the maths and the feel
• Why dilution matters more than ice does
• The three drinks that teach you everything else
• How to stock a home bar that punches above its size
• What bartenders look for when they taste their own drinks

Private group classes

For groups of eight or more we can run the class as a private booking. The room's yours, the bartender's yours, and we'll write the cocktail list around what the group wants to learn. Tell us the occasion when you enquire and we'll set it up properly.

Email table@basementsate.com with your group size, preferred date, and any details about the occasion. We reply within two hours during opening.