A little after 2 p.m. last Saturday at Gaslamp District restaurant Tupelo, bartender Shane Dudley may not have been feeling all too lucky.
The stemmed glasses were chilled and tables were filling, with 83 people awaiting Dudley’s monthly martini class. Not so bad, so far.
But throw these into the mix , it happens to be St. Patrick’s Day, the restaurant’s already booked for when it officially opens at 5 p.m., and classes on an average day are usually about 20 people less , and this could have been a recipe for disaster.
However, ingredients and techniques shared that afternoon led only to a good time for the would-be students.
They sampled drinks such as the classic vodka and olive, a “Bloody Tini,” the “Sunshine Martini,” the “Lemon Drop” and, in honor of the day, a version of a Mint Julep martini.
A green-haired leprechaun, an early St. Patrick’s Day reveler, poked his head in for a second.
Dudley, Tupelo’s bar manager, has been offering the class for five years. It’s offered through the Learning Annex for $30 per person. The majority of the classes are return visitors.
Rather than hands-on lessons on muddling (using a thick wooden cylinder to crush the ice and the various ingredients together) or rimming a glass with citrus peel (the outside, not the inside , that’s where the oil and the flavor is), attendees learn about ingredients, get tips, sample Tupelo appetizers, watch Dudley’s demonstrations and try taster-sized versions of the drinks.
The March 17 class also featured a presentation from Rick Ripley, the San Diego sales representative for Red Army Vodka. Ripley spoke about the distillation process and offered tidbits such as the fact that vodka can be made out of “just about anything.”
The class ran right up to 5 p.m., when full glasses of the last martini, a white-chocolate and maraschino cherry combination, were being finished.
The day wasn’t half over for Dudley and crew however: it was officially happy hour at Tupelo, which serves a menu of about 50 signature martinis. Good fortune was smiling once more, you might say.
