San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Max Lesser drinks a cocktail he made at home in a COVID Cocktail Class his favorite bartender at his favorite bar is doing.
They missed class while camping, but once they reached a friend’s place in Boston they Zoomed in on a Saturday at 8:30 p.m. local time. The Boston friends were so impressed that they became regulars and still tune in, though they have to scramble for their own ingredients.
On Dec. 19, COVID Cocktail Class was also Vannarath’s 40th birthday party. Thirtysix kits were purchased, which meant about 72 toasts to Vannarath, with a Scotch and apple cider drink called Good Riddance to dispatch 2020 with, followed by a Vietnamese coffee accented with whiskey and topped by toasted marshmallows called Campfire.
“Not hearing their chatter and being able to politely eavesdrop on their conversations is what I miss the most,” Vannarath says.
In turn, Lesser and Plumlee miss sitting at the bar watching Vannarath work her magic with shakers and ice and occasional fire. They miss the music, they miss the lingering, they miss the food. But one plus is they now have a fully stocked home bar and know how to use it. When this is all over, Lesser and Plumlee will have some surprises in store for dinner party guests.
“No one has paid us,” Plumlee says, “but we have significantly stepped up our cocktail game at home.”