It’s been a while since I had a night out. Or even since I left the house after dark. Such is life in lockdown #2.  

So I hesitated for about a nano-second when asked if I’d review a cocktail making class for Class Bento. The company is an Australian online course provider, newly launched in the UK. They offer a range of courses, from mindfulness and meditation; tea tasting to Tai Chi plus a wide range of cookery courses, crafts and photography.

The class wasn’t actually beamed all the way from the Downunder. Attending in person would still have been a stretch though, as our cocktail maven — Michaela — was behind her bar at Glasgow steak restaurant, Porter & Rye. Also on site was host, Graham, sitting next to a gloriously atmospheric raging fire.

The anticipation had started with the box of goodies that arrived that morning. The childish buzz of receiving things by post never quite goes away, and this was even more exciting than most. Ingredients for three cocktails were in separate boxes — all neatly labelled — plus a shiny, steel cocktail shaker, lemon and bottle of soda water. All the hard work had been done for us, with the alcohol measured out into small plastic pouches.

All I had to do was gather three different glasses, a bag of ice plus lemon juicing bits, and, at 9pm, was ready to go in front of my iPad. 

After Graham’s intro, Michaela talked us through three delicious cocktail recipes - which managed to avoid being something you could just pull together at home by the inclusion of ingredients like popping candy, candy floss, vegan foamer and a ginger spray.

All three cocktails were delicious — I’d have happily sipped them in any London bar. (If only, sigh) And while drinking in any bar still verboten, it was the closest we’ll get to the real experience.

I stayed off camera for the first part – you have the choice – but everyone else was in full view, so switched on to share my efforts. I may have regretted that slightly when I didn’t pay intention to Michaela’s instructions to balance the candy floss on top of our glasses, allowing Graham to witness it melting into my Fruit Salad cocktail.

My favourite was the Disco Colada — imagine the flavours of a Pina Colada without the creaminess. We got to sprinkle edible glitter into it – a diva’s dream! The Poppin' Candy — which involved sprinkling actual popping candy, something I've not tasted since the 1970's, was a close second.

Rush to book this class, but make sure to do it when you have nothing to do the next day. You’ll want to drink all three cocktails, which were all delicious, and that makes a 6am alarm and school run slightly less appealing. And do it with friends – it’s a night out without leaving home! Without the hassle finding a taxi home!

More info at Class Bento’s website.