Campus Activities Board (CAB) kicked off October with an inventive new activity—Boston College’s first mocktail mixology course.
“We are lucky to do in-person events this year again and [CAB] was looking to do something a little bit different,” Griffin Lawler, CAB’s coordinator in campus engagement and Lynch ’22, said. “We’ve heard about doing a bar-type class and [the mocktail aspect of the event] opens it up to students under 21. I’ve wanted to go to a mixology class myself so that was part of it too.”
Students at the Oct. 6 event learned how to create two signature drinks—abstract distraction and el palenque. Attendees were also given cocktail shaker sets and one drink kit from Shaker & Spoon, which offers individual boxes full of the necessary ingredients to create a given cocktail—or, at this event, a mocktail.
Each box focused on one drink and included various jams, syrups, shrubs, and garnishes associated with the cocktail. A recipe card guided students through mixing and garnishing the cocktails step by step. Additionally, the glossary described any unfamiliar bartending terms to the reader.
Lucinda Schirmer, MCAS ’22, was especially looking forward to the mocktail mixology course.
“It looked interesting and I liked the idea of a non-alcoholic activity that would still be fun,” she said.
Schirmer’s favorite concoction, the abstract distraction, consisted of wild rose–infused strawberry jam, lemon bitters, rose lemonade, and a rosebud garnish.
Schirmer is a frequent CAB event participant, she said.
“I especially love the apple picking event,” Schirmer said. “My freshman year, [CAB] had a chocolate-making event which they only did that year. There is a chocolatier in Newton and we went to her house. It was super fancy.”
Lauren Evans and Kelly Schomber, both MCAS ’25, shared an el palenque box.
“I liked the mocktail event for different reasons,” Evans said. “It was nice to relax and chat with friends while making the drinks. I was a bartender [over the summer] and all of my friends wanted me to make fancy mocktails for them, so I thought that this would be a good experience.”
Lawler said that the course was a great opportunity for students to participate in something fun and unique.
“[It’s] a chance to come together with your friends … and hopefully learn something new and leave with a fun new mocktail recipe,” he said.
The event had a great turnout and was very successful, he said.
“I think everyone who came really enjoyed it,” he said. “It was different—we’ve never done an event like this before. It was pretty limited and in the future we’d love to have more kits available. As long as the people who came had a good time, it’s a success.”
Featured Image by Nicole Vagra / Heights Staff
