Learning to make a cocktail is like learning to ride a bike: it’s a skill you’ll never forget, though you may fall down a lot while learning it. Let your creativity flow straight out of a booze bottle with today's Groupon: for $25, you get admission to the Mixology 101 Class at SideBAR (a $50 value). Classes are held on most Tuesday nights, and more will be added to meet Groupon demand. The first class is on Tuesday, September 7.

SideBAR's Mixology 101 class offers a fun, interactive tutorial in the basics of bartending. Experienced mix-masters will teach you how to properly set up a bar, which garnishes go with what liquors, and all the different appendages and power tools you can use to mix up your favorite cocktails. They will also teach you how to offer grizzled, homespun wisdom free of charge—which often results in patrons tipping you with pure gold, or at least nuggets of catnip for the furry one in your life. Once your class ends, you and your classmates can kick back with a few drinks of your own concoction from the open bar at SideBAR, which Citysearch recently voted the best after-work bar.

Just to keep cocky cocktailers on their tending toes, SideBAR changes the course theme every month to feature new drinks (upcoming schedules are still pending, so check back to determine desired classes).

Reviews

Though the Mixology 101 class is too new for reviews, Citysearchers give SideBAR a 4.5-star average and also named it best after-work bar in 2008. MenuPagers also give it high marks.

• The bartender was attentive and made a KILLER dirty martini. And the food was top notch and totally unexpected from a bar. – JoeDee, Citysearch
• Went to side bar [sic] for brunch on a Saturday. The place is warm as are the employees. The crabcake Benedict was unbelievable and came with an incredibly tasty chipotle hollandaise. – Jhummel2, Citysearch
• I know it seems weird to write a review based on the staff of a place, but thats [sic] how great they were. – debbie3344, Citysearch