Yale Club Cocktail Class

Frank Dean, the owner and lead bartender at 1928 Cocktail Club in Branford, is partnering with the Yale Club of New Haven to offer his popular “Foundations” cocktail class with a Yale twist.

Frank was a Connecticut Restaurant Assocation “Bartender of the Year” Finalist in 2023, and 1928 Cocktail Club was awarded “Best Cocktails & Bar” in 2023, 2024, and 2025 by CT Insider, “Top Speakeasy in the US” in 2025 by Yelp, and “Best Speakeasy in Connecticut” in 2024 and 2025 by Yelp.

Jerry Thomas, widely recognized as the “father of modern mixology,” grew up in New Haven and tended his first bar here in the 1840s, and Yale has its own unique history with cocktails and prohibition.

Frank will offer us an interactive, hands-on, Foundations class covering the basic skills of a real craft bartender, but oriented towards Yale and New Haven cocktail history for our group. Participants will learn to make—by actually making—three classic types of cocktails.

The class will include a welcome cocktail and food as well as bites and snacks paired with each cocktail taught. Participants will receive a promo code for $25 off their next class at 1928, and will get to take home the barware used in the class (a shaker, a mixing glass or tin, a mixing spoon, a strainer, a jigger, and a church key), as well as recipe cards for the cocktails made in the class.

The cost is $161.90 per participant (includes food and take-home items) or $270.46 per couple (includes food and one set of take-home items). Prices include all taxes and ticket fees.

Spots are limited to ten participants for this event, so sign up quickly!