Cocktail Classes Hills District

Party season in the Hills District tends to happen at someone's place, with a big bench, plenty of room and nobody juggling taxis home from a city bar. For cocktails, that suits a class that travels. Cocktail Class Sydney has its base in Carlingford, where the Hills meets Epping and Parramatta, and sends a host out to houses, offices, hotels and Airbnbs across the district and well beyond.

Everything turns up with the host: bar tools, glasses, fruit, ice, mixers and the spirits themselves, poured under the business's catering licence. The organiser's only job is finding a sturdy table, preferably within reach of a sink and a rubbish bin; setup and pack-down are the host's problem.

Where a Hills group might put the host to work:

• A Castle Hill or Baulkham Hills kitchen, for a birthday where everyone shakes their own espresso martini or margarita.
• A rented house out Kenthurst way, for a hens weekend with bride-memory games and a play dough sculpting challenge.
• A workplace near Norwest, for a team session built around making drinks together.
• A Carlingford home, a few streets from the operator's own base.
• Any gathering with drivers or expectant guests, who mix alcohol-free versions using boutique zero-proof spirits.

Choosing the address is the main decision, since distance is barely a factor: the company covers Greater Sydney and will go up to roughly three hours out of the CBD. Pick the house with the best bench, then tell the host how many people will be shaking.