There are so many experiences and restaurants all throughout Disney World, it can be difficult to know where to go or what to do. But, if you love cocktails and the art of making them, there’s one experience you CANNOT miss!

Various Disney Springs restaurants offer unique classes and events throughout the year that can give you access to special drinks and eats. That’s right — your Disney Springs experience can be made of SO much more than just a Table Service or Quick Service meal and some shopping. Recently, we got the chance to preview one of these special events over at The Edison. But what does the event include? How much does it cost? And is it really worth it? Let’s find out!

The Class

The Edison has launched its “Shaken & Stirred Cocktail Classes!” These hands-on experiences give YOU the chance to learn from one of the mixologists at the restaurant in a small group setting. An escape from the crowds and learning about cocktails? Alright, you have us interested…

During these classes, you’ll be able to explore the basics of mixology, learn a recipe or two, or even discover some tools and techniques you can take back with you to make epic drinks at home.

The classes are tailored to your group’s interests so it’ll really be personal. Each class comes with 2-3 cocktails as well as a “light lunch.” It’s limited to 6-10 guests, classes begin at 1PM and are expected to take around 2 to 2 and a half hours, and you will need to reserve with 72 hours advance notice.

In terms of pricing, it’s $100++ per guest (basically, $100 per person plus a variety of other fees), and that pricing can vary depending on the topic covered. Also, note that a 50% deposit is required when you book. We got to check out one of these experiences, so join us now as we explore it all with you!

Atmosphere

Our class took place…as you’d expect…inside The Edison in Disney Springs! We made our way to the restaurant…

…and got to go inside and sit in a space near a bar.

For those not familiar with it, The Edison is an “Industrial Gothic”-style restaurant, bar, and nighttime destination that is themed to a 1920s-period power plant.

Now, before we get to the drinks, let’s talk quickly about that “light lunch.”

The Food

Our “light lunch” was essentially a selection of charcuterie meats, cheeses, and bread. This can vary, however.

The spread was really good! In fact, it was one of the best we’ve had in a while and some really great cheeses were included. We loved that some peppers and olives were available as well to really add extra punches of flavor. Our favorite thing on the board was the peppadew peppers!

But, note that this lunch was VERY light. We were able to try a good amount of drinks through this event (more on that in a second) and felt like this “lunch” was by no means enough to balance out the alcohol (at least for us!).

Our recommendation is that you eat BEFORE you arrive at the event so you can have more than enough food in your stomach to balance out the drinks comin’ for ya.

The Drinks and Experience

Next, let’s talk about the drinks and experience as a whole. We were provided with a menu for our event which was all about classic cocktails and building the basics. Again, remember that this will vary.

Your class will ultimately be tailored to what YOU want, but there are some mainstays if you aren’t sure where to start. Some of these mainstays include basic mixology, tiki drinks, absinthe, and bar setup.

After we grabbed our menu, we sat down in one bar area with several glasses in front of us.

Our experience included a total of 2 full-sized drinks and 4 samples, but that can vary.

We started the event with a whiskey tasting of a bourbon (left in the photo below) and a rye (right in the photo below). These were both really good! Our team member who attended the event is not really a whiskey drinker, but the mixologist taught the class how to taste it in a specific way so as to get more interesting notes from the drinks, and that was a great touch. The bourbon was more vanilla-forward, while we tasted mostly cherry in the rye.

The mixologist team also talked us through the difference between bourbon and rye and some of the history with these drinks, adding an even more interesting layer to the whole experience.

Then, we moved on to making our Old Fashioned (and a really good one at that)! Yes, you read that right — this wasn’t just about tasting an Old Fashioned, it was about MAKING it! Also, this isn’t a sample size but instead is a full-sized drink (remember how we told you to eat before? Yeah…here’s where that starts to come in!).

We got to choose our bitters for the drink, and we opted for some more floral ones but they also had Angostura, orange, and cherry vanilla options.

The whiskey used was port wine barrel aged, which made the drink a sweeter Old Fashioned. We also got to choose regular simple syrup or demerara. Our team member shared that they’ve never really considered themselves to be a fan of Old Fashioned drinks, but this experience gave them a totally NEW appreciation for them!

We also learned that The Edison sources its ice from the Ice Doctor. According to their website, they seek to provide “the highest quality ice.” So yeah…even the ice is special here!

One fun thing is that we got to keep the swizzle stick, so while you might not have ice from the Ice Doctor at home, at least you can pretend to be making some fancy drinks!

Our next drink was the Stinger (it was a tasting sample). This was incredibly tasty. The main flavor here was creme de menthe, and we enjoyed it so much we asked for the specific recipe to make it at home because we couldn’t just let this be a one-time experience!

The drink itself was really well-balanced, very easy to drink, and yet still delivered a robust flavor. If you love a mint flavor, this is one that’ll totally KNOCK your socks off!

Then we got to try the Mezcal Cocktail (another tasting sample size). This was a lot stronger than the stinger despite it being a smaller sample. The main flavor here was the mezcal and it was super smokey. During our class, we learned that mezcal comes mostly from the Oaxacan region of Mexico so there’s another fun tidbit for you — you’ll walk out of these events really having learned a LOT!

Up next was the Gin Martini (a tasting sample size). For this drink, we got to choose the garnish so that was a nice way to personalize our experience. This drink was particularly good (for us) because the gin used didn’t have an overly pine-y taste. Our reporter shared that they would have preferred it if vodka had been used but it was nice to be able to choose a garnish. Our options were blue cheese olives, regular olives, and lemon peel. We went with the blue cheese olives and loved that because it seasoned the drink nicely.

Then, we moved on to the Margarita, which was a full-sized drink we got to make! The team at The Edison said that this would be the BEST margarita we’ve ever tasted and…they were RIGHT! Our reporter shared that in their opinion this was the best plain margarita they’ve ever had and they got to make it — how great is that?

The tequila used was great. And while a salt rim is not usually our reporter’s thing, the drink was so balanced that they enjoyed it here because it helped fit everything so well.

And finally, things ended with the Caipirinha (a tasting sample size). This was another really well-balanced cocktail. It was on the tart side, but still extremely easy to drink. This one was good but just not a stand-out compared to the other options we tried.

During the experience as a whole, we were taught all about shaking versus stirring drinks (particularly how you’ll shake a drink if it has juice in it). We were also shown how with spirits you want to inhale through the mouth and nose at the same time to open up the sinuses.

Plus, we were taught how to rotate and shake a drink (with the bigger shaker on the bottom) when shaking is called for and go in a round motion to get things just right. (A.k.a. your friends are about to think you’re the most professional bartender in the group!)

Overall, the cocktails we had were EXCELLENT! We really enjoyed them, but again — we warn you to eat BEFORE you come here so you aren’t drinking them on an emptier stomach, and consider having someone else serve as your designated driver if they won’t be participating (or call for a rideshare!).

Overall

Overall, we REALLY enjoyed our experience in this class. It felt relaxed and very collaborative. There was plenty of one-on-one time with the mixologists, which made it all feel really personal.

Plus, you could tell that they were incredibly knowledgeable. And with one mixologist in particular, you could really tell that this was their passion — that kind of thing shows through in events like this and makes it even more special.

Note that this isn’t a short experience. You’ll want to expect to spend around 2 hours or 2 and a half hours here. Plus, it isn’t cheap at $100++ per guest. But is it worth it? In our opinion, it definitely can be worth it if you have a group of friends or family members made of people interested in cocktails.

From what we saw, a lot of top-shelf liquor was utilized. Couple that with the fact that the mixologists really shared some amazing insights about the drinks and it’s customizable to whatever your group wants to learn about, and you’ve got one incredible unique experience. It could be a fantastic way to celebrate a special occasion for those of age.

Also, keep in mind that there are two different offerings at The Edison when it comes to mixology. There are mixology classes (which is what we experienced) and more general (non-personalized) mixology events where the mixologists create certain new cocktails which the chefs pair with food.

If you are with a group that loves cocktails, you’re willing to spend the cash for this special experience, and you want a custom class, we think this can definitely be worth it. But eat before — you’ll be glad you did!

What do you think? Is this an experience you would try? Tell us in the comments!

For more Disney Springs news, click here to learn about the specialty classes/events being offered during the 2023 Flavors of Florida event. And check out our video below all about the BEST restaurants in this shopping and dining district!

Would you check out one of these cocktail classes? Tell us in the comments!

Disclosure: In nearly all circumstances, Disney Food Blog writers and photographers pay full price for their own travel, hotel, food, beverage, and event tickets. We do this because it’s important to us as journalists to ensure not only that we give you unbiased opinions, but also that you can trust us to do so since we’re paying our own way. On rare occasions, when we are invited by a company to attend a preview as media, and when we choose to accept that invitation, we will always make you, our readers, aware of that situation. Today, we were invited by Disney World to attend their media preview of Maria & Enzo’s Ristorante. Note that when we attend events as media we are 1) Not required to review that event/food on any of our channels, and 2) Not required to review that event/food favorably. You can always count on DFB to give you a 100% unbiased and honest review of any event that we attend, food that we eat, or beverage that we drink. You can see more in our Disclosure Policy. Thank you for reading. — AJ

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