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We’re always on the lookout for fun activities to do in Orlando beyond the theme parks. As much as we love the theme parks, Central Florida has so much to offer, and we’re ready to try them all.

We attended the Hard Truth Cocktail Class at the Four Flamingo, a restaurant by Richard Blais, and let’s just say, you’ll want to book this as soon as you hear how amazing it was. Get your drinks ready because we’re about to have some fun.

This cocktail class will show you techniques and allow you to explore premium ingredients with the restaurant’s Chief Mixologist, Macarena Portales, and Hard Truth Distilling’s Master Sommelier. You’ll work with a bourbon, whisky, and rye lineup, and light bite parings are included. It was only $65, which is a steal for a cocktail class!

Now that we’ve got the details out of the way, let’s discuss the food and drinks, which are, of course, the highlight of this experience. Each drink came with a food pairing, and the experts explained every element in full detail so you really knew what you were getting with each bite.

We started with the Sweet Mash Rye with Grilled Peach and Goat Cheese Brûlée Salad with Honey Truffle Vinaigrette.

The salad was full of leafy greens, crunchy seeds, and grilled peaches, which were the real star of the show. The goat cheese was sweet and tangy, and even our reporter, who isn’t much of a salad person, was obsessed with this. The Sweet Mash Rye drink had a sweet and toasted marshmallow caramel flavor. It wasn’t very smoky, and while it had a strong alcohol flavor, it was softer than many bourbons. You could taste less of the barrel with it, and once we tasted it with the salad, we knew it was the perfect match.

Then we had the High Road Rye with Maple and Black Pepper Spice, along with Country Style Ribs.

We came for the drinks, but we’re staying for the food because we were completely blown away. The ribs had a nice layer of fat and had a ton os seasoning on the outside. It brought in a bit of spice from the black pepper, but was balanced with maple and apricot to temper the spice. To complement the soft spice, the High Road Rye was perfect for it. They both had a low heat without raising it, so they were at an average level. We loved it!

After that, we had the Sweet Mash Wheated Bourbon with Black Pepper Crusted New York Strip with Hot Honey Carrot Puree and a Smoked Avocado Chimichuri.

How does this keep getting better? We don’t think there was an ounce of fat on the New York strip, and it was truly beautiful to eat. The carrots had a great crunch, and the spice was fun on top with a little bit of extra flavor from the ample amount. The drink itself was a classic flavored bourbon where you could taste the barrel on it. It had a higher corn concentration than the others and almost a butterscotch or vanilla sweetness. One of the hosts said they enjoy this type of bourbon when smoking a cigar since it’s heavier and grittier.

Four Flamingos pulled through with dessert, too! We had a Sweet Mash Bourbon and Toffee Cheesecake with a Coffee Crust and Amarena Cherries.

Stop the presses. This was everything to us. This cheesecake was truly divine. It was more of a mousse, with its smooth texture, and it was perfectly sweet, complemented by a buttery flavor. The bottom was made of pecans, but the texture was remarkably similar to a traditional Graham cracker crust, particularly in how it broke apart. The cherries had almost a black cherry flavor, and we were in love. The drink was a perfect accompaniment to the dessert. It had notes of caramel and oak, making us feel like we were strolling through a forest during the fall.

We also had the opportunity to try a drink that hasn’t yet made it to the menu. This drink, which doesn’t have a name, was created by Macarena Portales, the Chief Mixologist.

We got to try our hand at smacking the mint to “wake it up” and bring out its flavors, as well as mix in all the elements. It was similar to a peachy mint julip, and the alcohol taste was really on the back end. There was a rum butter in it that was made specifically for the drink, and that was pure heaven when we tried it.

We had a great time at the cocktail class, and it was a welcome break from the theme parks, making for a fun date night during your vacation. Make sure you keep following AllEars for more!

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Would you try this experience? Tell us in the comments.

Disclosure: We were invited by Four Flamingos to attend the Hard Truth Cocktail Class. This did not affect our reporting of the event — our opinions are our own.

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