Drexel debuts new, open-to-public mixology course with Townsend head bartender Keith Raimondi
Night after night at Townsend down on Passyunk Ave., head bartender Keith Raimondi slings the kind of cocktails that have gained him esteem everywhere from the Inquirer to Spike TV’s "Bar Rescue" and beyond. Now, with a little help from Drexel University, he wants to pass his knowledge on to you.
Night after night at Townsend down on Passyunk Ave., head bartender Keith Raimondi slings the kind of cocktails that have gained him esteem everywhere from the Inquirer to Spike TV's Bar Rescue and beyond. Now, with a little help from Drexel University, he wants to pass his knowledge on to you.
This semester, the university's Center for Hospitality and Sport Management will debut its "Spirits and Mixology" course, which is open to the public at the cost of $595. The 10-week course aims to educate its spiritual students about hard liquor's history, production, and uses in the modern restaurant industry — elements that, until now, have largely been missing from hospitality education.
"Restaurants didn't place much emphasis on bar programs and often left them as afterthoughts," Paul O'Neill, director of special projects for Drexel's hospitality school, said via a press release. "But now, bar programs have flourished due to the demands of the savvier restaurant patron."
And in Philadelphia, there are few bartenders as suited to alleviate that issue as Raimondi. An alum of local cocktail culture staples like Village Whiskey and Lemon Hill, Raimondi arrives at Drexel as the head bartender at East Passyunk's Townsend, where he oversees the house's drink menu.
"Keith is one of the city's best bartenders, having years of experience creating successful bar programs everywhere from Chifa and Lemon Hill to his current position at Townsend," O'Neill said.
Beginning March 30, the class will meet each Tuesday from 6 to 9 p.m. at Drexel's Academic Bistro in the Paul Peck Problem-Solving Building. Ultimately, students will work with Raimondi to "create a cocktail list and a patented cocktail of their own." In that sense, it is along the same lines as Drexel's "Fundamentals of Beer" course, which "beer evangelist" Dr. Lynn Hoffman helmed last year.
Registration for "Spirits and Mixology" is open now, but be sure to hurry if you're interested — space is limited.