Join Derek Mercer as he turns withlove into a cocktail classroom. You’ll establish a solid foundation for you and your friends and understand the fundamentals of cocktailing.

Once you get a solid theoretical foundation, you can get behind the bar and start cooking. Make soup with booze and cook with ice, baby! He’ll show you tips, tricks, riffs, and variations to make you a better, faster, and stronger bartender. Whether it’s for the home bar or the professional setting, you’ll learn skills that will impress your guests and make you money.

A lot of time and effort goes into a new cocktail, a revamped cocktail menu, or a cocktail class. We’ll take care of all the research, development, and planning so we can bring a finished lesson plan straight to you and get your team learning quickly. No wasted time. Full speed ahead, damn the torpedoes. There are no blowoff classes at Cocktail University!

About Derek

COVID-19 is rocked the world and everyone’s life turned upside down. Thousands of restaurants closed their doors forever in 2020, including Blackbird where he managed the bar and spent his time taking care of the good people of Chicago. Anyone in hospitality knows what came next for him—plenty of time on my hands and limited job prospects.

His wife joked that he was her personal kitchen and bar manager while she continued to work very hard from home during quarantine. His smoker was seemingly running all the time, was baking bread, and was always prepping. He was back to simple food and cocktails that let their spirit shine. His thirst to provide hospitality and care for others simply would not die.

He started Present Tense as an outlet to be able to continue to share his talents, passion, and love for bars and restaurants. 

“You can hang on to past events but to me it makes much more sense to live in the Present Tense.” - DM