In this story:
- Cocktail making is a fun icebreaker – here's how everyone can take part
- What if half the team doesn't drink?
- Can we do this without leaving the office?
- The proper night-out version, if that's what you actually want
- Beyond standard bartending: two alternatives worth knowing about
- Which one to actually book
Hunting down the best team building activities in London? We’ve got you.
Ditching the dull routine of hotel meeting rooms and cringe-worthy icebreakers? Say hello to a refreshing alternative for London team building activities that your team will genuinely embrace – cocktail making!
Cocktail making gets pitched as team building constantly, and most of the time the pitch skips two real questions: what happens if half the team doesn't drink, and does everyone actually have to trek to a bar after work to do it? Both have proper answers. There's a dedicated non-alcoholic class in Hackney, and a mobile option that comes straight to your office. There's also a longer-running, more polished version in Fitzrovia if what you actually want is a proper night out rather than a workshop. Here's how to pick the right one.
Cocktail making is a fun icebreaker – here's how everyone can take part
Shaking a cocktail together does more for a quiet team than another round of "two truths and a lie" ever will. There's a shared task, a bit of gentle competition over whose Old Fashioned turns out best, and enough going on that nobody has to force conversation.
Most classes follow the same shape: a mixologist demonstrates a recipe, everyone has a go at their own station, and by the second or third drink people have stopped concentrating on the technique and started talking properly. That's usually when the actual bonding happens – not during the demo, but somewhere around drink two, once the pressure of "doing it right" has worn off. The catch: this only works if the whole team can take part, not just the people who drink.
What if half the team doesn't drink?
While most cocktail classes in London will be able to offer mocktail options on request, there are also dedicated alcohol-free options if you team skews on the drier side. The Non-Alcoholic Cocktail Making Class, Hackney skips that entirely – it's a proper dedicated class, not an alcohol-included session with a token substitution, taught by an instructor rated 5.0 stars across 40 reviews.
Nobody's drinking a watered-down version of everyone else's night; they're doing the same class, making drinks that are just as delicious and varied as each other. If your team is properly mixed – some drinkers, some not, and you don't want to split the group or run two separate bookings – this is worth asking the venue about directly rather than assuming a standard class will accommodate everyone on the day.
Can we do this without leaving the office?
Sometimes the real barrier isn't drinking, it's logistics: booking a venue, getting everyone there on time, finding somewhere that'll take a group of fifteen on a Tuesday. The Cocktail Making Class for Beginners solves that by coming to you – a mixologist turns up with everything needed and runs the class wherever your team already is, from £39 a head for 10 to 40 guests. No commute, no awkward taxi order at 9pm and no one having to leave their car at the office overnight. It also tends to suit teams who'd rather not turn a Tuesday afternoon into a full evening out: book it for 4pm, wrap up by 6, and everyone's still home for dinner.
The proper night-out version, if that's what you actually want
Not every team wants low-key and practical. If the goal is a proper evening out rather than an office activity with drinks attached, the Cocktail Masterclass Party Experience, Fitzrovia has been running for 14 years — long enough that it's clearly doing something right rather than riding a trend. It takes 2 to 50 guests at £60 a head, which puts it at the pricier end of what's covered here, but that's the trade-off for a proper venue, a full evening's programme, and a mixologist who's done this thousands of times rather than dozens. Worth booking if the point of the day is less "team building exercise" and more "we deserve a nice night out and this happens to double as one."
Planning a hen party as well as a team building event? Cocktail making could be the answer to your prayers — click here to find out more.
Beyond standard bartending: two alternatives worth knowing about
Once you're past the "can everyone join in" and "where does this happen" questions, there's room to pick something a bit different from the usual gin-and-tonic circuit. The Infused Liqueurs Workshop is closer to a craft session than a bartending class — you're building flavour from scratch, steeping and blending rather than mixing pre-made spirits, and everyone leaves with a bottle of something they made themselves rather than just a drink they finished on the night. It's a better fit for a team that likes the "make something to take home" side of workshops more than the party side. The Portuguese Sangria Mixology Workshop, Southwark is the other one worth flagging, with a proper regional angle rather than another generic mixology hour, built around one specific drink rather than a tour through five different cocktails, and it scales up to 50 guests if your team's on the bigger side. Both are a step away from the default, which is worth having if your team has already done the standard version once and wants something that doesn't feel like a repeat.
Which one to actually book
If you're not sure where to start, it usually comes down to the shape of your team and what you're actually trying to achieve. A team with several non-drinkers: the Hackney non-alcoholic class, every time — don't make people opt into feeling like an afterthought. A team that's tired of leaving the office for every social: the mobile option, booked for a Tuesday afternoon rather than a Friday night. A team that wants to feel properly treated rather than just ticking off a team-building requirement: Fitzrovia. And a team that's already done the standard cocktail class and found it a bit predictable: the liqueurs workshop or the sangria session, both different enough to not feel like a repeat.
One small thing worth doing regardless of which class you pick: ask if you can name a drink after the team, or vote on a "signature cocktail" partway through. It costs nothing, takes five minutes, and it's the kind of small detail people actually remember afterwards — far more than the fact that there was gin involved.
Browse the full range of cocktail classes in London to compare more options, or if you're planning a hen do alongside the work event, here's why cocktail classes make a great hen do too.
10k followers
Runs regularly
Hackney
1 to 40 guests
£45
14 years in business
