Cocktails for 600? Home-tasting firms toast their success

Group online tests of food and drink have given participants' spirits a welcome lift

Patrick Fogarty, who runs Dr Ink's Curiosities, an award-winning cocktail bar in Exeter, estimates that 10,000 people have taken his virtual masterclasses since they started last March. Everybody is looking for something to do. We have never been busier," he said.

Desperate to relieve lockdown boredom, many people in the UK and across the world have turned to virtual tastings, which have soared in popularity over the past 12 months.