Canada's only magazine dedicated to distillers, spirits and cocktail culture.
For more than a decade, Chambar has been known as not only a destination restaurant famous for its Belgian and North African-influenced cuisine, but also as a cocktail haven that has attracted and nurtured some of the city’s top talent. Now, the restaurant has taken its cocktail program one step further, hiring Philippe Grandbois as Creative Director of Mixology — a new position in the company.
Donn Beach—a.k.a. Ernest Raymond Beaumont Gantt, a.k.a. Don the Beachcomber—reportedly invented his version of the drink in 1933, when it was called a Mai Tai Swizzle.• 1 oz gold rum
• 1.5 oz dark rum
• 1 oz (30 mL) grapefruit juice
• 0.75 oz lime juice
• 0.5 oz Cointreau or triple sec
• 0.25 oz falernum
• 6 drops Pernod
• Dash of Angostura bitters
• Mint sprig to garnish
Victor Bergeron, founder of Trader Vic’s restaurants, claims to be the originator of the Mai Tai, back in 1944. This is his version of the drink.• 2 oz aged rum
• 1 oz fresh lime juice
• 0.5 oz orgeat syrup (such as Giffard)
• 0.5 oz Cointreau or Curaçao
• Mint sprig to garnish
Order the Mai Tai at your peril. It can be one of the world’s greatest cocktails but, like the Bellini and the Margarita, in the wrong hands, it can be an unmitigated disaster. Instead of a delicately fragrant yet powerfully boozy elixir, you are as likely to receive a dispiriting glass of something sweet, sticky and suspiciously hued.
Any bartender who knows their way around the classics should be able to make a decent Mai Tai, but for the real deal, you really want to seek out a tiki expert.
• 2 oz Knob Creek Rye
• 0.25 oz rosemary syrup
• 2 dashes black pepper bitters
• 1 dash Angostura bitters
• 1 dash saline solution
• fresh rosemary sprig
Stepping outside of the box has become old hat to bar manager Jayce Kadyschuk of Clive’s Classic Lounge in Victoria, who, along with his team, is driven by his passion to tell a story through every cocktail served.
“We want to create a unique experience with every drink,” he explains. “People are always curious about what goes into a cocktail, how we came up with the recipe — and that desire for a story forces us to be innovative.”
OLO restaurant has a reputation for championing local, sustainable and seasonal fare, and new bar manager Matt Cooke wanted a cocktail menu to match, focused on highlighting the region’s craft distillers. “We have a ton of local spirits here,” he enthuses. “They’re all made with local ingredients, so we want to pay homage to them and the people making them. We want clients to be able to say, ‘Oh, this is an Ampersand cocktail.’”
• 2oz Absolut vodka
• 2oz cold brew concentrate
• 2 dash bitters
• 0.25oz mole syrup
• 1 lemon zest