Pomegranate Green Tea Punch

David Warren’s Pomegranate Green Tea Punch. Amy Ho photo.

This zero-proof cocktail is a long, cool drink that’s fruity and spicy, with a beautiful balance of sweetness and acidity, and a surprisingly deep complexity for a drink without a spirit base.

INGREDIENTS: 
• 3 oz (90 mL) brewed white-pomegranate tea (available from Lucas Teas in Squamish)
• 1 oz (30 mL) pineapple shrub (recipe follows)
• ½ oz (15 mL) lime juice
• ½ oz (15 mL) grenadine
• Dash pineapple juice
• Dash rosewater

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The upside of committing to Dry January

Cutting back on booze can help you lose weight, save money, sleep better, and focus more sharply at work. Istockphoto.com photo.

Call this the month of reckoning. After a festive season of giddy indulgence, many of us are rediscovering the gym, swapping shortbread for lentils, and giving up booze throughout the 31 long, dark days of January.

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Main Moves

It’s all about the craft for Cascade Room’s new bar manager, Yonah Sweetapple

The Cascade Room’s bar manager, Yonah Sweetapple. Lucy-Kate Armstrong photo

Family brought Yonah Sweetapple from his native Australia to Canada in 2012. He followed his brother Jacob (also a noted mixologist) to Vancouver, looking forward to being a proper uncle to Jacob’s kids. His own bartending career was well underway, from working his way through university everywhere from nightclubs to cocktail bars and restaurants. But it was in the two years before his move to Canada that, he says, his real passion for cocktails developed. “I really enjoy creating craft drinks, and I take a lot of pride in my work,” he smiles.

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Standed Mountie

The Standed Mountie. Lucy-Kate Armstrong photo

• 2 oz. Basil Hayden’s Bourbon
1 oz. lemon juice
• 0.4 oz. maple syrup
• 0.4 oz. cinnamon syrup
• 1 oz. egg white

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Van Isle Iced Tea

Van Isle Iced Tea—created by Brad Stanton and Robyn Gray, head bartenders at Prohibition—taps into several of the top cocktail trends of 2017. Viranlly Liemena photo (courtesy of Prohibition).

This drink – created by Robyn Gray and Brad Stanton, head bartenders at Prohibition in the Rosewood Hotel Georgia – taps into several of 2017’s cocktail trends: infusions, new white spirits, and mixing multiple spirits together. Note that you can purchase jars of hibiscus flowers in syrup at stores like Gourmet Warehouse, or make your own using the recipe below.

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Five top cocktail trends for 2017

Van Isle Iced Tea—created by Brad Stanton and Robyn Gray, head bartenders at Prohibition—taps into several of the top cocktail trends of 2017. Viranlly Liemena photo (courtesy of Prohibition).

Well, thank goodness that’s over. This past year was enough to drive a person to drink. Luckily, the city’s best bartenders know just what we’re craving right now and in the year ahead. Here are the top-five cocktail trends they say we’ll be enjoying in 2017. Cheers!

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The Alchemist Guide to Whistler Cocktails

Whistler at night. Tourism Whistler/David McCohn photo

Think about Whistler drinking and images of craft beers on sunny patios and fragrant steaming mugs of après ski Glühwein inevitably come to mind. But for some reason, Whistler has never traditionally conjured up much in the way of cocktail culture. Fortunately, the wave of thoughtfully crafted drinks and micro-distilled spirits has finally made its way up the Sea-to-Sky, and bars across town are shaking and stirring up some decidedly delicious creations.

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