Generation cocktail

Fairmont Pacific Rim launches a series of drinks inspired by Douglas Coupland’s new art exhibit

Dirty Harry. Photo courtesy of Lobby Lounge at the Fairmont Pacific Rim

Vancouver’s own Douglas Coupland is typically the creator, not the muse, known for 13 novels including the era-defining Generation X as well as numerous artworks, many of them displayed prominently around town.

But for now at least, he’s also the inspiration for a limited series of cocktails designed by the Fairmont Pacific Rim’s award-winning beverage director, Grant Sceney.

Each cocktail reflects a piece from Coupland Green Light Red Light series, now on display in the inaugural exhibit at the Pacific Gallery on the hotel’s second floor, as well as in The Lobby Lounge.

Tokyo Twilight. Photo courtesy of Lobby Lounge at the Fairmont Pacific Rim

They include:

• Dirty Harry, a vodka-based cocktail, named after Dirty Harry, 2021, a piece of art covered in glass and blown mercury;

• Clint, which pulls inspiration from the Wild West, with blueberries instead of bullets, named after the artwork Clint, 2021;

• The gin-based Tokyo Twilight, inspired by the 1957 Japanese movie of the same name, starring actor Ineko Arima, who can be found in Douglas Coupland’s prints.

Clint. Photo courtesy of Lobby Lounge at the Fairmont Pacific Rim

Coupland, who is an Officer of the Order of Canada and a member of the Order of British Columbia, is widely considered one of the most significant commentators on contemporary mass culture. In Green Light Red Light, he explores the popular culture of the late 20th century through a vividly colourful dynamic that is both cheerfully nostalgic yet slightly menacing.

“It’s strange how quickly the past became ‘history’—and it’s even stranger how quickly the future is becoming the present,” Coupland has said. “I think we maybe no longer have a present. I think we now inhabit the future 24/7.”

The cocktails celebrating this intriguing collection will be available at The Lobby Lounge & Raw Bar for one month only.

—by Joanne Sasvari

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