A visit from the queen of rum
“When people taste it, the first word you hear is, ‘Whoa,’” says Joy Spence, smiling. I take a sip. “Whoa,” I exclaim. She laughs.
From Jamaica to Vancouver
B.C.’s spirits boom: sample the best in handcrafted hooch
BC Distilled festival an opportunity to sample everything from amaro to whisky, all made right here
It’s hard to believe that just five years ago, British Columbia had fewer than 10 artisan distilleries. Today, the province has at least 40, with a whole bunch more in the works.
Ballot Box Booze
The history of the cocktail is indelibly entwined with modern politics
It may not be immediately obvious, but politics and cocktails have an affinity to rival gin and vermouth.
J-S Dupuis, bar manager at Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar agrees. “The history of spirits and politics — they’ve always gone hand in hand.”
The romance of amaro
First there’s chocolate – dark and rich. Then spice—a whole caravan of exotic flavours and aromas from faraway lands. The bitterness lands next – astringent, clean, pleasantly mouthwatering. Throughout, delicate florals, dried fruits and an underlying sweetness keep everything in balance. There’s plenty to love about the new Mia Amata amaro from Odd Society Spirits, and not just because it counts Brazilian aphrodisiacs among its botanical makeup.
“I wanted to make it a modern-style bitter,” says Mia Glanz, the bartender who created it. “It took three years of work. I discarded an original recipe and started again.”
It’s better with bitters
It’s right there in the original description of a cocktail, dating back to 1806: “a stimulating liquor, composed of spirits of any kind, sugar, water and bitters – it is vulgarly called a bittered sling.”
In other words, bitters are what make a cocktail a cocktail. And that makes bitters an essential part of any home or professional bar.
The right glass for the right drink
In the months before the Rosewood Hotel Georgia’s subterranean bar, Prohibition, opened, head bartender Brad Stanton spent countless hours obsessing over every detail, from a state-of-the-art ice-maker to stylish copper bar tools.
One of the things he obsessed over most was the glassware.
Complement your home bar with versatile liqueurs
One could argue that without liqueur, a drink isn’t a cocktail. It’s just booze in a glass.
How to stock your spirits cabinet
Every cocktail starts with a base spirit. Every home cocktail bar should do the same. The question is, what spirits do you really need to stock at home? What’s worth spending money on (and what isn’t)? After all, those bright, shiny bottles can be expensive.
Cocktail books every home bartender should own
Stocking your home bar? Before you invest in spirits, tools and glassware (not to mention that handy bar cart), you should get some expert advice. Luckily, there are plenty of great cocktail books out there to help you make the right choices.
Here are the essential tomes to quench your thirst for both well-made cocktails and the know-how to make them.
How to build the perfect home bar
Back in 2012, when Rod Moore was about to open his dream bar, the Shameful Tiki Room, he ran into a problem. “It was a nightmare trying to find stuff – even basic tools and bitters,” he says, remembering running all over town to find shakers, jiggers, strainers and glassware. As for specialty tiki mugs? Not a chance.