Features

Bitter & sweet

January 17, 2020 No Comments

Why you should be drinking vermouth made in B.C.

At MARKET at the Shangri-la Hotel in Vancouver, head bartender Gianluigi Bosco makes his own house-aromatized and fortified wines. Leila Kwok photo

More than 200 years ago, wine drinkers in Turin and Marseille started adding bittering and flavouring botanicals to wine fortified with spirit, to make an entirely new drink. The styles they created—a sweeter, reddish-brown style in Italy and a drier white-wine version in France—are iconic today, and collectively known as vermouth, a term that comes from the root word for wormwood, which is synonymous in many languages with “bitter.”

Now enjoying a renaissance thanks to cocktail mixology and the Spanish-driven trend for sipping them solo or as a spritz, vermouths should have a place on your back bar. (Actually, in your fridge, where a red vermouth will stay fresh for several months, and white vermouth for several weeks after opening.) Here are three new and three favourite B.C. bottlings to try.

Features, Recipes

Citrus Breeze

January 16, 2020 No Comments

This refreshing spritz recipe by Gianluigi Bosco, head bartender at MARKET at the Shangri-la Hotel, uses a vermouth you can make yourself.

• 3 oz Citrus Wine (recipe below)
• 0.25 oz melissa and peppermint hydrosols (see note)
• 2 dashes citric acid, available at gourmet stores
• Soda water, to taste
• Orange zest and mint, for garnish

Features, Recipes

Sloe & Sophistique

January 15, 2020 No Comments

Recipe from de Vine Wines & Spirits.

• 1 oz De Vine Sloe Gin
• 0.5 oz De Vine Bianca Vermouth
• 2 oz Fever Tree Classic Tonic
• Lemon peel, for garnish

Features, Recipes

The Drive

January 14, 2020 No Comments

Recipe from Odd Society Spirits.

• 1 oz Odd Society Prospector Rye Whisky
• 0.75 oz Odd Society Bittersweet Vermouth
• 0.25 oz Odd Society Crème de Cassis
• Garnish: orange twist, brandied cherry

Features

Very vegan

November 8, 2019 No Comments

No eggs or dairy? No problem for these bartenders

Katie Ingram’s Empress. Leila Kwok photo

The Pink Lady, Pisco Sour and Ramos Gin Fizz have at least one thing in common: their frothy, silky top. The luscious foam traditionally comes from shaken egg whites, the flavourless, foamy ingredient lending the drinks a smooth and creamy texture.

Bartenders’ use of albumen is nothing new. Alongside the rise of contemporary cocktail culture, however, has been the growing trend of veganism.

Features, Recipes

Coconut Milk Punch

November 7, 2019 No Comments

The tropical vibes of this updated classic come from Adam Domet of Pourhouse.

• 1.5 oz coconut milk
• 1 oz Buffalo Trace Bourbon
• 1 oz Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva Rum
• 2 tsp simple syrup (see note)
• 1 drop vanilla extract

Features, Recipes

Wonderlust

November 6, 2019 No Comments

• 1.5 oz white rum (preferably Flor de Caña 4)
• 0.75 oz banana liqueur (preferably Giffard Banane du Brésil)
• 0.5 oz smoky scotch (preferably Ardbeg 10 year)
• 0.75 oz lemon juice
• 0.5 oz coconut syrup (see note)
• 0.5 oz aquafaba

Features, Recipes

Empress

November 5, 2019 No Comments

• 2 oz Mount Gay XO rum
• 0.75 oz lemon juice
• 0.75 oz turmeric honey
• 1 oz aquafaba
• 2 dashes Bittered Sling Arabica Coffee bitters

Features, Recipes

Coconut Grasshopper

November 4, 2019 No Comments

• 1.5 oz coconut cream
• 1 oz crème de menthe
• 1 oz crème de cacao

Features

True blue cocktails

October 18, 2019 No Comments

Shake up your drinks with blueberries

The sweet-tart taste of blueberries is unique and the infusion of blue is not only colourful, but good for you as well.. istockphoto.com photo

Who knows when the first blueberry found its way into a jigger of gin or a vodka martini?

Today more and more of these bright blue berries are finding their way into mixed drinks throughout the year. Fresh or frozen, whole or juiced, the sweet-tart taste of blueberries is unique and the infusion of blue is not only colourful, but good for you as well.