Canada's only magazine dedicated to distillers, spirits and cocktail culture.
Campari-pomegranate ice cube:
• 0.5 oz Campari
• 0.5 oz pomegranate juice
• 3 oz water
Cocktail:
• 1 oz Volcan blanco tequila
• 0.25 oz pisco
• 0.5 oz orgeat
• 0.5 oz citric acid
• Garnish: dehydrated lemon slice, pomegranate seeds
Frank Deiter is a man on a mission.
As the founder of Okanagan Spirits in 2004, Deiter charted the pioneering distillery’s early successes before leaving in 2011 to pursue other ventures. These days he works with Mueller Pot Stills, representing what is widely recognized as one of Germany’s leading still manufacturers across North America. He also maintains a hands-on presence throughout the craft-distilling industry as an independent consultant and instructor.
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.
• 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
• 1 oz De Vine Sloe Gin
• 0.5 oz De Vine Bianca Vermouth
• 2 oz Fever Tree Classic Tonic
• Lemon peel, for garnish
• 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
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.
• 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
• 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
• 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