Mountain Mezcal Sour
39 bits of booze lingo every cocktail lover should know
Your primer for the the lexicon of liquor
Cocktails have their own vocabulary, a richly evocative lingo that has evolved over the years from the barkeeps who sling the drinks, the customers who swill ’em and the scribes who take note of it all.
Here are some of the most useful expressions to know.
The Last Word
This Prohibition-era cocktail had been long forgotten until it was rediscovered by Seattle-based bartender Murray Stenson.
INGREDIENTS:
0.75 oz (22 mL) gin
0.75 oz (22 mL) green Chartreuse
0.75 oz (22 mL) maraschino liqueur
0.75 oz (22 mL) fresh lime juice
METHOD:
Place all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a chilled martini glass or a coupe. If you like, garnish with lime twist. Serves 1.
Hendrick’s Gin Old Fashioned
Floral, fragrant and refreshing – Josh Pape’s gin-based take on the Old Fashioned has been a huge hit at Wildebeest.
INGREDIENTS:
1-inch cylinder of cucumber, or ½ oz (15 mL) cucumber juice
2 oz (60 mL) Hendrick’s gin
2 tsp (10 mL) runny honey (see note)
2 dashes Scrappy’s lavender bitters
Cucumber slice to garnish (optional)
METHOD:
Muddle the cucumber in a mixing glass. (Alternatively, stir in the cucumber juice with the rest of the ingredients.) Add ice, gin, runny honey and bitters and stir until the drink is well chilled and has reached your ideal level of dilution. Fine strain into an Old Fashioned glass over fresh ice. If you like, garnish with a slice of cucumber. Serves 1.
Old Fashioned refashioned at Wildebeest
Cocktail-forward restaurant serving nine new takes on the classic for its fifth birthday
The Old Fashioned is, arguably, the original cocktail, or at least, the whisky version of it.
Meet Davin de Kergommeaux, Canada’s rye guy
Davin de Kergommeaux and I are lounging in the oak-paneled sitting room of Willistead Manor in Windsor, Ont., ancestral home of the Hiram Walker family, sipping rye and, fittingly, talking about Canadian whisky.
“I’ve got a lot of single malt at home, but preferentially, I drink Canadian whisky,” says de Kergommeaux. “I like the rye spices in Canadian whisky. It’s flavourful, well-balanced and enjoyable.”
It’s time to try Canada’s oldest whisky
Canadian Club 40 Year Old is the oldest whisky ever released by a Canadian distiller
Only in Canada, you say? Pity. Everyone else will have to travel to the True North to get their hands on the oldest Canadian whisky that has ever been poured.
“In Canadian whisky, you’re never going to find a 40-year-old whisky – not until today,” Tish Harcus tells us as we stand outside the Windsor, Ont., warehouse where row upon row of barrels stand stacked upon each other.
Always Wanted To Be A Tenenbaum
This cocktail inspired by the movie The Royal Tenenbaums was created by the Homer Street Café as a “VIFFtail” for the 2017 Vancouver International Film Festival.
Sip your favourite movie as a cocktail with VIFF
Lights! Camera! Cocktails!
Whether it’s the Big Lebowski’s White Russians, James Bond’s Vesper Martini or the French 75s Yvonne knocks back in Casablanca, there’s plenty to drink in when it comes to cocktails and the movies.
So when the Vancouver International Film Festival’s sponsorship manager Morgaine Jennings was looking for a fun new idea for the 2017 festival, which began Thursday, cocktails seemed like the perfect fit.
Bring Out the Gimlet
A modern update on an old-school classic: This cocktail was created by Shawn Soole at the new Foxtrot Tango Whisky bar at the Doubletree by Hilton Victoria.
INGREDIENTS:
1½ oz (45 mL) Sheringham Akvavit
½ oz (15 mL) Bols Ginger Liqueur
¾ oz (22 mL) Carrot Lime Cordial*
METHOD:
Place all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice, shake well and double strain into a large chilled coupe. If you like, garnish with a ribbon of sweet pickled carrot on a skewer. Serves 1.