Canada's only magazine dedicated to distillers, spirits and cocktail culture.
As we get set to celebrate BC Day on Aug. 7, let’s raise a glass to the province’s greatest unsung local ingredient, the one that can transform our cocktails from ordinary to sublime: Salt.
Throughout history, this tasty and essential mineral has been used as a currency, a preservative and a flavour enhancer. Wars have been fought over the stuff. And there’s a whole ocean of it right on our doorstep.
INGREDIENTS:
1.5 oz (45 mL) Bombay Sapphire East London Dry Gin
0.5 oz (15 mL) Yellow Chartreuse
2 oz (60 mL) fresh grapefruit juice
1 tsp (5 mL) Maldon smoked sea salt
METHOD:
Combine gin, liqueur and juice in a Collins glass or (preferably) a beautiful crystal tumbler with 12 oz (350 mL) capacity. Fill with ice cubes and stir. Top to overfilled with more ice cubes. Sprinkle salt flakes on the ice cube surfaces. Serves 1.
INGREDIENTS:
1.5 oz (45 mL) Long Table Cucumber gin
0.5 oz (15 mL) Green Chartreuse
0.5 oz (15 mL) chamomile cordial (see note)
0.75 oz (22 mL) lime juice
3 dashes Bittered Sling Lem Marrakesh bitters
1 tsp (5 mL) salt water (see note)
Pinch of sea salt
Garnish: Taboo absinthe mist; lime twist
METHOD:
Rim half of a coupe glass with sea salt. Place all ingredients except garnish into a cocktail shaker. Add ice and shake for 15 seconds. Double strain into coupe. Spritz surface with a mist of absinthe and garnish with a lime twist. Serves 1.
Summer in Vancouver is all about the patio. Almost any patch of sidewalk will do, really, but it’s certainly better if that chunk of concrete comes with a decent cocktail or two.
That said, our very favourite patios are Vancouver’s hidden ones, those quiet urban oases that we share only with a handful of people in the know. Finding a new one is like discovering treasure buried in your own backyard.
Don your fascinators and fedoras, raise your cocktail coupes, and you’re off to the races for the ninth annual Deighton Cup.
Right now our gardens and markets are bursting with seasonal produce that we just can’t wait to transform into cocktails. But don’t you wish you could enjoy those garden-fresh flavours year round?
