It might not actually be the very last straw, but Gerry Jobe hopes it’ll come awfully close.
Vancouver bartenders aim to ditch plastic straws
B.C.’s gold medal gin: Central City strikes award-winning balance with Queensborough
Here’s a local spirit to add a tonic to your liquor cabinet
British Columbia’s artisan gins are in a tricky place.
Some are interesting, but not exactly delicious. Some taste good, but aren’t exciting enough to warrant the high price tag that the difficulty of making local hooch demands. Some have such powerful cereal notes you know the distiller really wants to be making whisky instead. Some taste like perfume, others like vodka.
And then there’s Queensborough gin from Surrey’s Central City Brewers + Distillers.
Queensborough Gin “Double Gold” Cocktail
Christos Kalaitzis, brand ambassador and mixologist for Central City Brewers + Distillers, created this cocktail to celebrate their gin winning double gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
INGREDIENTS:
1.5 oz (45 mL) Queensborough gin
0.5 oz (15 mL) dry vermouth
1 oz (30 mL) maple syrup
3 dashes aromatic bitters
3 mint leaves
Ginger ale
METHOD:
Place all ingredients except ginger ale in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake well. Double strain into a wine glass, add fresh ice and top up with ginger ale. Garnish with cinnamon stick and mint sprig. Serves 1.
The sweet seduction of salt
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.
Smoking Dog
This cocktail created by bartender Olivia Povarchook of Vij’s updates the classic Salty Dog, but instead of rimming the glass with salt, flakes of smoked Maldon sea salt sit on top of the ice, giving the drinker a taste of smoky salt with each sip.
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.
Burrard Gimlet
Justin Taylor of The Cascade Room makes his own salt water for this refreshing update on a classic cocktail.
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.
Best hidden patios in Vancouver
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.
Candy Girl
Created by Barry Jackson, bar manager at Gotham Steakhouse, this lavender-infused variation on the French 75 is an ideal cocktail to enjoy on the patio.
Deighton Cup: Cocktail Jockeys are off to the races
The classic Champagne cocktail gets inspiration galloping for this year’s competition
Don your fascinators and fedoras, raise your cocktail coupes, and you’re off to the races for the ninth annual Deighton Cup.
First to the Post
