Pomegranate Green Tea Punch

David Warren’s Pomegranate Green Tea Punch. Amy Ho photo.

This zero-proof cocktail is a long, cool drink that’s fruity and spicy, with a beautiful balance of sweetness and acidity, and a surprisingly deep complexity for a drink without a spirit base.

INGREDIENTS: 
• 3 oz (90 mL) brewed white-pomegranate tea (available from Lucas Teas in Squamish)
• 1 oz (30 mL) pineapple shrub (recipe follows)
• ½ oz (15 mL) lime juice
• ½ oz (15 mL) grenadine
• Dash pineapple juice
• Dash rosewater

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The upside of committing to Dry January

Cutting back on booze can help you lose weight, save money, sleep better, and focus more sharply at work. Istockphoto.com photo.

Call this the month of reckoning. After a festive season of giddy indulgence, many of us are rediscovering the gym, swapping shortbread for lentils, and giving up booze throughout the 31 long, dark days of January.

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Van Isle Iced Tea

Van Isle Iced Tea—created by Brad Stanton and Robyn Gray, head bartenders at Prohibition—taps into several of the top cocktail trends of 2017. Viranlly Liemena photo (courtesy of Prohibition).

This drink – created by Robyn Gray and Brad Stanton, head bartenders at Prohibition in the Rosewood Hotel Georgia – taps into several of 2017’s cocktail trends: infusions, new white spirits, and mixing multiple spirits together. Note that you can purchase jars of hibiscus flowers in syrup at stores like Gourmet Warehouse, or make your own using the recipe below.

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Five top cocktail trends for 2017

Van Isle Iced Tea—created by Brad Stanton and Robyn Gray, head bartenders at Prohibition—taps into several of the top cocktail trends of 2017. Viranlly Liemena photo (courtesy of Prohibition).

Well, thank goodness that’s over. This past year was enough to drive a person to drink. Luckily, the city’s best bartenders know just what we’re craving right now and in the year ahead. Here are the top-five cocktail trends they say we’ll be enjoying in 2017. Cheers!

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Hot Buttered Rum

Istockphoto.com photo.

In the 17th century, American colonialists replaced the whisky in their toddies with rum. Then some genius added a pat of butter to the concoction while another added baking spices, and so they created the gloriously unctuous drink we know as hot buttered rum.

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Winter Warmers

Justin Taylor, of the Cascade Room, concocts a hot buttered rum. Dan Toulgoet photo.

Brrrr – it’s chilly out there. Must be toddy time. With the mercury plunging below zero these past few weeks, Vancouver’s bartenders have been brewing up pots and pots of toddies, mulled ciders and other steamy beverages. Open the door to just about any drinking establishment – from the pop-up Winter Terrace at Reflections (in the Rosewood Hotel Georgia) to Juniper Kitchen & Bar in Gastown – and you’ll be greeted by the seasonal aroma of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. And this is especially true at the Cascade Room on Main Street.

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Donner & Blitzen

L’Abattoir’s Donner & Blitzen. Dan Toulgoet photo

Smoky and tropical, this cocktail created by Katie Ingram, bar manager of L’Abattoir, is a perfect pick-me-up for a chill day.

• 0.75 oz (20 mL) Del Maguey Vida Espadin Mezcal
• 0.75 oz (20 mL) French sweet vermouth
• 0.75 oz (20 mL) Heering cherry liquor
• 0.5 oz (15 mL) pineapple juice
2 tsp (10 mL) orange juice
1 tsp (5 mL) lemon juice
2 dashes Bittered Sling Autumn Bog Cranberry

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What’s Haskap’in?

Sabrine Dhaliwal’s “What’s Haskapin'” cocktail. Dan Toulgoet photo.

This tart, juicy and refreshing take on wintry flavours is created by Sabrine Dhaliwal, bar manager of Uva Wine & Cocktail Bar.

INGREDIENTS:
• 1.5 oz (45 mL) Taylor Fladgate White Port
• 1 oz (30 mL) Beefeater gin
• 0.25 oz (7 mL) Okanagan Spirits Haskap Liqueur
• 0.75 oz (22 mL) freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 dashes Bittered Sling Autumnbog Cranberry Bitters
• Tonic water

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Vancouver bartenders share their top cool-weather cocktails

We launch our new weekly cocktail column, The Alchemist, with the hottest drinks of the season

L’Abattoir head bartender Katie Ingram shakes up a Donner & Blitzen. Dan Toulgoet photo.

What’s the best way to get into the festive spirit? Why, with some festive spirits, of course.

All over Vancouver, the city’s best bartenders are shaking, stirring and mulling the best seasonal flavours into cocktails designed to warm body and soul. And truly, can you think of a better way to bring this cold, dreary year to a close?

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