“We have some bourbon, let’s make Manhattans!”
—Marilyn Monroe as Sugar Kane gets the party started, mixing cocktails in a hot water bottle in Billy Wilder’s classic comedy, Some Like It Hot.
The Last Word: A Classic Manhattan
Cocktail books every home bartender should own
Stocking your home bar? Before you invest in spirits, tools and glassware (not to mention that handy bar cart), you should get some expert advice. Luckily, there are plenty of great cocktail books out there to help you make the right choices.
Here are the essential tomes to quench your thirst for both well-made cocktails and the know-how to make them.
Art of the Cocktail 2016
Mixologists and distillers celebrated all things spirit-forward at Victoria’s Art of the Cocktail event in October.
Stuart Bertrand from the Bard & Banker at the Grand tasting.
Kayla Morton from Fine Art Bartending School.
Jessica Barwin from Glo Restaurant & Lounge.
Michael Pizzitelli, head distiller at Arbutus Distillery.
How to build the perfect home bar
Back in 2012, when Rod Moore was about to open his dream bar, the Shameful Tiki Room, he ran into a problem. “It was a nightmare trying to find stuff – even basic tools and bitters,” he says, remembering running all over town to find shakers, jiggers, strainers and glassware. As for specialty tiki mugs? Not a chance.
Tutti Frutti
Maple Leaf Spirits turns fallen fruit into liqueur
Do you want to see the only way to shoot a bird?” asks Jorg Engel, owner of Maple Leaf Spirits, soon after we meet at his Okanagan distillery. I’m there with my daughter, Maya, and Engel is showing us the birds and chickens in the enclosure next to his tasting room.
I stare and my daughter’s eyes bug. Engel has a small green bird sitting on his finger and I’m wondering if I should cover Maya’s eyes. “Watch this,” he says, smiling gently. Without further ado, he cocks his finger like a gun at the little bird and quietly says, “Bam!” The bird swings and hangs upside down from Engel’s finger. A brief second of silence and then we burst into (slightly relieved) laughter. The bird is right side up again and chirping happily, obviously in on the joke.
BC distilleries aim to produce world-class whisky
Ever since the first drops of elixir trickled from a local craft still more than a decade ago, whisky lovers have been waiting to taste a true made-in-BC single malt.
And now, we can.
Sketches of Spain
Cabrito warms up Commercial Drive with a splash of European flair
Spain was foremost in Jamie Stolar’s mind when she took over as General Manager of Vancouver tapas restaurant Cabrito. Looking to pay homage in a cocktail, Stolar let her mind drift back to sunny days spent on the Balearic island of Formentera. “The island has rosemary shrubs growing all over the place,” she recalls. “With the intense heat, all you could smell was that rosemary.”
Tomillo Margarita
Created by Alicia Whitfield
• 1.5 oz mezcal
• 0.5 oz Cointreau
• Dash of agave syrup
• 2 lime wedges squeezed
• 2 oz. grapefruit juice
• 1 sprig of thyme
• Salt
Shanghai Spritz
Created by Micky Valens, bar manager of Hello Goodbye Bar.
Quince Royale
