B.C.'s only magazine dedicated to local distilleries and cocktail culture.
It’s rare to find someone who describes their job as “fun,” and even less so if they’ve been in the same business for more than 38 years. But then not everyone has Drew Mayville’s job.
Mayville is the master blender at Buffalo Trace, the world’s most award-winning distillery. He was in Vancouver recently to chat about all things whisky and bourbon.
In Latin cultures, food and drink are meant for sharing with friends and family. And that’s the whole idea behind the Fraserhood’s newest hotspot, Escobar, and its tapas-and-cocktails menu.
It’s simply the way co-owner Alex Kyriazis and his partners like to dine. In part, they crave the bright, fresh flavours of Latin cuisine. But they also prefer the fun of sharing. After all, says bar director Bobby Kordonis, “You get to taste more when you share.”
Don your fancy chapeaux and hoist your glasses! The ponies hit the track once again on July 21 for the 10th annual Deighton Cup at Hastings Racecourse. Some 5,000 people gather at the track to gamble on the ponies while enjoying swish fashion, buckets of bubbly, fine cigars, gourmet cuisine and, of course, cocktails. The event includes an annual mixology competition, plus sweet summer sippers to enjoy trackside. deightoncup.com
We’re always excited to see a new patio in town, especially when it’s one that serves great cocktails. And so we’re thrilled that D/6 Bar and Lounge at Parq Vancouver has flung open the big glass doors onto its vast new patio space.
Located on the sixth floor of the DOUGLAS boutique hotel, the D/6 patio has great views of the city skyline and offers locally inspired cocktails like the Douglas Fir, which is made with Douglas fir-infused gin from Yaletown Distilling Company. (The gin is also available in all the guest rooms.)
Even better news: The patio is covered, so guests can enjoy the views and the cocktails come rain or shine.
• 1.5 oz Douglas Fir-Infused Gin from Yaletown Distillery
• 0.5 oz Cointreau
• 0.5 oz dry vermouth
• 0.5 oz sweet vermouth
• 3 drops of Bittered Sling Orange Juniper bitters
Stir ingredients over ice. Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice. Garnish with a dehydrated orange slice and a Douglas fir tip. Serves 1.
Let’s face it: Making cocktails for a crowd is quite easy, but executing multiple different drinks over and over can be a tedious chore, especially when you want to enjoy the fun, too. The solution? Bottle these crowd pleasers in advance of your next party or backyard barbecue.
Your guests will be blown away with your attention to detail and this fun way of serving iconic cocktails.
On any given day, Kevin Brownlee drops in at local bars and restaurants to visit with his bartender colleagues. In the evening, he’ll hit a nightclub or two, or hang out at an event like Dish ’n Dazzle. Or he’ll jet off to some exotic locale, Puerto Rico, say, or maybe Miami.
And he’s actually paid to do all this.
• 1 oz Bacardi Añejo Cuatro rum
• 1 oz Bacardi Banana flavoured rum
• 0.75 oz fresh lime juice
• 0.75 oz cane syrup (2:1; see note)
• 1 bar spoon fresh pineapple juice
Combine all ingredients in a shaker tin and add ice. Shake like the trees on a hot, breezy summer afternoon. Double-strain into a cocktail coupe and enjoy! Serves 1.
3 cups reposado tequila
1.5 cups Cointreau
1.5 cups freshly squeezed lime juice
2 cups water
2 pinches sea salt
Combine all ingredients in a large pitcher. Stir, pour into bottles, seal, label and refrigerate or stash on ice.
• 2 cups gin
• 2 cups Campari
• 2 cups sweet vermouth
• 2 cups water
Combine ingredients in a large pitcher. Stir, pour into small bottles, seal, label and refrigerate or stash in ice.