Available at Granville Room. I basically grew up as a bartender at Granville Room so it will always hold a special place for me. Good Vibes Only is a drink that came along mid-2020. It started as a Collins-style drink and found its way into the frozen drink machine and is currently being poured in slush format.
• 2 oz gin (preferably Beefeater London Dry, which has lots of citrus and juniper)
Playful cocktails in retro formats are just what we’re craving right now
Getty Images photo
This summer we plan to party like it’s, well, not pandemic times. In fact, we’re going to have some fun playing with retro cocktails in different formats, like jelly shots and boozy popsicles. I mean, who says a cocktail actually has to be liquid? Here are the nostalgic patio crushers we plan to enjoy all summer long.
How the pandemic’s temporary spaces may change our streetscapes forever
Day or night, it’s all fun and games at The Keefer Yard, the patio created from an empty lot next door. Photo courtesy of The Keefer Bar
When restaurants and bars were given the green light last year to open temporary patios in response to the pandemic’s toll, the team at The Keefer Bar didn’t want people sipping cool cocktails on alley benches. In went a mini-putt course, fire tables on custom wooden decks, booths, a disco ball and artist-designed graffiti on the walls. The Keefer Yard was born.
“It feels like you’ve walked out of normal city life and stepped through the doors of Narnia, only it’s an outdoor cocktail bar,” says The Keefer Bar’s media-relations rep, Chantelle Benzies. “I describe it as a daydream.
“Every day we are adapting in ways to make the Yard as memorable of an experience as possible, while also keeping it as safe as possible,” she says. “It feels really nice to be able to offer an exciting experience to the community at a point when many of us need it the most.”
Recipe by Chickadee Room bar manager Sabrine Dhaliwal. This new addition to the menu is a rich and savoury cocktail flavoured with sumac, a tangy, citrusy spice popular in Middle Eastern cuisine.
This loose play on a Tequila Sunrise was created by Stephen Whiteside of Dachi, who says, “The akvavit brings a bright, herbaceous note to this fruity, sweet classic.”
We couldn’t love this more. Beetbox, the plant-based casual eatery in the West End, has introduced a new “Beet the Heat” slushie bucket that is just what we want for all our backyard gatherings this summer. The four-litre bucket is filled with a cantaloupe-apple slushie mix, ladle, four cups and garnishes ($29). Plus you can add on 375 mL mickeys of Cazadores Tequila Reposado ($20) or Bombay Sapphire gin ($17) or a 200 mL bottle of St-Germain elderflower liqueur ($17). Slushies are also available by the glass (16 oz) for $5, with mini 50 mL bottles of vodka or gin available as add-ons for $5 each.
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