This savoury take on the Martini dates back to late 1800s San Francisco. This recipe is part of The Alchemist‘s series of cocktails you should know.
• 2.5 oz gin or vodka
• 0.5 oz dry vermouth
• Garnish: 2 cocktail onions, skewered
Gibson
Margarita
“Margarita” is Spanish for “daisy,” and this is likely a tequila-based 1930s variation on the even older drink of that name. This recipe is part of The Alchemist‘s series of cocktails you should know.
• 2 oz blanco tequila
• 1 oz orange liqueur such as Cointreau
• 1 oz freshly squeezed lime juice
• Garnish: Salted rim, optional lime wedge
Old Fashioned Whisky Cocktail
Part of The Alchemist‘s series of cocktails you should know.
• 1 sugar cube
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
• 1.5 oz bourbon or rye whisky
• Garnish: cocktail cherry, orange slice (optional)
The whisky whisperer
How Reece Sims shares her love of the water of life
When Reece Sims graduated from the University of Victoria, in 2009, with a Bachelor of Commerce, she thought she might go on to become a lawyer. Instead, after tenures in marketing for the fashion and architecture industries, a part-time bartending job at a Vancouver pub led to a multifaceted career in which she shares her love of spirits, wine and beer. Under the name the Whiskey Muse, Sims provides accessible education about “the water of life” to curious consumers (especially women) in their 20s and 30s—a demographic typically overlooked by distillers in favour of deep-pocketed older men. Most recently, she launched Stave+Still, a whisky-themed jewelry collection.
Four’s the charm: Results of the 2021 Canadian Artisan Spirits Competition
For the fourth year in a row, a B.C. craft spirit has won the Canadian Artisan Spirit Competition: raise a toast to Vancouver Island’s Ampersand Distilling, makers of Nocino!
The Canadian Artisan Spirit of the Year is the Nocino! from Ampersand Distilling Company on Vancouver Island. Founded by the Schacht clan, Ampersand operates from a Duncan-area farm, using stills that were designed and built by father and son Stephen and Jeremy; Jessica Schact is instrumental in product development; and Ramona Froehle-Schact manages the farm and more—a true family affair.
DEVINE Distillery’s Glen Saanich
Ken Winchester’s single-malt legacy
The fifth and largest-ever release of DEVINE Distillery & Winery’s coveted Glen Saanich Single Malt Whisky (1,016 bottles) quickly sold out this fall. “Ken [Winchester] and Kevin [Titcomb] put that beautiful whisky into the barrel in 2017,” says general manager Kirsten Titcomb of the ultra-local Saanich Peninsula bottling. Winchester, a trained winemaker and master distiller who founded the Island’s first craft distillery and created Victoria Gin, is a legendary name in B.C. distilling. Although he plans to step down by the end of 2020 at DEVINE, his legacy will endure.
Cinnamon Smoked Old Fashioned
Here is a simple twist on a spirit that is typically sipped neat. This recipe was developed by Soren Schepkowski, head bartender at Wind Cries Mary in Victoria.
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 oz DEVINE Glen Saanich Single Malt Whisky
• 0.25 oz toasted pumpkin seed orgeat (see note)
• 10 drops Ms Betters Chocolate Bitters
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
Sipping la bella vita: Four places to drink Italian cocktails in Vancouver
Italian cocktails have taken over Vancouver
Cocktail culture may be thriving in North America, but you could say Italy invented it with the aperitivo. Drawn from the Latin aperire, meaning “to open,” the term implies much more than a drink to whet the appetite; it’s a ritual of gathering with friends and unwinding after work over drinks and small bites and opening up conversation.
Here in Vancouver, several Italian hot spots are serving aperitivo-inspired cocktails, putting their own spin on la bella vita.
Playin’ Cello
This bright, elegant cocktail is by Nico Tognon at Tutto Restaurant and Bar.
• 1.5 oz Tanqueray gin
• 0.5 oz Luxardo Limoncello
• 0.5 oz Aperol
• 0.5 oz lemon juice
• 1 oz homemade raspberry syrup (see below)
• Garnish: lemon twist
Violetta
A floral variation on the classic Negroni, this pretty “up” drink comes from UVA Wine & Cocktail Bar.
• 1 oz Bombay Sapphire Gin
• 0.75 oz Bitter Bianco
• 1 oz Cocchi Americano
• 3 sprays crème de violette (violet liqueur)
• Garnish: Dehydrated lemon wheel