Kaitlyn Stewart recommends this elegantly bittered variation on a classic spritz.
1.5 oz The Woods Amaro
0.5 oz elderflower liqueur
1 dash grapefruit bitters
Cava (sparkling wine), to top
Amaro Spritz
Brown Derby
This Prohibition-era classic, updated by Robyn Gray, was named for the hat-shaped Los Angeles diner and originally called a De Rigueur cocktail.
• 2 oz Bakers 7yr Bourbon
• 1 oz grapefruit juice
• 0.75 oz honey syrup (see note)
• 2 tsp lime juice
• Garnish: Grapefruit slice.
Spooky by Design
Come the dark, gloomy days of fall, it’s easy to imagine ghosts all around us, especially in a historic building like Victoria’s Fairmont Empress. Several spirits are said to roam its venerable halls—and one in particular.
“When you have thousands of people in a building for more than 50, 60, 100 years, with all of those collective experiences, the residue they leave behind and the wake—we all leave a wake like a boat behind us—allows the past to invade upon the present,” says Dan Aykroyd, host of the T+E show Hotel Paranormal. “At the Fairmont Empress Hotel, which opened in 1908, guests report seeing the hotel’s architect, Sir Francis Rattenbury, roaming the halls.”
Rattenbury designed some of B.C.’s most famous structures, including the Parliament Buildings. But by 1935 he was back home in England, living in disgrace with his scandalous second wife, Alma, when his chauffeur (who was her lover) beat him to death with a mallet.
He was buried in an unmarked grave in England, but has apparently chosen this hotel across the globe as his favourite haunt. So if you spot a thin, dapper, mustachioed gent swinging a cane in the vicinity of the Empress’ former lobby, chances are that’s just the ghost of “Old Ratz” checking in.
True, he designed several other hauntable buildings, but wouldn’t you choose to stay at the Empress, too?
Make the Nightmare Before Christmas Cocktail.
The Nightmare Before Christmas
This boo-zy concoction is only available at the Fairmont Empress’ Q Bar from October 29 to 31, but with this recipe, you can enjoy its spooktacular flavours all through fall.
• 1.5 oz Jack Daniel’s Tennessee whiskey
• 0.75 oz ghost pepper reduction (or other hot sauce)
• 1 oz lemon juice
• 0.5 oz Amaro Averna
• Garnish: 1 toasted marshmallow, powdered blood orange (available online or at gourmet markets)
A new Signature from St-Rémy
Cellar master Cécile Roudaut introduces a brandy that balances quality with versatility
Cécile Roudaut loves her job. “Every day I learn new things and this brings me happiness,” says the master blender for St-Rémy. “I have the opportunity every day to taste very high-quality products. Each day I make something different. My role is to perpetuate tradition, but also to innovate.”
Roudaut was in Vancouver recently to launch St-Rémy Signature, the exciting new blended brandy she has created for Rémy-Cointreau. “I asked for a project: ‘Can I have a budget to buy some casks?’” she says. Of course, they said yes. “And the results were very pleasant.”
Boozy reads for cosy days
Pour yourself a cocktail and curl up with one of these new releases.
B.C., distilled
If you’re looking for a guide to the province’s distilleries, the spirits they produce and the cocktails you can make with them, then Shawn Soole is the guy to take you there. The bar manager of Clive’s Classic Lounge in Victoria is an award-winning mixologist, hospitality entrepreneur, podcaster (Post Shift) and author of several books, including his latest, The BC Spirits Cocktail Book (FriesenPress). It’s got everything you need to know about 57 of B.C.’s artisanal distilleries, with creative cocktail recipes to enjoy along the journey.
Geraniol Gin Cosmo
Recipe from Stillhead Distillery, created by Mitch Poirier and reprinted with permission from The BC Spirits Cocktail Book by Shawn Soole.
• 3 snap peas
• 1.75 oz Stillhead London Dry Gin
• 0.25 oz Arbutus Limoncello
• 0.5 oz cranberry cordial
• 0.5 oz lemon juice
• 1 dash of Ms. Better’s Black Pepper Cardamom Bitters
Campaign to lift spirits
Canada’s craft distillers have had it with what they see as an unfair federal excise tax on spirits production, and they just won’t take it any more.
They have created a coalition called Lift Canada’s Spirits and have launched a petition urging the federal government to make the excise tax on small volumes more in line with that on domestic craft beer production—and, significantly, with what small U.S. distilleries pay.
Bartender of the Year 2021 James Grant faces the future
Diageo World Class excited to support the bartending comeback
It took James Grant only a decade to go from bartending “to pay the bills” to becoming the Diageo World Class Global Bartender of 2021—a title that recognizes him as the world’s best bartender.
“It’s pretty wild. It’s finally started to sink in,” says the bar manager of Edmonton’s Little Hong Kong. “I’m very humbled and grateful to have done OK representing the Canadian bartending community on the world stage.”
Hospitality helper
Since the BC Hospitality Foundation was created in 2006, it has become a go-to lifeline for the industry. And this October, the organization passed a significant milestone: It reached $1 million given to hospitality and tourism workers facing financial crisis due to a health condition experienced by themselves or a family member.