Canada's only magazine dedicated to distillers, spirits and cocktail culture.
Pandemic be damned, I went to London for the World’s 50 Best Bars event in December 2021. Here’s a curated crawl of award winners, bars to watch and insider hangouts that hints at what the bar world might deliver in 2022.
What’s new? What’s next? In some ways, the pandemic has changed everything about how we drink. In others, it’s only accelerated trends that were already in the works. We checked in with experts both local and global, and here’s what they had to say about the way we’re drinking now and in the months to come.
• 1 oz West Coast Spiced Rum
• 1 oz Pineau des Charentes
• 0.75 oz mandarin juice
• 0.33 oz lemon juice
• 0.25 oz Chili Syrup (recipe below)
• 2 dashes cocoa bitters
• 1 egg white or 1 dropper of Ms. Better’s Miraculous Foamer
• Garnish: 3 to 4 drops of cocoa bitters
1.5 oz West Coast Spiced Rum
0.75 oz dry vermouth
0.33 oz orange Curaçao
1 barspoon grenadine
Garnish: Orange twist and brandied cherry
As the days get shorter and colder, we trade our Hawaiian shirts for sweaters and our light spirits for dark. Spiced rum is a wonderful way to warm up your cocktails during the autumn and winter. But what is spiced rum? In short, it’s (usually) an aged rum that’s been flavoured.
Modern versions of rum have been around since the 17th century, with accounts of “secret blend rums” in Jamaica flavoured with fruit, herbs and spices being served in Port Royal taverns. When spirits age in oak barrels, the wood commonly imparts rich flavours of vanilla and caramel, but beyond this you’ll find spice notes of allspice, nutmeg and clove, among others. Depending how the barrels are treated, you may also find toasted nut and stone fruit notes atop the woody oak blanket. “Spicing” with these components seems a natural evolution to further enhance the flavours that rum already presents us with.
In a holiday season with some international supply-chain blips, shop local—and shop soon!—for B.C. small-batch spirts holiday gifts. Limited-edition and seasonal items sell out fast, so if you happen to miss out this season, get on e-newsletter lists or follow distilleries on social media to watch for the next drop, and be very nice (not naughty) until next year. Many items from last holiday season are bound to be available again, so check out last year’s guide, too.
• 1 oz Devine Distillery Honey Shine Amber
• 0.5 oz honey syrup (see note below)
• 1 Tbsp Spiced Butter Mix (see recipe below)
• 2 dashes cardamom bitters
• 3 to 4 oz hot water
• Garnish: cinnamon stick
Now that we’re socializing again and heading into holiday season, it’s time to upgrade our gifting game. Whether you’re looking for a host gift or something to tuck under the tree, a bottle of spirits is a present with presence. And we figured no one would have a better idea of what to give than our tasting panel, so we asked them for their suggestions for gift bottles under $100, and the cocktails they’d make with them. This issue, our team comprises bartenders Sabrine Dhaliwal, J-S Dupuis, Robyn Gray, Trevor Kallies, Kaitlyn Stewart and David Wolowidnyk. Here’s what they had to say. Shop and sip accordingly.
• 2 oz Stiggins’ Pineapple Rum
• 0.75 oz lime juice
• 0.5 oz simple syrup (see method below)
• Optional: Add 0.5 tsp of maraschino liqueur for another layer of complexity
• Garnish: Pineapple slice