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• 1.5 cups white rum
• 0.75 cup fresh-squeezed lime juice (5 to 6 juicy limes)
• 0.25 cup simple syrup (more if you like your Daiquiri on the sweet side)
• 1 (600 g) package frozen strawberries
• 4 cups ice cubes
• Garnish: strawberries or lime wheels (optional)
• 1 cup London Dry gin
• 1 cup Campari
• 1 cup sweet vermouth
• 1 cup water
• 4 packets (0.25-ounce each) powdered gelatin
• Garnish: sanding sugar, candied orange zest (optional; recipe below)
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.”
1.5 oz Sumac-infused blanco tequila (see note)
0.75 oz amontillado sherry
0.5 oz Cynar
2 dashes Bittered Sling Lem-Marrakech bitters
Garnish: lemon peel
• 2 oz Altos Blanco Tequila
• 0.5 oz Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao
• 1 tsp St. George absinthe
• 2 tsp lime juice
• 0.5 oz Five Alive Cordial (see below)
1.5 oz Sheringham Distillery Akvavit
1 oz freshly squeezed orange juice
2 tsp maraschino syrup
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp simple syrup
Garnish: thinly sliced orange wheel
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.
Cocktail competitions are not just about the winning drinks. They are about community, creativity and exploration, discovering new flavours and learning new techniques. Only a handful worldwide truly raise the bar for the industry. Among those, there is Patrón Perfectionists, the world’s premier tequila competition.
After the challenges of the past year, Patrón felt it was important to make the competition as inclusive as possible. So it has opened the competition to all bartenders across Canada, regardless of where (or if) they are working.
• 1.5 oz Patrón Silver
• 0.5 oz B.C. apple-infused Bénédictine (see note)
• 0.25 oz 1:1 simple syrup
• 1 oz B.C. organic white verjus
• 0.75 oz dry B.C. apple cider
• Garnish: grapefruit peel
…You better start swimmin’ or you’ll sink like a stone
For the times they are a -changin’ —Bob Dylan.
If Covid-19 has yielded one major positive, it’s the way in which government and the hospitality industry now interact.
It’s improved. Considerably.