Frozen Strawberry-Lime Daiquiri

Frozen Strawberry-Lime Daiquiri. Joanne Sasvari photo

Perfect for the patio. That is all.

• 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)

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Negroni Gelée Shot

Negroni Gelée Shots. Joanne Sasvari photo

These look like those after-dinner gelées you get in fancy restaurants, but come with a boozy and bittersweet kick.

• 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)

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From pop-up to permanent

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.”

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Return of the Sumac

Return of the Sumac. Chickadee Room photo

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.

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

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Live @ 5

Live @ 5. Mark Yammine photo

Recipe by Pourhouse Bar Manager Adam Domet. A re-interpretation of that summer classic, the Margarita, with the licorice-y hint of absinthe.

• 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)

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The Sooke Sunrise

Sooke Sunrise. Miki Ellis photo

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.”

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

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Bring your beach bucket

Photo courtesy of Beetbox

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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Patrón, perfected

Competition is a celebration of tequila

Patrón photo

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.

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It Takes a Valley

It Takes a Valley. Patrón photo

Jared Schmidt’s Patrón Perfectionists competition-winning cocktail is inspired by the Okanagan Valley.

• 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

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Pandemic possibilities

How B.C.’s government and hospitality industry embraced the new reality—and each other’s interests

Getty Images photo

…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.

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