• 1.5 oz Blackpool Spiced Rum
• 0.75 oz Campari
• 1.5 oz Pineapple juice
• 0.5 oz Lime juice
• 0.5 oz Simple syrup
Black Bird
Perfect Pears
Fall’s favourite tree fruit makes a great addition to autumnal cocktails
There is a sublime comfort in autumn, as the breezy aroma of fallen leaves wafts away the smoke of our sultry summer. One of my favourite things to do in the fall is to cruise out to the local farmers markets and fill my basket with delicious local fruits and vegetables. As a cocktail maker, I love loading up on things that I can preserve and keep around through what is sure to be another cold, wet and dreary Vancouver winter.
Cognac & Pear Brulée
• 1.5 oz. Remy Martin VS Cognac
• 0.5 oz Bénédictine liqueur
• 1 oz freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 0.75 oz pasteurized liquid egg white
• 1 oz caramelized pear purée (see note)
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
• 1 tsp cinnamon sugar
Mezcal Mule
• 2 oz mezcal
• 0.25 oz jalapeño and pear syrup (see note)
• 0.5 oz fresh squeezed lime juice
• 4 oz ginger beer, preferably Dickie’s
Spicy Pear Old Fashioned
• 2 oz Canadian rye whisky
• 0.25 oz jalapeño and pear syrup (see note)
• 3 dashes Angostura bitters
Chuzzlewit’s Pear
• ¼ Anjou pear
• 0.5 oz freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 0.75 oz blended scotch whisky
• 0.75 oz amontillado sherry
• 0.5 oz Sons of Vancouver amaretto
• 3 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
A knockout read
In 2012, a handful of local bartenders slipped on some boxing gloves and started fighting for a cause. Aprons for Gloves, they called it, a non-profit organization with the aim of providing community outreach in the Downtown Eastside through the sweet science of boxing and the annual Restaurant Rumble charity boxing match.
Now there’s a gorgeous hardcover book celebrating the event: Blood, Sweat & Beers is written by wine writer and boxer Laura Starr and features some 450 photos by Guy Roland, who has been documenting the event since the beginning.
It all comes out in the wash
Brewer-distillers have unique advantages over their still-only colleagues
Early visitors to Yaletown Distillery on Vancouver’s Hamilton Street may have tripped to—or rather, over—its connection to Yaletown Brewing, a block away. Originally, the fermented base for the spirits came through a hose in the sidewalk. “The wash comes through this pipe now,” says brewer-distiller Tariq Khan, pointing toward the ceiling.
That supply chain of fermented-grain wash is a key advantage of local businesses that make both beer and spirits, including relative newbies The 101 Brewhouse + Distillery in Gibsons and Moon Under Water in Victoria, as well as veterans like Deep Cove Brewers and Distillers in North Vancouver. Brewing on site guarantees a pipeline to so-called distiller’s beer, the essential raw material for making spirits.
Sweet launch for bitters line
It’s not even available for sale yet, but already Christos Kalaitzis’ new bitters line is reaping the kind of recognition a crafty bartender could only dream of.
Bitters by Christos, created by the spirits brand ambassador and mixologist for Central City Brewers & Distillers, just took home not one, not two, but three double gold awards at the prestigious San Diego Spirits Festival, the premiere West Coast celebration of spirits and cocktails. (Central City’s Lohin McKinnon Peated Whisky also won double gold.)
Scotch Coffee
• 30ml The Glenlivet Founders Reserve
• 10ml rich demerara syrup (2:1)*
• 120ml coffee
• 15ml coconut whip*
• Toasted coconut shavings