Canada's only magazine dedicated to distillers, spirits and cocktail culture.
Mint, rum, soda, lime, ahhh: Cuba’s classic highball makes us think of Caribbean breezes and sandy beaches. Forget the naysayers; the Mojito will always be the quintessential drink for sunny days.
It won’t take long, once you’ve landed in Barbados, before someone presses a glass, sparkling with condensation and filled with an amber elixir, into your hand. Welcome to the famous Barbados rum punch and the taste of island life.
In Barbados, rum punch is enjoyed by everyone from farm workers to property tycoons to pallid newcomers from wintry climes. And it’s enjoyed everywhere from the verandas of grand plantation houses to the tailgate of a jeep in the jungle.
How rum punch came to be the national drink is unknown, but not exactly surprising.
• 0.5 oz freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1 oz simple syrup (see note)
• 1.5 oz dark rum (such as Barbados’ own Mount Gay Eclipse, or older)
• 2 oz water
• 1 dash Angostura bitters
• Freshly grated nutmeg
• 2 oz Ampersand Gin
• 0.25 oz Imperative Dry Vermouth
The first World Gin Day was held a decade ago in Birmingham, England; last year saw events in 30 countries, with 200 million people participating on social channels. This year, dozens of gin-soaked events are being held everywhere from London to Tokyo to Sydney and perhaps to your own back yard.
• 1oz Victoria Oaken Gin
• 1oz Martini Bianco Vermouth
• 1oz Luxardo Bianco Bitters
• Ms. Better’s Quina Bitters
• Lemon Zest
Jeff Savage is standing on top of the world. Literally.
On June 4, after three days of competition that took the finalists on a cocktail-themed scavenger hunt, through world history and deep into the spirit of the mountains, the head bartender of Vancouver’s Botanist Bar won the Diageo World Class Canada final in Whistler, B.C.
Bartenders are not in the business of making drinks. We are in the business of servicing the needs of human beings. Full stop.
It’s been said that we trained bartenders in the art of mixology and along the way we lost the art of bartending. But in the debate of bartender vs. mixologist, the end goal of both was essentially the same: Be better, be more knowledgeable, provide better experiences, work in better places. I believe both sides would agree that it is unbecoming of a barkeep to seek prestige by any other means than hard work and education.
Meet Cyan Moir, a hard-working, Chihuahua-loving industry veteran who wears all sorts of hats in Vancouver, from established publican to skat master (belated spoiler alert). She brings skill, experience, and mega style to the local scene, but, as a true scion from Quadra Island, she curbs pretension and just wants to host a good time…for humans and Chihuahuas alike.
Don’t look now, but Canada’s distillers have been gently plotting to spice things up for all you unsuspecting folks out there.
For instance, did you know that Fireball Cinnamon Whisky—which has taken off in a big way in the U.S.—has replaced Jägermeister as the masochistic shot of choice? It just doesn’t seem to be what you’d expect from a laid-back kind of land like Canada. But it turns out we Canucks were dabbling in pyrotechnic tippling well before its propulsion into pop-shot culture.