A kinder, gentler cocktail culture

Legendary bartender Jim Meehan, author of Meehan’s Bartender Manual. Contributed photo.

Legendary bartender Jim Meehan envisions a future where humanity is as important as the craft.

It’s not about the fancy glassware, or the high-tech centrifuge, or the exotic, impossible-to-source-spirit, not any more. It’s all about the people.

“Now that it’s no longer an arms race to assemble the cocktail, the other things matter more,” says Jim Meehan.

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Stone Fence

The Stone Fence cocktail, an historic drink given new life by bartender Jim Meehan in his new book Meehan’s Bartender Manual.

Here’s an old school classic getting a new life thanks to Jim Meehan. Cocktail historian David Wondrich traces it back to 1775 when it was “a savage mixture” of New England rum and hard cider. Nearly a century later, he notes, it had evolved into a “suave and smooth” bourbon cooler. Today, Meehan makes the most of the resurgence of craft cider and adds maple syrup for depth of flavour. And, he says, if you want to add a dash or two of Angostura bitters, by all means go ahead.

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Whisky raid leaves shelves empty, bar owners stunned

Provincial liquor inspectors remove bottles of whisky from Fets Whisky Kitchen in Vancouver. Fets Whisky Kitchen photo.

It’s the story that everyone in the BC booze industry is buzzing about: On Jan. 18, the provincial government conducted four simultaneous Prohibition-style raids on establishments in Victoria, Nanaimo and Vancouver and confiscated tens of thousands of dollars worth of liquor.

Their target? Bottles of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society’s unique (and expensive) whiskies.

Their reasoning? Although the bottles were shipped to B.C. under proper channels and all appropriate taxes paid, the licensees bought them through private retailers instead of government stores, which is not allowed.

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Golden Oldie

The name may sound dated, but the Old Fashioned remains a classic for a reason. The Alchemist asked Sabrine Dhaliwal, Bar Manager at Uva, to let us in on its secrets.

Sabrine Dhaliwal stirs up a classic. Dan Toulgoet photo.

The Old Fashioned is amazing — simple and complex at the same time. On paper it is minimal — spirit, bitters, sugar and water (via the dilution of ice) — but what is critical for an Old Fashioned is getting that balance right. You get the balance right, you have a beautiful cocktail, but if you don’t, there’s nowhere to hide. The fewer the ingredients in a cocktail, the more skill needed to make it.

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Old Fashioned

Sabrine Dhaliwal’s Old Fashioned. Dan Toulgoet photo.

The classic whisky cocktail.

INGREDIENTS:
• 2 oz Buffalo Trace bourbon
• 1 tsp granulated sugar
• 2 dashes Bittered Sling Kensington Aromatic Bitters
• Orange twist and brandied cherry for garnish

METHOD:
Add the sugar to an Old Fashioned glass, wet with bitters and (if using a sugar cube) muddle to dissolve. Add bourbon and a single large ice cube, stir for eight to 10 seconds and garnish with an orange twist and a brandied cherry.

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From vermouth to high volume: Cocktail trends for 2018

Some of Vancouver’s top bartenders give their thoughts on what’ll be hot next year

Glass straws will be seen more widely as bars strive toward more sustainable practices. The Last Straw Co. photo
Glass straws will be seen more widely as bars strive toward more sustainable practices. The Last Straw Co. photo

Raise your glass to the end of 2017, a year that brought us one disaster after another, from raging wildfires to the near-daily perp walk of sexual predators. Between all that and the inescapability of frosé, it’s a year we’re mostly happy to forget.

And so we look forward to 2018. We checked in with some of the city’s top bartenders to discover what’s shaking for the New Year.

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Sticky Toffee Old Fashioned

The Sticky Toffee Old Fashioned by David Warren.

The Salted Vine Kitchen + Bar’s David Warren combines several trends in this drink, including updated vintage cocktails and culinary techniques – this was inspired by Chef Jeff Pat’s sticky toffee pudding on the dessert menu.

INGREDIENTS:
2 oz (60 mL) Bulleit bourbon
¾ oz (22 mL) date syrup (see note)
Dash Fee Brothers black walnut bitters
Dash Angostura bitters
Sash Regan’s Orange bitters

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Bright Eyes

Bright Eyes by Sabrine Dhaliwal.
Bright Eyes by Sabrine Dhaliwal.

This tall, refreshing, low-proof cocktail from UVA’s Sabrine Dhaliwal will ensure you remain bright-eyed throughout the night.

1½ oz (45 mL) fino sherry
¾ oz (22 mL) grapefruit juice
¾ oz (22 mL) peach tea syrup (see note)
¾ oz (22 mL) lemon juice
2 dashes Bittered Sling Cherry Bitters
Ginger beer

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Bags of quality

Aunts & Uncles and Brooklyn Clothing believe in durable fashion that only gets better with age

In this increasingly fast-paced, disposable society, quality products that are crafted to last are a reassuring reminder of how things can improve with age. It could be a single malt whisky maturing for a couple of decades, a carefully cellared Bordeaux, or that go-to pair of jeans or bag that never lets you down.

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The secret ingredient to a knockout party punch

When life gives you lemons, add finesse to your festive fizz with oleo saccharum

All you need to make oleo saccharum, the secret ingredient that will take Champagne punch and other cocktails from merely good to simply extraordinary. Photo: Joanne Sasvari
All you need to make oleo saccharum, the secret ingredient that will take Champagne punch and other cocktails from merely good to simply extraordinary. Photo: Joanne Sasvari

The holiday season cries out for festive bubbles, for brunch-time mimosas and kir royales, for corks flying at midnight, for French 75s and Champagne cocktails just about any time.

But of all the bubbly concoctions, there is no more festive fizz than a grand Champagne punch.

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