How to build the perfect home bar

Rod Moore, owner of the Modern Bartender and the Shameful Tiki Room, with some essentials for the home bar. Dan Toulgoet photo.

Back in 2012, when Rod Moore was about to open his dream bar, the Shameful Tiki Room, he ran into a problem. “It was a nightmare trying to find stuff – even basic tools and bitters,” he says, remembering running all over town to find shakers, jiggers, strainers and glassware. As for specialty tiki mugs? Not a chance.

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Tutti Frutti

Maple Leaf Spirits turns fallen fruit into liqueur

istockphoto.com photo

Do you want to see the only way to shoot a bird?” asks Jorg Engel, owner of Maple Leaf Spirits, soon after we meet at his Okanagan distillery. I’m there with my daughter, Maya, and Engel is showing us the birds and chickens in the enclosure next to his tasting room.

I stare and my daughter’s eyes bug. Engel has a small green bird sitting on his finger and I’m wondering if I should cover Maya’s eyes. “Watch this,” he says, smiling gently. Without further ado, he cocks his finger like a gun at the little bird and quietly says, “Bam!” The bird swings and hangs upside down from Engel’s finger. A brief second of silence and then we burst into (slightly relieved) laughter. The bird is right side up again and chirping happily, obviously in on the joke.

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Sketches of Spain

Cabrito warms up Commercial Drive with a splash of European flair

Cabrito’s Lavender Pisco. Daniel Marquardt photo

Spain was foremost in Jamie Stolar’s mind when she took over as General Manager of Vancouver tapas restaurant Cabrito. Looking to pay homage in a cocktail, Stolar let her mind drift back to sunny days spent on the Balearic island of Formentera. “The island has rosemary shrubs growing all over the place,” she recalls. “With the intense heat, all you could smell was that rosemary.”

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Tomillo Margarita

Cabrito’s Tomillo Margarita. Daniel Marquardt photo

Created by Alicia Whitfield

• 1.5 oz mezcal
• 0.5 oz Cointreau
• Dash of agave syrup
• 2 lime wedges squeezed
• 2 oz. grapefruit juice
• 1 sprig of thyme
• Salt

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Cheers to Chinese New Year

Kris Girard, bar manager at Torafuku, makes his Quince Royale cocktail. Dan Toulgoet photo.

Gung hay fat choy! This Saturday (Jan. 28) ushers in the Year of the Rooster with bright red packages, shiny gold coins and festively fizzy cocktails.

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Oso Good

With a commitment to quality ingredients and local products, Jason Redmond gives Bar Oso’s cocktails an edge

Bar Oso’s bar manager Jason Redmond. Supplied photo

Bar Oso celebrates its one-year anniversary this ski season. In those scant twelve months, the Spanish-inspired tapas bar has become a must-visit destination in Whistler Village. Located around the corner from its sister restaurant Araxi, Bar Oso set out to give the mountain resort something completely different.

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Duke of Kidalton

Lauren Mote’s Duke of Kildalton cocktail. Dan Toulgoet photo

This cocktail, created by Lauren Mote, celebrates the region of Kildalton, on the Scottish isle of Islay, home to the elegant but powerfully smoky Lagavulin 16-year single-malt whisky.

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