Canada's only magazine dedicated to distillers, spirits and cocktail culture.
INGREDIENTS:
1 oz peach liqueur
1 oz prosecco
1 fresh pitted peach (leave skin on for added colour and texture)
OR 3 oz white peach puree
2 cups of cubed ice
METHOD:
Add all ingredients to a blender, leaving the cubed ice until last. Put the lid on and blend on the lowest setting. Slowly increase the speed until the desired texture is reached. Pour into coupe glasses. Garnish with fresh mint and peach slices. Serves 2.
INGREDIENTS:
4 oz London dry gin
1 oz simple syrup*
0.5 oz freshly squeezed lemon juice
0.5 oz freshly squeezed lime juice
2 oz heavy cream
1 tsp orange flower water
2 oz club soda
1 oz liquid egg white (white of one large egg)
1 cup of cubed ice
METHOD:
Add all ingredients to a blender, leaving the cubed ice until last. Put the lid on and blend on the lowest setting. Slowly increase the speed until the ice has melted and cocktail has become light and frothy. Pour into Highball glasses. Garnish with grated nutmeg and perhaps an umbrella. Serves 2.
INGREDIENTS:
1 oz London dry gin
1 oz Campari
1 oz sweet vermouth
3 oz freshly squeezed blood orange
2 cups of cubed ice
METHOD:
Add all ingredients to a blender, leaving the cubed ice until last. Put the lid on and blend on the lowest setting. Slowly increase the speed until the desired texture is reached. Pour into double Old Fashioned glasses. Garnish with a fresh rosemary and a straw, or maybe even a spoon. Serves 2.
INGREDIENTS:
4 oz light cuban rum
1 oz maraschino liqueur
1.5 oz freshly squeezed ruby red grapefruit juice
1.5 oz freshly squeezed lime juice
0.5 oz simple syrup*
2 cups of cubed ice
METHOD:
Add all ingredients to a blender, leaving the cubed ice until last. Put the lid on and blend on the lowest setting. Slowly increase the speed until the desired texture is reached. Pour into Martini glasses. Garnish with fresh mint and a grapefruit wedge. Serves 2.
Right now our gardens and markets are bursting with seasonal produce that we just can’t wait to transform into cocktails. But don’t you wish you could enjoy those garden-fresh flavours year round?
Once a derided device of the past, the blender is slowly finding its way back into cocktail bars around the globe.
INGREDIENTS:
2 oz. Old Tom gin
½ oz. lemon juice
½ oz. Tuscan pear rooibos tea syrup
½ oz. Triple Sec
3 dashes of peach bitters
Rosemary sprig and lemon twist
METHOD:
Fill a Collins Glass with ice. Shake all ingredients in a Boston glass. Strain into Collins Glass. Garnish with rosemary sprig and lemon twist.
To the superstitious, a black cat is a bad omen. But to underground drinkers during Prohibition, spotting a sign depicting an old tomcat meant you’d hit the gin jackpot.
A precursor to the crisp and clear London dry gin, Old Tom gin was stored and shipped in wooden barrels, so it had a naturally darker hue. Sometimes it was sweeter or more resiny, thanks to the addition of sugar or, yes, turpentine. Swill or not, Old Tom was probably better than no Tom.
To me, cocktails are mood on ice. They elevate a moment, enhance life. They’re the pocket squares of gastronomy, the clever patterned socks that tie it all together and keep the same old interesting. In that way, they distill our best selves.
When I travel, I always treat myself to an interesting bar off in some neighbourhood (thanks for the research, city magazines!) and in preparation, run through the questions. What will I wear? What time of day will I visit? And, of course, what will I order? The whole sums to this: For these precious minutes, who will I be? Cary Grant? Steve McQueen? (Hey, don’t laugh at other people’s self-delusions.)