Up on the roof

A rooftop garden brings fresh flavours and new ideas to ARC bar in the Fairmont Waterfront

Supplied photo

Kissed by a Bee, Sage Paloma, Raspberry Thyme Collins… The cocktail menu at the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel’s ARC Bar, pays proper tribute to the 2,100-square foot garden perched on its roof.

ARC’s general manager Roman Vondal describes the garden, which also includes four bee hives, as a treasure coveted by both the hotel’s chefs and bartenders.

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Parkside “Sip ‘n’ Slide” Raddler

Justin Taylor’s Parkside “Sip ‘n’ Slide” Raddler. Oliver Harden photo

INGREDIENTS:
• 1 oz. Okanagan Spirits Gin
• 0.5 oz. Okanagan Spirits Rhubarb Liqueur
• 2 oz. freshly squeezed ruby red grapefruit juice
• 3 dashes Bittered Sling Grapefruit & Hops Bitters
• 3 oz. Parkside Graffiti IPA

METHOD:
Add all ingredients except beer to a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake hard for 15 seconds. Fine strain into a pilsner glass, top with Parkside Beer. Garnish with a fresh grapefruit wedge.

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Four-Winds-Of-Change

Justin Taylor’s Four-Winds-of-Change cocktail. Oliver Harden photo

INGREDIENTS:
• 1 oz. Shelter Point Distillery Whisky
• 0.75 oz. lemon juice
• 0.5 oz. clove-infused maple syrup*
• 3 dashes of Bittered Sling Gastown Bitters
• 2 oz. Four Winds Pale Ale

METHOD:
Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass. Add ice and stir for 15 seconds. Strain over fresh ice into an Old Fashioned glass. Garnish with apple slices.

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Rhapsody in brew

Get crafty at home with these delicious beer cocktails

Local craft beer can provide excellent flavour in mixed drinks. Oliver Harden photo

We are fortunate to not only have incredible local spirits in B.C., but also an abundance of amazing craft beers. As a cocktail maker, this is another great excuse to start mixing — but before you begin that process, you’re just going to have to make the sacrifice and open a few beers to taste.

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Gentleman’s Sour

Kylie Bartlett’s Gentleman’s Sour. Lou Lou Childs photo

A twist on the classic Clover Club

• 1 fresh raspberry
• 1.5oz Odd Society Wallflower Gin
• 0.5oz Odd Society Crème de Cassis
• 0.5oz Odd Society Bittersweet Vermouth
• 1oz lemon juice
• 0.25oz simple syrup
• 2 dashes Szechuan pepper bitters
• 4 drops Ms. Better’s Bitters Miraculous Foamer

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Come together

At Odd Society Spirits, innovation is all about collaboration

LEFT: Kylie Bartlett works with bartenders across the province to create cocktails using Odd Society’s spirits. Lou Lou Childs photo

The Tasting Lounge at Odd Society Spirits in East Vancouver is a veritable beehive, buzzing with collaboration. Behind the bar, Kylie Bartlett shakes a frothy Tree Sum cocktail and strains it into a coupe glass. The neon-green libation was created by Vanessa Bourget, owner of Exile Bistro, and is made with a foraged-pine-needle, parsley syrup that Ms. Bourget trades to the craft distiller in exchange for the drink’s other key ingredient, Odd Society’s Wallflower Gin.

Part of the distillery’s Visiting Cocktail program, the forest-fresh Tree Sum is just one of many collaborations that allows Odd Society to live up to its name as an unusual innovator within British Columbia’s still somewhat oddly disconnected worlds of craft spirits and bartending.

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On the Town: BC Distilled 2016

The second annual BC Distilled event showcased 27 craft and micro distillers from around the province, with almost 500 ticket holders in attendance.

 

Mixologist Kylie Bartlett and founder and distiller Gordon Glanz show off East Vancouver’s Odd Society Spirits. Alexa Mazzarello photo.
BC Distilled founder Alex Hamer snuggles up with a representative from charity recipients, Pacific Assistance Dogs Society (PADS). Alexa Mazzarello photo.
Richard Klaus and James Lester of North Van’s Sons of Vancouver took home audience awards for their Chili Vodka and No. 82 Amaretto. Alexa Mazzarello photo.
Sheringham Distillery’s Alayne and Jason MacIsaac presented their signature Seaside Gin, William’s White whisky, and vodka. Alexa Mazzarello photo.

 

On the town: Science of Cocktails 2016

Science of Cocktails raised over $185,000 for Science World’s Class field trip program and saw B.C.’s best bartenders mix up special cocktails for the event.

 

Mike Shum, bartender at Fairmont Pacific Rim, won the cocktail competition with his CO2 Cool For School.
The Mackenzie Room’s Arthur Wynne was one of several bartenders who played with dry ice.
Now back on the wood—at Boulevard Restaurant & Bar—bartender extraordinaire JS Dupuis atomizes Ardbeg.
On the main stage, Cam Brown, of Kelowna’s Bacaro, explains the chemistry of his cocktail.

Spring sings

Seasonally-inspired cocktails at Chambar

Running the ever-busy bar at Chambar isn’t an easy job, but it’s one that bar manager Yacine Sylla and team embrace with enthusiasm. Constantly re-inventing the menu and updating old favourites, Sylla aligns himself with the restaurant’s focus on local, seasonal and high-quality ingredients.

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