Keep cool: The summer issue of The Alchemist is out this week.
The 12th edition of B.C.’s only magazine dedicated to cocktail and spirits culture returns with everything you need to quench your thirst this summer.
The Alchemist Summer 2019
A spirited selection at the BC Distilled 2019 Audience Favourites Awards
They came, they sipped, they chose their favourites, ranging from a delicately herbal absinthe to a boldly spiced rye whisky.
Some 600 people descended on the Croatian Cultural Centre on April 6 for the sixth annual BC Distilled festival, highlighting the best of the province’s artisan spirits. Some 180 spirits from 39 distilleries were poured over two tastings, and at the end of it all, the audience voted for their favourites in 13 categories.
Tofino Distillery
Drawing inspiration from their small town in Western Canada’s Coastal Temperate Rainforest, Tofino Distilling is committed to handcrafting premium quality, Certified Organic spirits.
Unit G&H, 681 Industrial Way, Tofino
250-725-2182
TofinoCraftDistillery.com
Read more about Tofino Craft Distillery:
• Recipe: Tip Toes in the Tulips
PRODUCTS
• Vodka
• Jalapeno Vodka
• Espresso Vodka
• West Coast Gin
• Old Growth Cedar Gin
• Rose Hibiscus Gin
• Lavender Mint Gin
• Beach Fire Cinnamon Spirit
• Limoncello
• Psychedelic Jellyfish Absinthe
Sizing up the Sazerac
The mysteries of NOLA’s signature cocktail
What is it with absinthe? Every time the herbal spirit gets involved, confusion and controversy seem to follow.
Take the Sazerac, one of the world’s oldest and greatest cocktails and since 2008 the official state cocktail of Louisiana. For decades experts as revered as Dale de Groff, King Cocktail himself, traced the origins of the first cocktail to this anise-scented variation on the Old Fashioned. Sadly, it can’t be true, since the word “cocktail” first appeared in print in 1806 and the apothecary who allegedly invented the Sazerac was only three years old at the time.
Still. It’s a good tale.
Sazerac
A great classic that belongs in every barkeep’s repertoire.
• 1 tsp (approximately) absinthe or pastis
• 1 cube sugar or 1 tsp simple syrup
• 3 or 4 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
• 2 oz Cognac, rye whisky, or a mix of both
• Lemon peel for garnish
Apple Flip
At Olo, the Apple Flip is served with a side of Julien Fremont Calvados to round out the apple experience.
INGREDIENTS:
• 2oz House Spiced & Solera Aged Honey Shine ‘Rum’ by Devine Vineyards
• 0.5oz Sea Star ‘Prose’ Riesling & Apple Dessert Wine
• 0.5oz Apple & Shiso Syrup
• One whole egg
• Okanagan Spirits Taboo Absinthe Spritz
Corpse Reviver #2
This classic cocktail was created by Harry Craddock, 1930, in London.
• 1 oz gin
• 1 oz Cointreau
• 1 oz Cocchi Americano
• 1 oz fresh-squeezed lemon juice
• 1 dash Taboo Absinthe
Chill a Nick & Nora glass with ice. Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake vigorously for 20 seconds. Fine strain cocktail into the chilled cocktail glass. Serves 1.
Madame Colet
A complex, pensive cocktail by Sabrine Dhaliwal inspired by the 1932 film Trouble in Paradise. Dhaliwal imagines that this is the drink the character of Mariette Colet would be drinking as she ponders the whirlwind of events that befall her in the movie.
Diced Pineapple Cocktail
This zero-waste cocktail created by Royal Dinette’s bar manager Kaitlyn Stewart helped her win Diageo World Class Bartender of the Year 2017. It uses all parts of the pineapple, including the skin, pulp and tops.
Burrard Gimlet
Justin Taylor of The Cascade Room makes his own salt water for this refreshing update on a classic cocktail.
INGREDIENTS:
1.5 oz (45 mL) Long Table Cucumber gin
0.5 oz (15 mL) Green Chartreuse
0.5 oz (15 mL) chamomile cordial (see note)
0.75 oz (22 mL) lime juice
3 dashes Bittered Sling Lem Marrakesh bitters
1 tsp (5 mL) salt water (see note)
Pinch of sea salt
Garnish: Taboo absinthe mist; lime twist
METHOD:
Rim half of a coupe glass with sea salt. Place all ingredients except garnish into a cocktail shaker. Add ice and shake for 15 seconds. Double strain into coupe. Spritz surface with a mist of absinthe and garnish with a lime twist. Serves 1.