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Summer in British Columbia brings with it berries bursting with flavour. They also contain citric acid and sugar, two key elements needed in crafting a cocktail. So why not add freshness and to your home bar by blending berries into your summer drinks?
The easiest way is to simply muddle them, extracting their natural juices and dyes. A simple sour recipe offers a base from which you can build countless variations.
• 2 oz. cachaça
• 2 oz strawberry and black pepper shrub
• 0.5 oz fresh squeezed lime juice
Jayce Kadyshuk won the Fastest Bartender award for Victoria’s Clive’s Classic Lounge.
Justin Taylor (The Cascade Room) shook his Horse Play to the tune of the Lone Ranger to win an Honourable Mention.
The winning cocktail by Kaitlyn Stewart combined Bulleit Bourbon with a house-made Okanagan cherry shrub and Stewart’s own Milk Liqueur.
Tearing up the city’s cocktail scene right now, Royal Dinette’s Kaitlyn Stewart took first place with Rock, which included lavender honey mead and Concord grape vinegar.
Tied for the runner-up spot was Justin Taylor’s Cascade Room entry, Bear Essentials.
The other runner-up was Yew Restaurant’s Firefighter, created by Phil Srigley.
Shaun Layton’s craft Juniper G&T came in third.
For bar manager Justin Taylor, a cocktail list should be, “fun, approachable, and unpretentious.”
After seven years at Yew Restaurant in the Four Seasons, Taylor took a short hop across town to take charge of the bar at Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar in the Sutton Place Hotel—jumping at the chance to build a drinks program from the ground up.
Putting together his signature list, Taylor decided to tell the story of Vancouver through cocktails: from the Lost Lagoon to the Van Dusen Sour, his creations are designed to take his customers on a journey.
“I’m like another concierge in the hotel,” he smiles. “And the conversation around the bar becomes organic. It’s a great way to introduce guests to what the city has to offer, and hopefully entice them to try something new. ”
For him, a new cocktail begins with a good name: “It’s always the name first—does it make sense? Then I hit on the spirit, and from there I build the rest of the components.”
He’s most proud of the Gerard—named after the Sutton Place’s iconic bar—called one of the 101 best new cocktails by world-renowned authority, Gary Regan. With an Islay Scotch base, the Gerard also boasts maraschino liqueur, Fernet-Branca and cherry bitters.
“It was challenging to build,” Taylor admits. “It’s hard to mix Islay whisky because the smokiness is so deep and strong.”
They may offer a way in to the city’s streets, but these are hardly pedestrian drinks: the Chief Skugaid—named for an infamous rum ship that ran out of Vancouver—utilizes forest tea tincture and chai and lavender-infused maple syrup; the savoury Chinook features dill, celery bitters and a toasted caper garnish.
Taylor’s dream is to take his list on the road.
“Imagine if we rented a trolley bus and mixed and served the cocktails as we hit each destination,” he grins. “Now, that would be cool.”
THIS POST IS SPONSORED BY:
Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar
845 Burrard Street, Vancouver • 604-642.2900
BoulevardVancouver.ca