Jupiter Ascending

Jupiter Ascending. Matthew Benevoli photo

Make this cocktail at home by smoking it in a decanter. 

1 oz Courvoisier or other VSOP Cognac

1 oz Arbutus Distillery Birch Liqueur

0.5 oz medium sherry

1 tsp grapefruit oleo saccharum (see note)

2 drops saline solution (1:5 sea salt to warm water)

Hickory smoke

Garnish: dehydrated orange wheel

Continue Reading

Hive & Soul

Bar Susu’s Hive & Soul cocktail. Sarah Annand photo

Bar Susu’s “briny Martini” cocktail, created by Joe Casson, rides a perfectly seasoned knife edge of sweet and savoury, and is called “Hive & Soul” because of the live element of the fermented honey. Note that it should be served in a “super-cute vintage coupe.”

Continue Reading

Modern Martini

Modern Martini. Photo courtesy of Donnelly Group

Available at Brass Fish. I typically have three cocktails that I’ll order when time calls for a cocktail. A Negroni is likely what I am most known for ordering. Number 2 would be a Margarita (rocks, half-salt rim). For the past few years I have led our team in overall Martinis consumed. I can’t get enough of them. The Modern Martini is our flagship Martini on the Brass Fish menu. It’s the type of Martini that will gateway you into drinking more Martinis. You’re welcome. It’s a rare occasion when I don’t have a bottle of this in my home freezer for an after-work libation.

• 1.5 oz gin (preferably Beefeater for the citrus punch)

• 0.25 oz dry vermouth (Dolin if you have it; Martini Dry also works)

• 0.25 oz Tio Pepe fino sherry

• 0.25 oz St-Germain elderflower liqueur

Continue Reading

Bourbon and bubbles

Bourbon and Bubbles cocktail by Adam Domet. Photo courtesy of Pourhouse

Recipe by Adam Domet, bar manager, Pourhouse

• 1 oz Angel’s Envy Kentucky Straight Bourbon

• 0.5 oz Gonzales Byass Oloroso sherry

• 0.75 oz fresh lemon juice

• 2 tsp simple syrup (1:1)

• 5 raspberries

• 1 oz sparkling wine

Continue Reading

A Bit Curious

Sabrine Dhaliwal’s A Bit Curious. Tara Rafiq photo

Recipe created for the Punch Brunch 2020 by Sabrine Dhaliwal, bar manager of Juke Fried Chicken in Vancouver.

The Punch Brunch, held at Botanist at the Fairmont Pacific Rim on January 26, was the official launch for the inaugural Vancouver Cocktail Week presented by The Alchemist magazine, which will be held March 7 to 10, 2021. For more cocktail recipes from the brunch, see: The Rye of the Tiger, Featherweight Punch Royale, Flapjack Punch and Morning Ritual.

Continue Reading

The Fire at the Mill

The Black Lodge's The Fire at the Mill cocktail.
The Black Lodge photo

This cocktail was created by Edmonton’s James Grant, and is featured on the list at The Black Lodge.

• Mist/rinse of peaty whisky
• 1 oz rosemary-infused gin (see note)
• 1 oz Scotch whisky
• 0.5 oz medium dry sherry
• 0.5 oz ginger syrup
• 0.5 oz lemon juice
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters

Continue Reading

Bamboo

Bamboo cocktail. Istockphoto.com photo

Nobody really knows the back story of this sherry-based cocktail from the 19th century, but we do know that it quenches our thirst for all things low-proof and lightly bittered.

• 1.5 oz dry sherry
• 1.5 oz dry vermouth
• 1 dash Angostura bitters
• 1 dash orange bitters

Continue Reading

Chuzzlewit’s Pear

Justin Taylor’s Chuzzlewit’s Pear. Dan Toulgoet photo

• ¼ Anjou pear
• 0.5 oz freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 0.75 oz blended scotch whisky
• 0.75 oz amontillado sherry
• 0.5 oz Sons of Vancouver amaretto
• 3 dashes Peychaud’s bitters

Continue Reading

Nacho Medicine

Nacho Medicine, created by Philipp Karatsyupa, bar manager, Ancora Waterfront Dining & Patio. Dan Toulgoet photo

A down south cure to whatever ails you

• 1.5oz Viejo Indecente Espadin mezcal
• 0.75oz amontillado sherry
• 0.5oz ginger shrub (1:1 on sherry vinegar)
• dash Ms. Betters Smoke and Oak bitters
• spray of smoky mezcal of choice

Stir all ingredients and strain into a double Old Fashioned glass with a large ice cube or sphere. Garnish with candied ginger.

Continue Reading