Max Curzon-Price is a bartender who is willing to go there, whether that means dressing in bonnet and matronly frock to represent an old Dutch portrait for a cocktail competition or serving a drink made with fresh blood. Now his fearless approach to cocktailing has earned him the prestigious Michelin’s Exceptional Cocktails Award, in the second year the Guide has covered Vancouver.
Canopy
Here’s what Suyo Modern Peruvian‘s Max Curzon-Price and Andrew Kong have to say about this refreshing drink: “Canopy is a cocktail resonant of being above the spanning, cacophonous canopy of the Amazon. As tropical rainstorms roll across a sea of green leaves and blot out the blue skies, they bring rains washing away yesterday and soaking new life taking root in the undergrowth.”
Serious Storytelling
Suyo’s bartenders sidestep pretension by perfecting the art of not taking yourself too seriously
Inside the recently opened Suyo Modern Peruvian on Main Street, just above the chorus of stylish 20-somethings and couples on date night, the bartenders can be heard telling the story of Peru—from undergrowth to clouds, ancient Incan civilization to contemporary culture.
Cacti
Each of Suyo’s cocktails is based around a geographical location and is tied to a story.
Cacti tells the tale of the flowering succulents of Ica, a coastal desert in Peru. The flowers are pollinated by a specific type of bee that hibernates for an extended period as the flowers only bloom for a brief period of the season. The cocktail is an ode to the poetic nature of the flora and fauna waiting for one another. Subsequently, the bartenders age the entire cocktail in beeswax so it, too, “hibernates,” taking influence from the bees.