• 1.5 oz Victoria Gin
• 1.5 oz pressed apple juice
• 1.5 oz tonic water
• 2 dashes Twisted & Bitter ginger bitters
Appley Dapply
Capital Spirits
How a love of gin put Victoria Distillers on the map
Almost a decade ago, Peter Hunt and his family made a decision that changed their business model forever: they bought a still. The family-run winery soon recreated themselves as Victoria Distillers, and their gin quickly became one of B.C.’s best-recognized local spirits.
The Cosmopolitan
John Burns, our man at the bar, reveals the not-so-guilty pleasures of drinking alone
A man walks into a bar. He’s alone; it’s the same old story. Maybe he’s looking for company, or to get out of that hotel and watch the game, or just to unwind. So he orders a drink and it’s the right drink and it’s made well. He takes a breath, a sip. A breath, a sip.
Even in the age of 24/7 social check-ins and check-outs, it’s still possible to head to a bar and just…be. It’s one of my signal pleasures when I travel, which I do often for work. (I’m writing this on a plane now as it happens, en route to a bar.) After a wall of meetings, I want some alone time, but not alone alone. Follow? I want bustle around me but stillness within—perhaps that’s one definition of the right cocktail at the right spot.
Exactly a year ago, I was sitting in Munich’s Haus der Kunst, the gallery Hitler built to glorify Nazi art. On the main floor of that austere relic is one of the city’s best watering holes. There’s something both seedy and worldly about the Goldene Bar. Rattan chairs cluster conspiratorially around tables onto which fat candles slowly melt. Servers are friendly, children come and go, everyone’s wearing scarves and exactly nobody glances at the walls and their patently racist gilt paintings (original, from the ’30s) depicting the countries of the spirits served. It’s voyeur heaven, made perfect by a Cosmopolitan jolted by local bitters and (a quirky touch) a shot of Munich’s famed helles beer.
Vancouver Cocktail
The Sylvia Hotel’s signature cocktail was created in 1954.
INGREDIENTS:
1.5 oz London Dry style gin such as Victoria Gin or Long Table Gin
0.75 oz sweet vermouth such as Punte E Mes or Odd Society Bittersweet Vermouth
0.25 oz or “a good splash” of Benedictine liqueur
2 dashes of orange bitters
METHOD:
Place all ingredients into a mixing glass with ice and stir well. Strain into a chilled Martini glass. Garnish with a twist of lemon peel.
Victoria Distilling
Launched in 2008, Victoria Gin graces bars across the country. Their first small-batch, limited release whisky was launched in early 2015.
9891 Seaport Pl., Sidney
250-544-8217
VictoriaDistillers.com
Read more about Victoria Distillers:
• Spirit of Victoria: 12 great places to get a drink in the Vancouver Island city
• It’s G&T time: The Alchemist’s tasting panel searches for the best B.C. gin to enjoy with your tonic
• Capital Spirits: How a love of gin put Victoria Distillers on the map
PRODUCTS:
• Victoria Gin
• Oaken Gin
• Empress 1908 Gin
• Vodka
• Left Coast Hemp Vodka
• Sidney Spiced
• Brandy
• Chocolate Liqueur
• The Strait and Narrow Gin Cocktails
• Twisted and Bitter bitters
TASTING NOTES:
Oaken Gin
FRAGRANCE: Hint of toffee and wood, background of baking spice.
FLAVOUR: Toffee, vanilla, and clove.
FEEL: Buttery, slightly viscous mouthfeel, creamy.
FINISH: Long, creamy finish with a hint of pine.
BEST ENJOYED: In a gin Old Fashioned or neat, with a big ice cube.
THE BOTTOM LINE: One of the first local gins to be aged in oak, making an elegant style of craft gin, although pricey. —Trevor Kallies, April 2016
Victoria Gin
FRAGRANCE: Anise, clove, angelica, with a slight burn.
FLAVOUR: White pepper, rose, bitter lemon.
FEEL: Creamy, quite clean.
FINISH: Slight bitterness, hint of spice.
BEST ENJOYED: Makes a great Negroni.
THE BOTTOM LINE: The new packaging is more attractive, though I miss Queen Vic on the bottle. Good gift for out-of-towners. —Shaun Layton, July 2016
Left Coast Hemp Vodka
FRAGRANCE: Earthy, toasted grains, nutty.
FLAVOUR: Buckwheat, rye spice, roasted walnuts.
FEEL: Silky, balanced, sustained.
FINISH: Pleasant, clean.
BEST ENJOYED: Chilled, neat or as a Martini with an onion.
THE BOTTOM LINE: More flavour than your average vodka, and worth a try. —Josh Pape, October 2016
Chocolate Liqueur
FRAGRANCE: Intense cocoa nib and chocolate.
FLAVOUR: Bitter, as expected. Little to no sweetness.
FEEL: Light to medium body.
FINISH: Long, bitter finish.
BEST ENJOYED: Would make a super-cool Old Fashioned or Brandy Alexander.
THE BOTTOM LINE: If you like bitter spirits or liqueurs, this is for you. —Scott Barber, July 2017
Empress 1908 Gin
FRAGRANCE: Green and vegetal up front with spice undertones.
FLAVOUR: Juniper, citrus. Lightly floral.
FEEL: Quite a journey. Unassuming at first but then the spices take over.
FINISH: Bitter and long.
BEST ENJOYED: Great neat, but nobody does that. Makes an excellent Gin & Tonic with lemon.
THE BOTTOM LINE: A well made spirit worth checking out. —Josh Pape, October 2017