A mule, but too pretty to hide in a copper mug!
• 1 ½ ounce Dillon’s Vodka
• ¾ ounce Dillon’s Black Currant Liqueur
• ¾ ounce fresh lime juice
• 2 dashes Dillon’s Rhubarb Bitters
• Ginger Beer
• Dehydrated lime wheel, for garnish
Black Currant Mule
Tea Ceremony
Ingredients:
5 oz Grey Goose vodka
1.75 oz Lillet Blanc
0.75 oz Strega
2 oz lemon juice
1.5 oz honey syrup (equal parts honey and warm water)
2 oz black wolfberry tea
2 oz cold-brewed jasmine tea
3 oz coconut milk
Greyhound
When made with quality ingredients, this vodka highball is refreshing, versatile and delicious—and as easy to make as it is to enjoy.
2 oz vodka
4 oz freshly squeezed grapefruit juice
Garnish: Grapefruit peel or wedge
Optional: Salted rim (for a Salty Dog)
Optional: 0.5 oz Campari (for an Italian Greyhound)
Yummy umami: Global savoury spirits to try
Look for these savoury spirits on your travels
If you like seaweed-kissed Sheringham Seaside and Isle of Harris gins, try maritime-inspired U.K. bottles like Bullard’s Coastal Gin, Fishers Gin, Da Mhile Organic Seaweed Gin and Mermaid Salt Vodka, as well as North Vancouver’s Copperpenny Gin No. 006 Oyster Shell (a collaboration with Fanny Bay Oysters).
Dirty Martini
A savoury variation on the classic
2.5 oz gin or vodka
0.5 oz dry vermouth
0.25 to 0.5 oz olive brine
Garnish: 1 or 3 olives on a skewer
The Vesper
Recipe courtesy of Zack Lavoie, Wild Blue Restaurant + Bar.
1.5 oz Botanist gin
0.75 oz Belvedere vodka
0.25 oz Cocchi Americano Bianco
Garnish: lemon twist
Nitro Espresso Martini
If you work in a bar with a draft system, it’s relatively easy to put an Espresso Martini on tap and let the nitrogen do its magic. For home bartenders, here’s how to get a similar effect using an iSi nitrogen dispenser. (Recipe adapted from iSi.com.)
• 10 oz cold brew coffee
• 2 oz coffee liqueur
• 4 oz vodka
• 1 oz simple or vanilla syrup
• Garnish: coffee beans
Espresso Martini
The key to this cocktail is using hot espresso—if the coffee is cold, it won’t form the “crema,” the creamy foam on top that is the drink’s signature. The three coffee beans represent health, wealth and happiness.
• 2 oz vodka
• 0.5 oz coffee liqueur (such as Kahlúa)
• 1 oz espresso, freshly brewed and hot
• 0.5 oz simple syrup (or to taste)
• Garnish: coffee beans
Orange liqueur
Short of triple sec? Make your own
It seems there will be no end to the supply chain issues that have drained back bars of essential spirits these past two years. This summer, for instance, it looks like we’re facing a shortage of Aperol, just in time for spritz season, so drink up while you can.
Line Item
This vodka-based cocktail from The Stock Room incorporates two different floral notes (lavender and hibiscus) for an exceptionally refreshing flavour profile.
• 2 oz Absolut vodka
• 0.5 oz lavender syrup (note below)
• 1 oz lemon juice
• 3 to 4 oz Oddity Hibiscus Mint Kombucha
• Garnish: lavender or hibiscus flower or mint sprig