Category Archives: Cocktails

Drink of the Week: Blackberry & Mint G&T

Posted on October 9, 2015 | Leave a comment

The leaves are just past their peak, hinting at cold weather to come, but this sweet stretch of Indian summer calls for a gin and tonic! I propose this lovely berry twist on the classic, with a handful of mint from your outdoor planter before a killing frost claims it.

The taste of summer transitions to fall with the addition of Creme de Cassis.

The G&T taste of summer transitions to fall with the addition of Creme de Cassis.

Blackberry & Mint G&T

  • Juice of 1/2 lemon
  • 5 mint leaves
  • 1/2 oz Creme de Cassis
  • 2 oz gin
  • Top tonic
  • Garnish: Two blackberries and a mint sprig

Method: In a tall glass, muddle mint leaves with lime and Creme de Cassis. Add gin, fill the glass with ice, then top with tonic. Stir. Garnish with two blackberries and a mint sprig.

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Keeping up with the Carthusians

Posted on September 4, 2015 | Leave a comment

I had my first taste of Green Chartreuse last summer in San Francisco, in a Chartreuse Swizzle cocktail served at the Clock Bar in The Westin by Union Square. Since then, I keep seeing Chartreuse on menus all over Calgary.

My husband was equally smitten with the herbaceous spirit, which is infused with 130 botanicals and made by Carthusian monks in France. He surprised me with a bottle but we had a problem — how to incorporate the distinct and savoury spirit into a cocktail. Enter The Google, which led me to a fantastic drink called Keeping up with the Carthusians.

This savoury drink with tequila and Green Chartreuse doesn't mess around.

This savoury drink with tequila and Green Chartreuse doesn’t mess around.

It combines Green Chartreuse with blanco tequila, lime and agave syrup. You end up with something kind of like a margarita, only one that’s more interesting thanks to the spicy and savoury flavours coming through from the Chartreuse. The green spirit also adds more booze (it’s 55 percent ABV)  so slow down and sip — this is not a drink for guzzling. If you do, you won’t keep up.

Finally, a cocktail for my new bottle of Green Chartreuse!

Finally, a cocktail for my new bottle of Green Chartreuse!

Keeping up with the Carthusians

  • 1-1/2 oz blanco tequila
  • Just under 1/2 oz Green Chartreuse
  • 3 drops white spice fennel bitters (I skipped this ingredient)
  • 1 oz cocktail-ready agave syrup (I used 1/2 oz)
  • 1/2 oz fresh squeezed lime juice
  • Garnish: lime wheel and orange peel

Method: Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake, then strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice. Garnish with a lime wheel and an orange peel (I used a mint sprig).

— Recipe by Adam Stemmler, Blind Tiger Cocktail Company

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Drink of the Week: Jamaican Honey Soother

Posted on August 7, 2015 | Leave a comment

Here’s a rummy cocktail to get your weekend started. It comes courtesy of Jamaican rum Appleton Estate, which has just debuted new packaging and new naming for its core rums.

New packaging and naming on the Appleton Estate Rare Blend 12 Year Old rum.

New packaging and naming on the Appleton Estate Rare Blend 12 Year Old.

What remains the same is the good stuff inside the bottle, still as smooth and robust as a golden rum should be. I sampled the Appleton Estate Rare Blend 12 Year Old, a sweet, fruity, woody number with hints of molasses and even coffee. I mixed it into two cocktails, the Estate Old Fashioned for Blake and a Jamaican Honey Soother for me.

Initially Blake felt his Old Fashioned tasted too “rummy” (he likes them with whisky), but as the ice diluted the drink it grew on him. On the other hand, I immediately liked my Jamaican Honey Soother — which reminds me of my favourite African cocktail, the Dawa (whose name means “medicine” in Swahili) — but is made with rum instead of vodka. Sweet, tart and most of all, strong, this “Jamaican Dawa” will indeed cure what ails you.

I've taken to calling this drink a rum dawa after my favourite African cocktail.

I’ve taken to calling this drink a “Jamaican Dawa” after my favourite African cocktail.

Jamaican Honey Soother

  • 2 oz Appleton Estate Rare Blend 12 Year Old
  • 1/4 oz honey
  • 1/2 oz fresh lemon juice

Method: Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well, then strain into a coupette glass and serve.

— Recipe courtesy Appleton Estate

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