Category Archives: Cocktails

The Hall of Fame

Posted on March 6, 2015 | Leave a comment

We finally made it to Anju. Not only does this Korean small plates restaurant on 17th Ave. S.W. have tasty bites to eat (the Crispy Tofu is amazing!), the cocktails are good, too. Many have an Asian bent, thanks to the use of ingredients such as black sesame syrup, yujacha (a Korean citrus tea) and ginseng bitters.

I loved The Hall of Fame, a bourbon-based cocktail with lemon juice, dry curaçao and Yellow Chartreuse. The game changer is the Korean Plum Syrup; it adds a unique sweet flavour that rounds out the drink. It’s a bit complicated to make at home (recipe below), but now you know where to order it!

Another great winter cocktail, with bourbon and Korean plum syrup.

The Hall of Fame

1.5 oz bourbon
.5 oz dry curaçao
.25 oz Yellow Chartreuse
.5 oz fresh lemon juice
.75 oz Korean Plum Syrup*
Lemon twist garnish

Method: Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker, shake with ice and strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

*Korean Plum Syrup

Korean plum tea (available at Korean markets)
1 cup hot water
1 cup marmalade-like jam (available at Korean markets)

Method: Steep tea in hot water. Add jam and combine until a syrup-like consistency is achieved (you may have to add a bit more hot water).

— Recipe courtesy Anju

Drink of the Week: Cilantro’s Pachamama

Posted on February 26, 2015 | Leave a comment

Cilantro has had some great cocktail lists in recent years and this winter’s selection of exotic libations with a tropical bent is no exception. Aptly dubbed “Into the Wild,” the list features a No Speak Americano with Aperol, Punt e Mes and a black-tea-anise syrup; a Stray Greyhound with grapefruit juice, Punt e Mes and rosemary syrup; and a Lion Around with Lillet, vodka, gin and dandelion honey wine, among others.

But it’s the Pachamama, whose name references the Incan fertility goddess, that got my attention. It’s a gin-lemon-sugar drink that’s elevated with black walnut bitters and an absinthe rinse. Then, it’s served quite flamboyantly with a flaming sprig of thyme, as if it’s an offering to Pachamama herself. To achieve this dramatic flair the thyme has been soaked in Green Chartruse, which helps it flame awhile.

When it’s safe to drink the overall effect is a slightly smoky, very herbaceous cocktail that’s just right for any drinking altar (like a bar). If you don’t finish the whole thing they’ll throw you into the volcano, so drink up!

This gin-based cocktail is simple yet surprisingly complex.

Pachamama

Absinthe rinse
2 oz The Botanist gin
.5 oz lemon juice
.5 oz simple syrup (1:1 sugar to water ratio)
3 dashes black walnut bitters
Garnish: Thyme soaked in Green Chartreuse

Method: Soak a sprig of thyme in Green Chartreuse. Rinse a martini glass with absinthe. In a cocktail shaker, combine gin, lemon juice, simple syrup and bitters with ice. Shake, then strain into the martini glass. Remove thyme from Green Chartreuse, set afire and place atop the glass. — Recipe courtesy Cilantro

A taste of France: Piper Heidsieck Cuvee Brut

Posted on February 20, 2015 | 2 comments

This weekend I’m toasting the Oscars with the official champagne of the Academy Awards: Piper Heidsieck.

Let's toast the 87th Academy Awards with the exclusive champagne of the Oscars, Piper Heidsieck.

Let’s toast the 87th Academy Awards this weekend with the exclusive champagne of the Oscars, Piper Heidsieck.

I was first introduced to this delicate and deliciously fruity bubbly in Paris, over dinner with Cecile Bonnefond, president and CEO of the 230-year old champagne house. As she poured the range of Piper Heidsieck bubbles, from Cuvee Brut to Rose Sauvage, she talked about how champagne shouldn’t just be for special occasions — it really sets the mood for any occasion.

“It’s special, it’s limited, it’s so French. It’s about style, the way you set a table, the way you share a meal,” said Bonnefond. She summed it up with her signature toast, “Grand soit la vie!” which translates loosely as, “Let life be grand.” Bonnefond neglected to mention the way champagne makes people feel — larger than life; a bit like the stars we’ll be watching on Sunday, in fact.

The Piper Heidsieck cellars feel ancient, like you could get lost in a champagne catacomb but at least not get thirsty!

That’s how I felt — red carpet ready — as we toured the Piper Heidsieck headquarters in Reims and later, the cool, catacomb-like cellars (former chalk quarries) where bottles are aged and stored. We ended the day in the vineyards, toasting the grapes that would one day become champagne.

These grapes in France's Champagne region will one day be champagne.

These grapes in France’s Champagne region will one day be bubbly.

My trip to France ended on a final celebrity-esque note: Piper Heidsieck table service at Paris club Le Magnifique.

The closest I will ever get to hoisting an “Oscar,” a.k.a. the official champagne of the Academy Awards.

I wish I could say I returned to Canada and began ordering bubbly for every occasion. Sadly, no. But there’s still time to change my ways, right? I can start by popping the cork on a bottle of Piper Heidsieck Cuvee Brut for no good reason except to set the mood on what’s going to be a great night!