Category Archives: Cocktails

Drink of the Week: Shred Daddy

Posted on August 31, 2012 | Leave a comment

A Shred Daddy isn’t the cocktail that comes to mind after canoeing around Island Lake on a hot summer’s day, but when I saw it on the Bear Lodge Patio menu at Island Lake Lodge, I couldn’t resist.

We canoe mamas (and tots) worked up a thirst paddling around Island Lake on a 30C day. The antidote? A Shred Daddy.

First, it contains Knob Creek bourbon and I’ve been having a little love-in with this dark spirit all summer. Second, there are muddled blackberries in it. Yum. Finally, it’s topped with iced tea, rendering it awesomely refreshing. I have no idea how it came by its mid-winter cat-skiing moniker (Island Lake Lodge ditches the canoes and day hikes in favour of cats and deep powder come winter), but I’m not complaining. This mama loved the Shred Daddy.

Muddled blackberries, bourbon and iced tea. Nice!

Shred Daddy

  • Handful fresh blackberries
  • 1 oz Knob Creek bourbon
  • 1/2 oz mint simple syrup
  • Top sweet iced tea
  • Lemon twist and mint leaf garnish

In the base of a rocks glass, muddle the blackberries with the simple syrup. Fill the glass with ice then add the bourbon and top with iced tea (about 3 oz). Stir to lift blackberries from the bottom of the glass, then garnish with a lemon twist and mint leaves.

— Recipe courtesy Island Lake Lodge

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Drink of the Week: Sangria (large batch)

Posted on August 24, 2012 | Leave a comment

If you’re hosting a summer barbecue and want to serve a signature cocktail that pairs well with burgers but won’t get your friends stinking drunk, opt for sangria.

I learned my lesson after mixing up a truly lethal (however delicious) rum punch for a fundraiser last spring. I decided since I was hosting this party at my house (instead of the community hall) and I was parenting-while-entertaining, it served my interests (and those of my friends, neighbours and of course, the children) to scale back on the booze. The result: a delicious red wine sangria.

Does the dispenser look familiar? In a former life it served rum punch.

This sangria is refreshing and fruity, but not too sweet. The brandy adds oomph and the juices just the right combo of tart (cranberry and lemon) and sweet (pineapple). The great thing about sangria is you can play around with it to your liking and add fruit chunks that fit your fancy. If you’re brave you can even enjoy the fruit the following day as a sort of “hair of the dog” yukaflux fruit salad.

I am happy to report the sangria went over swimmingly. The only “sangricident” happened when a nine-year-old neighbour poured himself a nice big cup of the concoction (he thought it was punch). Thank goodness it wasn’t rum punch!

Sangria (to mix in an 11-litre dispenser or extra-large punch bowl)

  • 4 bottles (750 mL x 4) red or white wine (always use a wine that you would drink on your own — we used a Peter Lehmann Layers blend, red, 2009)
  • 1 bottle (750 mL) St. Remy VSOP brandy
  • 16 oz fresh lemon juice
  • 12 cups chopped fresh fruit, divided (see cook’s note)
  • 64 oz fruit juice: cranberry and pineapple for red sangria; pineapple and grapefruit for white sangria
  • Soda water topper

Set aside 2 cups of the chopped fresh fruit to add to cups as a garnish. Mix all remaining ingredients in the dispenser and top with soda water to add a light spritz. Pour over ice in a cup then dollop in some of the reserved chopped fruit.

Cook’s note: Use fruit that will absorb and impart flavours, such as apples, oranges, lemons, limes, strawberries and even cucumbers.

— Recipe adapted from a Vin Room Sangria recipe

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Drink of the Week: Aviation

Posted on August 17, 2012 | 1 comment

I first heard of an Aviation cocktail in Victoria last October. I was in town for the Art of the Cocktail festival where I toured Victoria Spirits (makers of Victoria Gin) on the Saanich Peninsula. I asked gin distiller Peter Hunt what his favourite gin cocktail was. His answer: “An Aviation.”

Upon returning to Calgary I wrote a Spirited Calgary cocktail column called Tempting gin cocktails. I wanted to include an Aviation but didn’t want to purchase its obscure ingredients. So imagine my delight to discover an Aviation on the menu at Milk Tiger Lounge last week.

The pre-prohibition Aviation recipe calls for Creme de Violette.

The pre-prohibition recipe favoured by Milk Tiger bartender Nathan Head includes Creme de Violette, which adds the lovely lavender hue pictured above.

I already love gin with lemon juice (hello, Tom Collins), and the floral and sweet notes of the Creme de Violette offset the tart lemon and enhance the gin. You just need a little Creme de Violette, ditto the sweet maraschino liqueur. In a word — love — and I’m glad I finally understand why gin-lovers adore this drink.

Aviation

  • 1-1/2 oz gin
  • 1/4 oz Luxardo Maraschino
  • 1/4 oz Creme de Violette (Giffard brand)
  • 1/2 oz fresh lemon juice

Shake and strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with a brandied or maraschino cherry (a good homemade one, or a brand like Luxardo, not the scary red ones).

— Recipe courtesy Nathan Head, Milk Tiger Lounge

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