Tag Archives: Alloy cocktail menu

Drink of the Week: Aeronautics

Alloy is an oft-overlooked oasis of dining awesomeness in the city’s southeast. It’s just a five-minute drive from Inglewood to the industrial park that houses Alloy, a fact that always makes me scratch my head over why we don’t dine there more often. Now we have another reason to visit: cocktails.

Alloy has given its bar a makeover and a new name — Back Bar — and brought in former Candela bartender Jake Hewitt to create a bar menu. The result is a small list that takes classics and gives them a modern twist. Do try the Smoked Old Fashioned, The Pullman (like a Sidecar, with rum) and the Aeronautics, which is Hewitt’s take on an Aviation. I couldn’t resist the colour of this gin-forward but well-balanced spring sip. The bar snacks, specifically the pulled pork belly slider, are delicious, too!

This gorgeous purple drink is Bar Bar's take on an Aviation cocktail.

This gorgeous purple drink is Back Bar’s take on an Aviation cocktail.

Aeronautics

  • 1-1/2 oz Tanqueray gin
  • 1/4 oz Giffard’s Creme de Violette
  • 1/4 oz Ginja cherry liqueur
  • 2 lemon wedges, squeezed
  • Garnish: lemon twist

Method: Combine ingredients in a mixing glass. Add ice and stir until drink is well chilled. Strain into a coupe glass. Rim the glass with expressed lemon disk, then twist over drink and drop in.

— Recipe courtesy Jake Hewitt, Back Bar at Alloy

Drink of the Week: Billy Dee Williams

Here’s a drink as smooth and charming as Lando Calrissian from The Empire Strikes Back. Naturally, it’s called a Billy Dee Williams — after the actor who played Lando in the movie — and you can order one at Alloy.

A smooth sip from Alloy in Calgary.

A smooth sip from Alloy in Calgary.

This is a great little drink. It tastes somewhat like a bourbon sour, but the subtle almond flavour from the amaretto works wonders to enhance the entire cocktail. You can actually taste a little of each ingredient. I have no idea why it’s called a Billy Dee Williams. Perhaps because, like Lando, it leaves a lasting impression.

Billy Dee Williams

  • 1 oz Buffalo Trace bourbon
  • 1 oz amaretto
  • 1/2 oz lemon juice
  • 1/2 oz lime juice
  • 1/2 oz honey syrup (Heat equal parts honey and water until honey is dissolved. Cool and refrigerate.)

Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake, then strain into a rocks glass with one or two over-sized ice cubes.

— Recipe courtesy Michael, a server at Alloy