Tag Archives: Drink of the Week

Drinks of the Week: Bols cocktails

Posted on October 12, 2012 | 2 comments

Never heard of Bols Genever? Neither had I until a four-hour stopover at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam. Bols is an Amsterdam-based liqueur maker that also makes its own version of gin, called genever. I gathered that Bols was kind of a big deal in town since the airport featured not only a bar lined with Bols products, but a cocktail kiosk dedicated to educating tourists.

Blake chooses a cocktail based on his taste preferences. Then, Antony shakes it up.

Blake and I stopped into the kiosk where virtual bartender Antony invited us to choose a cocktail based on our taste preferences. After picking a Holland House, he walked me through how to make one. I got thirsty despite the fact it was 9 a.m. (which explained the shocking number of people already in the bar). Then, I printed off the recipe and Antony instructed me to take it to the bar to get a 15 percent discount on the drink. Well, okay.

With his jaunty cap and suspenders, Antony embodies pre-prohibition happy hour. Who’s thirsty?

We sat right at the bar and showed our drink recipes to the real bartender. Unlike Antony, he hadn’t a clue how to make a BG3 or Holland House, and spent the next 15 minutes eyeing up the recipes and trying to find the dry vermouth. That was fine though because by the time we were served it was close to 11 a.m. and I felt it was okay to start drinking since it was almost noon in Tanzania.

Blake got the BG3 and liked it even though he’s not a gin fan. I loved my Holland House: tart, smooth and really the perfect drink to knock back at 3 a.m. Calgary time. Cheers!

Holland House

  • 1/4 oz Bols Maraschino
  • 1-1/2 oz Bols Genever
  • 3/4 oz dry vermouth
  • 1/2 oz fresh lemon juice

Shake all ingredients with ice and fine-strain into a coupette. Garnish with a lemon zest.

Look at the bottles behind the bar and you’ll see Bols.

BG3

  • 1-1/2 oz Bols Genever
  • 3/4 oz Bols Triple Sec
  • Bitter lemon
  • Lemon wedge

Build in a tall glass with ice. Top up with bitter lemon and garnish with a lemon wedge.

— Recipes courtesy Bols

Not unlike a Tom Collins: tall and refreshing.

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Drink of the Week: Gin Fizz

Posted on October 5, 2012 | Leave a comment

When in Africa, drink gin. Many countries on the continent, such as Tanzania, were settled by Great Britain. If there’s one thing the Brits successfully exported to the world — beyond lace doilies and racy photos of Prince Harry — it’s gin.

Back in the day the colonial set usually drank their gin with tonic, which contains quinine (an anti-malarial), but gin has become so commonplace in Africa you’ll find many other gin cocktails, such as a Gin Fizz.

The Serengeti and a refreshing Gin Fizz beckon.

I tried this drink one afternoon before an evening game drive at andBeyond Klein’s Camp, a luxuriously rustic safari lodge situated on a private land concession adjacent to Serengeti National Park. At 4 p.m. tourists are supposed to take a page from the Queen and sip tea, but I asked for something a little stronger.

A Gin Fizz is basically a Tom Collins with less simple syrup and different garnishes. Its main attribute is its ability to refresh while simultaneously delivering a lot of gin in a nice format: tart, slightly sweet and, well, fizzy. It also calms your nerves if you’re a little jumpy about coming within 10 feet of a bunch of lions in an open-air safari jeep. Enjoy!

Totally calm thanks to the Gin Fizz.

Gin Fizz

  •  2 oz Gordon’s London Dry Gin
  • 1/2 oz sugar syrup (use the British ratio of two parts sugar to one part water)
  • 1 oz fresh-squeezed lemon juice
  • Top soda water
  • Ice
  • Lime (or lemon) wedge garnish

Shake the gin, lemon juice and sugar syrup with ice, then strain into an ice-filled Collins glass. Top with soda water and garnish with a lemon (or lime) wedge.

— Recipe courtesy andBeyond Klein’s Camp

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Drink of the Week: Aperol Spritz

Posted on September 28, 2012 | 2 comments

Let’s celebrate! Blake and I have a had a wonderful trip to Africa, complete with an incredible safari. Time to toast 15 years of marriage and a great fundraising effort ($6,895 raised for Renfrew Educational Services so far) with an Aperol Spritz.

It’s a beautiful colour and tastes great.

Aperol is an “it” aperitif, a sweet-bitter orange Italian liqueur popular as the “poor man’s” version of Campari (it tastes similar but contains half the alcohol content, at 11 percent). A great way to drink it is in a spritz, using Prosecco (the poor man’s Champagne) as the base. (Notice a trend here? Yup, Africa is expensive.)

Don’t you just want to dive right in?

This drink certainly feels, well, extravagant, and it tastes good too. It’s a perfect end to an amazing holiday. As they say in Swahili, maisha marefu (cheers)!

Aperol Spritz

  • 1.5 oz Aperol
  • 2 oz Prosecco
  • Ice cubes
  • Splash soda water
  • Orange wheel garnish

Build in a wine glass over ice and garnish with an orange wheel.

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