Tag Archives: Drink of the Week

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: Pink Panther

Posted on July 27, 2012 | Leave a comment

I guess it’s fair to say I’m on a bit of a bourbon kick (the children are out of school all summer, after all). My drink this week is a Pink Panther. It kind of sprang off the page and begged me to drink it when I was perusing the cocktail list at the new National Beer Hall on 17th Ave. S.W. in Calgary.

Sexier than the Strawberry Lemonade (also made with bourbon), the Pink Panther features watermelon puree (yum) and housemade basil syrup (double yum). It’s strong but not overpowering, and the watermelon (which pairs so nicely with basil) almost tricks you into thinking you’re guzzling a healthy libation. It’s definitely the kind of cocktail you want to shake up when the kids are squabbling on a sticky summer afternoon.

Bourbon, watermelon puree and basil syrup make this National Beer Hall cocktail a hit.

Pink Panther

  • 2 oz Buffalo Trace bourbon
  • 1 oz basil syrup*
  • 5 oz watermelon puree (just add watermelon to a blender and hit “puree”)
  • Top club soda
  • Basil leaf garnish (optional)

Build the drink over ice in a 500 mL mason jar (or 16 oz pint glass) adding the bourbon, basil syrup and watermelon puree, screw the lid on and shake, then add more ice and top with club soda. Garnish with a basil leaf.

*To make basil syrup, combine 1 cup sugar with 1 cup water and 1 cup loosely packed basil leaves. Heat until sugar is dissolved. Let stand for 30 minutes, then pour liquid through a strainer into an airtight storage container (discard basil) and chill before using.

–Recipe courtesy Stephen Phipps, cocktail co-creator for National Beer Hall

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