Around this big blue marble, stylish 1920’s era bars are making a discrete come back. The most recent addition is door 74, in Amsterdam, which is under the watchful gaze of Philip Duff. For those who know Philip, most would agree that he is a bon vivant with an insatiable appetite for cocktails and beautiful women. His worldly travels landed […]
Month: March 2011
Pimento Dram
Making classic Tiki drinks isn’t the easiest endeavour. When you start browsing through the drink recipes, trying to decide what to try next, you may often find yourself in short supply of a number of key ingredients. One of them is Falernum, sometimes called Velvet Falernum, which is fairly easy to make if you can’t find a supplier. The other […]
Still Waters Distillery
Starting a distillery from scratch can be a daunting task, especially in Canada, but the gentlemen at Still Waters Distillery have succumbed to their passion and taken the leap anyway. For cocktail aficionados, they are planning to produce a 100% rye whisky, but with ageing that is a few years away. Single malt whiskies seem to be their true passion, […]
Metaxa
When you think of Greek spirits the first thing comes to mind is Ouzo, the anise flavour liqueur. If you’ve tried Greek wine (Retsina) you might have liked it, or maybe not. Some of the wines use a pine resin to seal the barrels leaving a unique flavour that is what people remember about these wines. These wines are not […]
Red Moon Cocktail
There are some classic cocktails that use bitters as a key ingredient, the Negroni being a primary example. The problem is with the modern North American palate and its fixation on sugar laden drinks. Sweet, salt and sour seem to be fine but most North Americans shun bitter flavours. There is a small, but growing, minority that does enjoy bitter […]
Good Ice Makes Great Cocktails
Ice can be a pretty boring topic unless you are talking to a cocktail enthusiast, then you just need to sit back, listen, and enjoy the cocktail they served you demonstrating the potential of ice. Besides filling the glass and chilling the drink, what’s so important about ice? Well, there are a couple of things, including how the ice chills […]
Schenley OFC Whisky
Schenley OFC was first made in 1955 at the Schenley distillery in Valleyfield, Quebec. According to the manufacturer/distributor, Schenley OFC is the most decorated Canadian whisky. It has won 25 Gold Medals for product excellence in 27 Monde Selection competitions. In Canada, Schenley OFC is an 8-year-old whisky, where as in the US it is a 6-year-old whisky, so taste […]
Cocktail Menu / List – Aperitifs
In the quest for a well-balanced drink menu, I have included some basic mint based drinks, some classic cocktails, a few modern creations and then the aperitifs. The standard definition of an aperitif is a an alcoholic drink usually enjoyed as an appetizer before a large meal. It is derived from the Latin verb aperire, which means to open. Many […]
Dark Caramel Syrup
One of the great things about mixology is the infinite number of ingredients to work with. One flavour that has been a favourite is caramel or burnt sugar. This ingredient provides a number of benefits to any cocktail, including colour, mouthfeel/texture and most importantly flavour! I have created a simple recipe that is great to use in cocktails. The key […]
Bellini & Mimosa
After a New Years Eve party and all the drinking and champagne, the following morning can be a little rough. Even if it was a quiet, stay at home night, you should at least bring in the new year with a drink and a toast. For both reasons, the post-party and New Year’s day toast, champagne or sparkling wine is […]
When is a Bellini not a Bellini?
When it is a Moxie’s Bellini! At my new bartending gig one of the signature drinks is the Bellini. It is a very popular drink but is more of a slushy than a classic Bellini. It seems that at some point in time, someone (Milestone restaurant chain) came up with the idea to ride on the coattails of Giuseppe Cipriani […]
Lychee Fruit Cocktail
Lychee fruit in drinks has been around for a while and it still seems to be a good ingredient to use in a cocktail, not the “flash in the pan” most people thought it would be. The Lychee Martini is a little passe, just because it isn’t very complex. Sure, it was interesting because so many North Americans haven’t tried […]