Love cocktails as much as we do? Then try your hand at making some of these cocktails from local bartenders, bars and distilleries.
Refreshing and flavourful. Made with a custom handcrafted gin distilled with rhubarb harvested from a farm in the Fraser Valley.
Alcohol - 5% / 10 proof
Color -Very light yellow
Nose - Very light pear and rhubarb
Taste - Very light pear, twang of rhubarb and then the citrusy aromatics of the gin follow through
Finish - Aromatic rhubarb and pear skin with hints of the gin
Best Enjoyed - Kayaking on the lake
It’s cold and wet outside so I wanted to do something that screams autumn. The Odd Society Spirits Mia Amata is deep spices and dried roots blended with sweetness that accentuates the rich chocolate and vanilla notes. Do a Odd Society Negroni with Wallflower, Bittersweet Vermouth and this, knock out!
Alcohol - 30% / 60 proof
Color - Deep coffee brown
Nose - Complex dry roots, deep floral notes and hints of cacao
Taste - Mouthfeeling chocolate and vanilla leads to dry herbal notes of cola and menthol and then finishes with spicy depth
Finish - Finish lingers long after the sip, complex herbal tones are balanced by vanilla and cacao.
Best Enjoyed - Odd Society Negroni - Wallflower, Bittersweet Vermouth and this; equal parts
Aromatic, fresh, and made with a custom handcrafted gin distilled with rosemary sourced from Ravenhill Herb Farm on Vancouver Island.
Alcohol - 5% / 10 proof
Color -Light pink
Nose - Grapefruit peel, fresh garden rosemary
Taste - Floral Rosemary forward, with pithy grapefruit following with the gin in the background holding everything together
Finish - Grapefruit pith and rosemary garden
Best Enjoyed - On your back deck
It’s #worldwhiskyday so why not explore Phillips Fermentorium first release whisky. Aged in BC Pinot Barrels and American Bourbon Oak Ex Dark Beer Aged. The color doesn’t do it justice, on the palate, rich and complex with notes of chocolate, spicy vanilla and funky Pinot tones.
Alcohol - 41% / 82 proof
Color - Light copper, gold edges
Nose - Hints of dry cocoa, spicy vanilla and underlying grain
Taste - Rich grain profile, funky pinot notes, deep dry chocolate and spicy vanilla, hints of hoppy twang
Finish - High grain notes are complimented bu deep cocoa and spicy but soft vanilla
Best Enjoyed - Neat
Fragrant, zesty, and made with a custom handcrafted gin distilled with lavender from Ravenhill Herb Farm on Vancouver Island.
Alcohol - 5% / 10 proof
Color - Light yellow
Nose - Bright citrus with hints of lavender
Taste - Definitely get the gin to start, then bright lemon peel and hints of juice with the fresh floral lavender
Finish - Refreshing lemon peel with hints of lavender
Best Enjoyed - Beside a West Coast beach
I love the eccentricities of Shawn from Marrow Vermouth. This is no different, if you love amari this is a must have. Dry, fragrant, aromatic, balanced and complex sweetness, got to try this in a Negroni or even a Toronto.
Alcohol - 22.9% / 45.8 proof
Color - Light cola brown
Nose - Dry aromatic botanical, very sweet root nose
Taste - The balance of sweet wine and dry herbs is spot on, menthol, sarsaparilla, mint and sweet roots and herbal leaves. Complexity of honey and wine give it a unique backbone
Finish - Textural root forward palate with hints of honey sweetness and wine complexities
Best Enjoyed - Got to try this in a Negroni or a Toronto
The Black Moon from Legend Distilling is like nothing else, amazing gin backbone from the gin with the blend of fresh and charred wild rosemary. Love this in a Collins style highball, play around with the sweetener and soda and you are good to go.
Alcohol - 40% / 80 proof
Color - Dark reddish hue
Nose - Fresh rosemary, hints of flinty smoke and juniper
Taste - Gin botanicals as a backbone with the spread of fresh rosemary and charred leaves, complex, a little dirty smoke and bright rosemary
Finish - A mix of fresh rosemary and smoky herbal
Best Enjoyed - Collins and experiment with sweeteners and flavored soda
I just am in love with Merridale's fruit brandies, this is their 7 year old pear brandy, triple distilled and aged in French oak. A gorgeous blend of fresh Bartlett pears and toasted oak, both so complimentary that neither pushes the other out of the way. A blend of fragrant pear, tannic skin and toasted dry vanilla and spice.
Alcohol - 40% / 80 proof
Color - Very light gold
Nose - Fresh bartlett pear, flesh and tannic skin, hint of dry vanilla
Taste - Dry, slightly spicy, aromatic pear notes with a mix of flesh and tannic skin. The dry vanilla oak plays well with the strength of the pear and compliments it perfectly.
Finish - Pear on pear with a dry finish of toasted oak and vanilla
Best Enjoyed - Neat
An interesting episode this week as we delve into RTD's again but specifically the new brand Strait and Narrow canned gin cocktails produced at Victoria Distillers. Great flavors and perfect for the West Coast outdoor living.
Go old school on today's 50th episode, showcasing the very first spirit I helped develop, Stump Gin. The goal was always to create a gin that tasted like a West coast forest after rainfall, and I think we achieved that. Bright grapefruit notes from the hops and grand fir along with gorgeous texture and floral notes from the lavender and bay laurel. Try it with tonic or in a martini with Marrow Vermouth and Bittered Sling Moon Dog bitters.
Alcohol - 42% / 84 proof
Color - Clear
Nose - Fresh pomelo grapefruit flesh and fresh skin, hints of pine
Taste - Grapefruit, lavender and grand fir give elevated notes with the bay laurel helping to give a backbone with the bright juniper. Floral, subtle herbs and bright citrus
Finish - Grapefruit flesh and skin, hints of grand fir sap and bright floral notes
Best Enjoyed - With tonic or in a martini with Marrow Vermouth
This fantastic coffee liqueur from Wayward Distillery combines heavy roasted coffee from Royston Coffee Roasters with cacao nibs. The coffee is reach and dark and the cacao nibs compliment and add complexity but don’t overtake the coffee. Must try in a White Russian.
Alcohol - 33% / 66 proof
Color - Deep, dark brown
Nose - Heavy, dark roasted coffee with hints of dry cacao
Taste - Minimal sweetness, heavily roasted coffee, very old school, dry and slightly chocolate, hint of smoke
Finish - Very dry, complex chocolate bolstering up the coffee
Best Enjoyed - White Russian
Our crème de cassis is based on the secret recipe of our dear friend and Odd Society fellow, master Chef Hervé Martin.
Once the personal chef to the Late King Leopold III of Belgium and a chef in two Michelin 3 star restaurants in France and Switzerland, Hervé has criss-crossed the globe setting up award-winning restaurants where he treated his most loyal guests to gifts of his homemade crème de cassis.
Alcohol - 23% / 46 proof
Color - Deep purple
Nose - Stewed Blackcurrant, hints of floral notes
Taste -Rich and sticky blackcurrant, hints of vanilla and violets, just a twang of acidity in the finish
Finish - Strong, sweet blackcurrant that sticks to you tongue
Best Enjoyed - Let me think? Kir Royale.
Brand spanking new from Marrow Vermouth. Shawn is notorious for chasing down interesting vermouth styles and recreating them, this one is no different. The balance between apple distillate, wine base and botanicals is perfect; fruity sweet, high notes of bright botanicals and gorgeous wine profile. This is a must have especially with only 150 bottles made.
Alcohol - 16% / 32 proof
Color - Cloudy peach
Nose - High notes of botanicals, sweet cicily, orris root, hints of fruity apple and wine notes
Taste -Balanced fruit forward notes with drying botanicals. Apple, peach fruit is complimented by bright, high notes of chamomile, sweet cicely and lemon peel
Finish - Dry with a hint of sweetness on the back palate, apple and botanicals are the predominant flavors
Best Enjoyed - Neat or with tonic
With an excellent full fruit nose and the perfect balance of sweet and tart, our 100% BC blackcurrants create an award-winning Creme de Cassis liqueur that will have you puckering for more.
Alcohol - 24% / 48 proof
Color - Deep black with purple edges
Nose - Rich blackcurrant, direct and too the point
Taste -Like taking a mouthful of fresh blackcurrants, rich, hints of tannic skin and seeds along with tangy long lasting acidity
Finish - Dry, fresh blackcurrants
Best Enjoyed - Let me think, Kir Royale
We already know my love for the Arbutus Distillery liqueur line and this one is no different. A Birch Liqueur, rich and bold with a kick of nuttiness and caramel along with hints of oak. This is made to pair with whisky, slide a little into your sour or old fashioned.
Alcohol - 25% / 50 proof
Color - Deep orange
Nose - Burnt sugar, hints of vanilla and oak
Taste - Such a rich whisky tone, burnt sugar, oak, vanilla and caramel; like a liqueur that has been made to imitate whisky notes.
Finish - Caramel, vanilla, hints of oak and just a smidge of cloying sweetness
Best Enjoyed - Add 1/2 -3/4 oz to your whisky sour or old fashioned
Inspired by the classic liqueur of Burgundy, our Crème de Cassis is a fortified fruit wine crafted from blackcurrants grown on the Saanich Peninsula. Sweetened to balance the tart, earthy flavours of the “cassis” berries, enjoy this liqueur as an apéritif in a Kir cocktail or after dinner as a digestif.
Alcohol - 20% / 40 proof
Color - Dark purple, almost black
Nose - Gorgeous black currents, fragrant and deep
Taste - The taste is different to macerate liqueurs, it’s complex from the making of the black currant wine then being fortified. Giving a broader flavor of black currant with hints of green and great acidity.
Finish - Almost zero residual sugar, bright acidity and left with gorgeous black currant in the finish
Best Enjoyed - Kir Royale
Victoria Distilers are more famous for their Empress 1908 Gin, they also make some fantastic little oddities like this Cacao using Sirene Chocolate. Very multidimensional with bitter, dry cacao notes and sweetness from the husks. If you use this in a cocktail, you may need some sugar as it’s not overly sweet.
Alcohol - 25% / 50 proof
Color - Deep chocolate brown
Nose - Cocoa powder and high cacao chocolate
Taste - Like a 65% cacao chocolate bar. Rich, but not overly sweet chocolate with bitter dry cacao notes
Finish - Dry and dusty cacao powder with hints of chocolate
Best Enjoyed - Grasshopper with a smidge of simple syrup
Distinguished flavor ... the Pavlovian desire to drool after you get the first taste ... not quite so elegant! Embrace it and be rewarded the black currant bomb of nuclear proportions
Alcohol - 26% / 52 proof
Color - Deep dark purple almost black
Nose - Fruity cassis, floral notes and hints of green leaves
Taste - Rich and complex cassis, being a fortified blackcurrant wine, it have a broader flavor profile from fermentation
Finish - A little funky, dry blackcurrant and green leaf
Best Enjoyed - Kir Royale obviously
I felt bad for missing this one in the whisky liqueur episode a few weeks ago but this is a win win as they get a dedicated episode. The Roots and Wings Sidekick is their cinnamon corn whisky and while I don't love cinnamon, this is great warm, real cinnamon, almost autumn spice with hints of honeycomb.
Alcohol - 40% / 80 proof
Color - Deep copper orange, burnt sugar
Nose - Woody cinnamon, corn whisky, hints of caramelised honey
Taste - Earthy, real cinnamon, great corn whisky backbone and hints of honey but no sweetness
Finish - Autumn spice, cinnamon, honeycomb and spice
Best Enjoyed - Play around with this in an old fashioned with bourbon 50/50
This little crazy number from the minds at Sons of Vancouver is one of the only examples I know in the world. Who barrel ages amaretto. The peated whisky from Westland Whisky is a strong backbone to the natural sweetness of the amaretto. To me it’s liquid s’mores.
Alcohol - 26% / 52 proof
Color - Deeper translucent brown with copper edges
Nose - Rich almond with a hint of smoky wood
Taste -S’Mores all the way, rich amaretto, campfire smoke, marshmallow and dark honey
Finish - Lingering smoke and oak with complex spices and almond
Best Enjoyed - Double down on a Morgenthaler Amaretto Sour on this one
