by Mary Bailey
Two moments in recent cocktail history; the invention of the Caesar in Calgary 1969, and the introduction of the Cosmopolitan in 1986. Who knew a spicy tomato clam vodka mixture would be so enduring? Who knew a TV show could vault the sales of pomegranate juice into the stratosphere?
A few years ago I was in a cocktail lounge in Portland, several actually, that had no vodka on the back bar — none. Instead it was gin, various tequilas, rums and lots of dark spirit, bourbon, scotch and American rye.
Bars in Edmonton have several vodkas in the well, after all, the Caesar remains a perfectly delicious classic drink, especially the incarnations at the Confederation Lounge and Tavern 1903. Yet, the cocktail scene in our town is undergoing a tremendous revolution.
Brimming with craft spirits, aromatized wines, various bitters, house-made syrups, sodas and tonic, the back bar is now a hotbed of creativity and innovation.
The bartender presides over it all, the alchemist of flavour.
Andrew Borley, Woodwork
One of the first glimmers of Edmonton’s nascent cocktail scene was the custom cocktail duo called the Volstead Act, Andrew Borley and Jeremy Bowe. Andrew has gone on to open Woodwork, a restaurant devoted to all things wood, whether that be meat cooked over wood or whiskey aged in the barrel.
“The things that are always important to us are good spirits, and we’re super serious about ice,“ says Andrew.
“We have a cold draft machine, the Cadillac of ice machines, which we use to make large ice for Old Fashioneds and Manhattans. We also freeze 30-40 pound pieces of ice, and we break it up on the bar. It’s like ice performance art. During the night someone will be cracking the ice; they break it cleanly and applause breaks out.
“We’ve been bridging the gap between winter and spring with drinks like our take on the Dark and Stormy. We’re making this version with the Gosling Family Reserve Rum, a beautiful sipping rum we don’t want to lengthen with soda. The other thing we’re doing right now is playing with different kinds of acidity, which is good with limes being worth their weight in gold. For example, the ginger/apple shrub. We put fresh ginger in apple cider vinegar so you get this fresh ginger flavour and acidity from the vinegar, not citrus, then finish with a bit of Cocchi Americano vermouth. We call it Big Shrubble in little China.
“I’m impressed with how little we have to convince people to try what we are doing; our customers have put their trust in us.
“Our most popular drink this winter was the Woodwork House Sour. We make it with Buffalo Trace, which is a rye-forward bourbon, spicy with nice fruity notes but not too sweet. Instead of sugar we use a Lapsang Souchong honey cordial, an homage to all the smoked things our kitchen is doing. Then we finish it by torching a bit of ovenproof rum with Angostura bitters — it tastes great and we get to light things on fire.”
Let’s Stay Friends
This straight-up drink is based on a classic cocktail called The Old Pal. “This is a more bitter and cynical acquaintance, tasting somewhere between a Negroni and a Manhattan,” — Andrew Borley, Woodwork.
| 1½ oz | Bulliet rye |
| ¾ oz | Punt a Mes |
| ½ oz | Cynar |
| ¼ oz | Cherry Heering |
Build over ice in a tall glass and garnish with a brandied cherry.
Makes one cocktail.
Brendan Brewster, north 53
Brendan Brewster has been bartending since the late ‘90s. You may recognize him from the Manor Café, where he worked with Tarquin Melnyk. He’s a friendly, calm presence at the long North 53 bar and clearly excited about every drink he makes. Recently he competed in Calgary’s Art of the Cocktail, placing third overall.
“I call myself a bartender. A mixologist designs drinks but if you tend bar and take care of people you are a bartender. The social side is important, people are guests at the bar, never a customer, and I am responsible for them. It’s a public space and the bartender sets the tone and guides that public space.
“Ours is a craft that’s earning respect again. Between 1860-1920 bartenders were like rock stars. Jerry Thomas, who wrote the first bartending book, was better known at the time than the vice president.
“My current passion? I’m working a lot with gin for spring and Calvados is always a passion of mine. From
the spring menu: Lavender Lemonade and the Prairie Berry Bramble, made with sea buckthorn berries, native to Alberta with a citrusy pineapple flavour.
“I’m also experimenting with several low-proof cocktails made with vermouth and sherry as Edmonton is so car-centric.
“Yet, I love making simple, classic drinks, letting the ingredients shine. You can’t hide in a three ingredient drink — with only rum, lime juice and a little bit of sugar, a proper daiquiri is amazing.”
Lavender Lemonade
| 1½ oz | Aviation gin (has notes of lavender and violets) |
| ¾ oz | house-made lavender syrup |
| ¾ oz | lemon juice fresh squeezed |
| ¼ oz | Bitter Truth violet liqueur |
| dash | Scrappy’s Lavender Bitters |
Shake, then double strain into a champagne flute, and top with soda.
Tarquin Melnyk, cocktail impresario
Tavern 1903 enlisted the help of Tarquin Melnyk, a familiar face to many cocktail fans, to create its drinks program. Tarquin had founded the High Street Social Club, the centre of cocktail frivolity, before decamping to Calgary last year. Tarquin’s brief at Tavern? Build a cocktail program based on fresh herbs and juices. He developed the drinks, trained the staff and pops in from Calgary occasionally to see how everyone is doing. Tarquin was also one of the Winter City Signature Drink judges along with Andrew Borley and Chuck Elves.
Tavern features 20 custom cocktails with the Old Fashioned being the number one seller according to bartender Josh Turner. Josh’s favourite drink to make is the Desert Shrub, a blend of reposado tequila shaken with fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice and house-made Thai basil syrup, strained into a cocktail glass and finished with Riversanti Prosecco. The other big hit at Tavern?
Tarragon Lemonade, a refreshing drink for summer, made with Tanqueray, fresh lemon juice and fresh tarragon.
Ramon Miranda, corso 32
“I’ve always been interested in cocktails, professionally in the last five or six years. At Red Ox, whenever someone wanted a classic cocktail I would make it. Bartending is a good creative outlet, and I like watching people enjoy the drink I made.
“What’s exciting about creating drinks at corso is that I’m challenged to use unique Italian aperitivos, grappas, and digestifs. Our list is inspired by classic drinks but elevated by the high quality of these Italian ingredients.
“For example, the big ingredient that people are using now are high-quality artisan vermouths like Carpani Antica and Cocchi Americano, the original Italian formulas, back in style and available to us now.
“Our customers are saavy to have a vermouth before dinner and amaros, grappas or things like Fernet Branca after dinner, so it’s not a stretch to introduce a sour made with grappa for example. Our guests welcome these.
“Our spring summer menu will have more long sippers, refreshing, carbonated, and I’m using herbs in some drinks as well, to highlight what’s growing. I’m using rosemary and green tomatoes infused in gin and white vermouth.
“Sometimes people are having just cocktails with dinner, no wine at all. That’s a challenge to make something that will match the food. For example, if they are having a heavy cream-based sauce I could suggest a sidecar, it’s beautiful acidity would cut through like wine.”
Corso Reverse Martini
“The rosemary garnish plays on the herbaceous quality of the vermouth, and it’s a bit milder than a gin-heavy martini.” — Ramon Miranda.
Shake and strain into a cocktail glass, garnish with fresh rosemary.Makes one drinkOscar Lopez, Pampa Brazilian Steakhouse
- Oscar Lopez
(Pampa Brazilian Steakhouse);
Oscar Lopez, founder of Pampa Brazilian Steak House, thinks Pampa is the place to be during FIFA World Cup month, June 12 until July 13.“Our intention is to show all of the games live, particularly at 10 am, 1 and 3pm, in a private room with traditional Brazilian barbecue and drinks, and weather permitting, on our new patio. It’s a perfect match. We have a flair bartender, Raj with several years experience flair bartending in the Middle East. We are actually buying him a mobile bar so he can be on the patio, at the food truck or in the private room during World Cup action.”What will he be making? Caipirinhas of course! What makes a great Caipirinha?“It’s the essence of the fresh fruit, the unique taste of the sugar cane liquor and the fact that it’s hand-muddled with refined white sugar.“It’s all about technique and freshness and the right ingredients, the right type of cacaçha. You want a high quality white cacaçha with a light undertone of the sugar cane liquor flavour. Aged spirits are good for sipping but not for Caipirinha.”CaipirinhaMuddle 4 wedges lime and sugar into a juicy slurry. Add cacaçha and ice and shake well for about 15 seconds.Pour into a rocks glass filled with ice and remaining lime.Pampa makes 12 different versions, the classic fresh lime, and several fresh fruit variations, passion fruit, watermelon, berries and a pomegranate red chile combo.“The blackberry raspberry lime is our number two after lime; the passion fruit/citrus is very Brazilian, and we make a dessert caipirinha with banana and cinnamon. I can’t think of another restaurant anywhere that makes 12 different styles and features too, like the gooseberry lime honey.”Chuck Elves, Three Boars Eatery
- Chuck Elves (Three Boars)
“I started my journey in coffee, where I learned the value of craft and doing things well and the difference it makes. Then I went to the Sugarbowl, beer is huge there, I started to learn about that. Then getting into whiskey, and cocktails, trying things out at the Bowl and at my home bar.“At first the focus at Three Boars was on beer and whiskey. We thought let’s throw a few cocktails on the menu.“My current exploration? Mescal is very interesting. It’s an unaged white spirit but with so much depth and character, really smoky earth and fruity. A lot more tequila and mescal are now available and they are new to people so there is curiosity and excitement there.“We’ve been playing with cold brew coffee and mescal. The big thing for me is to start with good things — that’s what cocktails are all about“One thing everyone complains about is the weather but I love the seasonal reality of Edmonton. In the winter we drink more dark beers, more whiskey, more hot drinks, more heavy, intense, spicy flavours. Now we’re focusing on summer — lighter, fresher, more fruits, herbs, more cocktails with bubbles.“Cocktails raise the respect of alcohol. They force you to pay attention, it’s not just a let’s-get-drunk-shots-and-highballs mentality. I find cocktails very culinary. You can fine tune a drink, or tailor on the fly. The balance and complexity of the cocktail creates a good connection between the people and their drink and bartender. There’s a real social interaction that you don’t get with other things.“My motto in life now is start with things that are delicious, and don’t eff it up.”Mary Bailey’s favourite cocktail is a Negroni, or maybe an Aperol Spritz, no wait….
| 2 parts | Cocchi Americano vermouth |
| 2 parts | gin |
| 1 | lime, cut into 8 wedges |
| 2 T | sugar |
| 2 oz | cacaçha |