That's The Spirit!

 Cocktail Correspondent: Weldon Gardner Hunter

The Keefer Room (135 Keefer Street, Vancouver) comes out with high accolades every time there is a "Best Bar in Canada" poll, and on a Wednesday evening Google's "live look-in" told me the place was "less busy than usual." An auspicious sign that I should finally write about the joint ...

There was just enough space at the bar, so I ordered the most appropriately-named drink: the  Squeeze Worthy:

Flor de Cana 12 Year Rum, St. James Rhum Agricole, Cynar, Japanese Catnip, Pomegranate & Lime Cordial, Mint

Tart and bitter but a smooth finish. Slightly medicinal (think Dr. Pepper) and succulent. The pomegranate and lime give it a zing. 

The Keefer Room is a cocktail bar inspired by Chinese apothecaries, and the Japanese Catnip (Schizonepeta) is an herb intended to treat colds and throat ailments. Of course, the alcohol content might counteract any healthy properties. I will admit I was disappointed that I was not euphorically rolling, rubbing & purring afterward.

Second Drink: Heart of Stone

Reifel Rye, Amaro Montenegro, Black Raspberry, Peach & Herb Oolong, Lemon, Motherwort

Very tart and rich. The black raspberry is earthy, the Amaro Montenegro presents a rich, subterranean undercurrent.  The oolong (my favourite word of all time?) gives herbal/floral aftershocks. The Motherwort makes it minty and brings the drink back to earth. Given the name, I conjured these tectonic connotations.

Research tells me that the medicinal Motherwort is a gentle but effective nervine used to treat heart ailments. The glassware seemed to be a fusion of a rocks and cordial glass, with a thin stem. Think of the glass as a heart and the liquid inside the lifeblood. 

Eagle-eyed me spied a bottle of Ramazzotti behind the bar  so I decided to go off-menu. A quick search on my phone turned up a drink called a Rough & Tumble which uses the liqueur.

Bourbon, Amaro Ramazzoti, Green Chartreuse, Angostura Bitters

Lucky they had all the ingredients. The bartenders (sorry, I didn't jot down your names, but you were lovely guys!) calculated the measurements - American cocktail blog posts don't jibe with Canadian liquor regulations - and produced this very rich & herbal concoction. I love a drink with velvety chocolate notes, and this one had enough of those to write a sweet symphony.

The bartenders had each taken a small sip for themselves before serving and were impressed with the sample. I told one of them I always like to try new drinks and he replied, "That's the spirit!"

The best cocktail bars are places full of spirits. I might haunt this place from now on.

Surrealist Cocktail # 9: The Green Unpleasant Land

 Cocktail Correspondent: Weldon Gardner Hunter

A variation of a Bramble inspired by the great nature writer, Richard Mabey

Especially pages 57-8 of Weeds: The Story of Outlaw Plants (London: Profile Books, 2012) on the painting below:

Large Piece of Turf, Albrecht Dürer, 1503

1.5 oz Bog-myrtle Gin (or your favorite gin infused with mugwort, dandelion root, or gorse)

0.5 oz Nettle Cordial (nettles steeped with sugar and lemon, strained and chilled)

0.75 oz Blackberry & Elder Vinegar Shrub (a tangy replacement for crème de mûre or cassis)

0.5 oz Verjus (as seen in Agnes Varda's The Gleaners & I, for tartness and green acidity)

Optional: a drop of vegetal chlorophyll tincture (for earthy greenness and surreal hue, inspired by Moe Gorge at Khatsalano Street Party, 2025)

Garnish

A twisted blackberry bramble stem (safely scorched and cleaned)

Candied dandelion petals

Ice shaped like pebbles or seeds (can be made with herb-infused water)

Rothko and Bugs Bunny

 Cocktail Correspondent: Weldon Gardner Hunter

Recently I ventured to a very placid part of downtown - the 1300 block of Hornby Street. That's where The Desi Lounge is located (1355 Hornby Street, Vancouver). 

I went with my Desi-est friend and we enjoyed a sumptuous meal of Chili Paneer and Shimla Kebab (appetizers), Soya Chaap and Malvani Chicken (mains), and of course, rice and naan. It was delicious, and I was too busy enjoying the food and service to take pictures.

But my friend did take a picture of my drink: a Harvest Reverie

Nodo Tequiliana, Sour Carrot, Cardamom Syrup, Cardamom Bitters

The actual colour of the drink was more orange IRL. It looked like a Mark Rothko painting.

Orange and Yellow, 1956

Compare with my own photo:

Another study in orange and yellow. Contemplate Rothko's palette: a yellow radiance above a slightly more dominant orange which suggests soil and secrets. Just like a carrot pushing its way through the earth - in this case, the little lime derby the drink wears is redolent of the green carrot top. As the drink menu's precis puts it, "a vibrant blend inspired by Punjab's harvest warmth, evoking the comforting essence of Gajar Ka Halwa*."

As Bugs Bunny puts it, "Carrots are divine." And so was the drink. I took no notes - I never do when I drink with friends. I can say that the earthiness of the Tequiliana - a Tequila "alternative" because it is made outside of Zacatecas - pairs well with the vegetal carrot. The cardamom adds those nice, complex citrus-and-floral notes. 

The Desi Lounge must be commended for making South Asian-inspired drinks. I'll be back to try the Valley of the Spirits - a drink led by an Indian whiskey called "Amrut" - which the lovely Nepali hostess told me sells out every weekend. 

Guess I'll see you there on Wednesday, then!

*a sweet Indian dessert made with grated carrots, water, sugar, milk, and cardamom.

Two Drinks at Dusk

 Cocktail Correspondent: Weldon Gardner Hunter

There's a new spring menu at Mum's The Word and I am here at dusk to drink some new drinks and listen to a questionable playlist. A certain song promised that Happy Hour was here, but it was false advertising. It's ok, though - another tune clarified that This Must Be The Place.

1. Piña Verde

Pina Verde

The Green Elixir des Moines, Toasted Coconut, Lime, Pineapple, Ms. Better’s Lime Leaf Bitters

The Green Elixir is a mysterious locally made concoction reminiscent of Chartreuse. The original Elixir des Moines is a recipe from a Monastery in Germany - not sure about the French name, though. Anyways, the drink is herbal, sweet, with lots of lime – a nice slice of the cocktail is pineapple and there's a teeny bit of mint notes. Very creamy - a perfect summer sipper and we are now in Meteorological Summer as of June 1. Served in a long tumbler full of ice. I downed it in less than 15 minutes. 

2. Airmail

Rum, Orange Flower, Honey, Lime, Sparkling Wine

Wine really changes the complexion of any cocktail. It’s like a fancy friend who does a pretty good job of hanging out with their economy companions, but can't hide the Old Money. Or is it New Money, in the case of sparkling wine?

The Air Mail is fragrant and floral altogether with the orange flower and honey matching the wine’s vivacious energy. Meanwhile, the Rum and Lime bring the broth a brash Hawaiian shirt kind of counterpoint. It’s a nice pairing after drinking the Piña Verde, as it provides another tropical thirstquench and summer vacation vibes.

Two and through! Took a nice atmospheric walk down Odlum Drive and then caught the #7 bus - the real working class chariot of the city - up crepuscular Clark Drive/Knight Street back to my farflung Southwestern home.

Surrealist Cocktail #8: Elixir de la Alquemista

 Cocktail Correspondent: Weldon Gardner Hunter

 Elixír de la Alquimista: A Cocktail Inspired by the paintings of  Remedios Varo

Alchemy, or, the Useless Science, Remedios Varo, 1958

1 oz Absinthe – for the Green Ray,  a flash of green light that is said to appear immediately after the sun sets on the horizon

La Creación con Rayos Astrales, 1955

1 oz Pear Eau-de-Vie (Poire Williams) – the fruit must be conjured from a surreal orchard

A "prisonnière" Poire Williams

0.5 oz Velvet Falernum – sweet spice, echoing ancient potions

0.5 oz Lemon Juice – the Yellow Moon in a cloudy astral sky

Valley of the Moon, 1950

0.5 oz Saffron-Honey Syrup – golden, alchemical, mysterious

1 dash Orange Blossom Water – floral, dreamlike

Floral Bouquet with Birds, 1960

Garnish with edible gold dust or a tiny sprig of lavender – to suggest apocalyptic horizons, or an easy passage into the dreamworld. Release 101 tropical birds into the room as you serve the cocktail.

Renacer, 1960

The Green Hour

 Cocktail Correspondent: Weldon Gardner Hunter

For the last two weeks, I've been plant-sitting for a friend on vacation. I agreed to water her plants while she jet-sets around Europe because I am trying to acquire a green thumb, and also because I liked pretending to have a pied-a-terre for a fortnight.

Before I dropped in on the plants for a final time this Saturday, I decided to spend Happy Hour at Bartholomew (1026 Mainland Street, Vancouver). On Saturday, it's a literal happy hour - from 5-6pm. Oh, and the selected cocktails are 11 bucks. Of course, I had two, in order to make a wish...

1.  Pandan Sour

Flor de Cana 7 year, Coconut, Pandan, Lime, Egg White, Cinnamon

Pandan, also known as Annapurna, is a fragrant tropical plant used in South and Southeast Asian cooking. It's making inroads into the Western beverage world, and that world is better for it.

Vanilla flavours abound.  Aromatic, and slightly nutty. The lime adds such a nice undercurrent. I keep thinking about it, like a spy in the house of love. The drink is desserty,  and might remind some of a Brandy Alexander - probably not the hip younger clientele of Bartholomew, though.

The room is reminiscent of Bar Corso on the Drive – a very long bar, with small, intimate booths on the other side of the aisle. It also has a spectacular, industrial wine-rack straight out of German Expressionist design (please correct me of the correct school in the comments):

The crowd is a mix of upscale and casual. The bar is in Yaletown, so expect a tonier atmosphere. A very cool feature of the menu is that it informs you of what glass your cocktail will come in: Coupe, Rocks, Nick and Nora, etc.  

Service is friendly and flash – just as I was about to put my second drink down, a bartender flung a cocktail napkin right underneath it before it touched the counter. 

Drink 2 was a Barrel-Aged Boulevardier

Bearface Triple Oak, Amaro Montenegro, Campari, Sweet Vermouth

The Canuck Bourbon boycott means many Paper Planes and Boulevardiers are subbed with Bearface whisky, which is a single grain variety that is aged in old Kentucky bourbon barrels. It works just fine in this variation-on-a-variation of a Negroni. At my favourite Happy Hour spot - Novo (2118 Burrard Street, Vancouver), they still have a large stash of Maker's Mark and their Boulevardier has cherry notes which I cherish. Here, the Amaro Montenegro gives it an earthy, rich bittersweet flavour.

All that for $22, plus tax and tip. I emerged from the dark bar into the late Spring afternoon sun, towards my appointment with a West End watering can and about twenty plants. 

Wrong Side of the Tracks

 Cocktail Correspondent: Weldon Gardner Hunter

In mid-April, I was back in Calgary for a festive family occasion, and of course it was also a chance to try some drinks at places I didn't hit in my epic crawl of Cowtown cocktail bars last August. 

While staying at the usual hotel in the Beltline, my window view looked out towards the 9th/10th Avenue railroad tracks where I saw an RV parked right against the chain link fence - if there was a person inside, they would have been serenaded by an all-night freight orchestra. Strangely, I was a bit jealous imagining the experience. I've been watching too many train-hopping Youtube Channels, I guess.

Of course, Calgary's grand railroad hotel, The Palliser is situated by the tracks, nudging close to the - is it famous? - Calgary Tower. So I decided to cross the literal and proverbial tracks to hit up the lounge, The Hawthorn (133 9th Avenue Sw) for the first time.

The interior of the Palliser

The first drink I ordered was a Smoky Sakura:

Glenmorangie A Tale Of Ice Cream, Grand Marnier, Hibiscus

Glenmorangie is a Scottish distillery which is producing a series of limited edition specialty spirits, and A Tale of Ice Cream is a dessert-inspired single malt. It's the mildest Scotch I've ever tasted (the bartender, Matt, gave me a dram), but it still has a shadow of scotchburn. The Grand Marnier amplifies the vanilla notes & adds orange peel but overall this is a sweet drink. It's giving berries? The finish is where the ice cream comes in - it's very understated and pleasant.

I sat at the bar, which has about 12-14 seats, but next time I will try the spacious and luxurious lounge:

Drink #2: Pancake Breakfast

This one's inspired by the tradition of pancake breakfasts during Stampede. Local dignitaries and politicians jockey to flip flapjacks and vie for votes and good publicity, all while awkwardly donning a ten-gallon Stetson.

Bacon Infused Rupert's Whiskey, Maple Whiskey, garnish: mini-pancakes

A salty take on an old-fashioned. The bacon infusion is as subtle as it can be, and the maple whiskey gives it a liqueury and of course, syrupy edge. Synasthesia: the flavour produces an image of bacon grease on paper towels. It all works surprisingly well. The mini--pancakes were delicious. The pleasing sound of a king cube rattling in an empty glass to cap it all off.

Matt the Bartender is passionate about cocktails and he gave me a sneak peek at a "deconstructed" Jungle Bird that he's been working on, which he's calling a Smuggler's Run:

Romero Dark Rum, Pineapple, Campari dust (rim)

I'm familiar with deconstruction from my long sojourn in the humanities, but I can't really say much about this drink - I could not summon any words to describe the taste of the cocktail. It wasn't bland, it was just - invisible? A drink to leave even Derrida speechless. It's on the menu now, try for yourself and send me your report. Every cocktail deserves its laureate.

You might have to save up for a few weeks to afford the drinks - the Hawthorn uses top-shelf spirits, and you're paying for the spectacular ambience, too. I was on holiday, so I wasn't being frugal. As nice as the whole experience was, I was happy to go back over the tracks to my budget hotel room.  But when I returned, the van was not there!