Corner!

 Cocktail Correspondent: Weldon Gardner Hunter

Super Bowl Sunday and I'm downtown. I decide to head into the Homer Street Café, on the corner of Smithe (898 Homer Street, Vancouver) because it's Happy Hour. I haven't been to the place since it got a fancy makeover. It used to be a reliable greasy spoon called The Homer, which I frequented in the mid-2000s. The ghost of All Day Breakfast lingers ...

Immediately, my eye is drawn to the Spaghetti Western-themed cocktail sheet

and I ordered a High Plains Drifter

Gran Centenario Plata, Vecchio Amaro, Ancho Reyes, Ardbeg 'Wee Beastie', Chocolate Bitters, Fire Water (bitters)

Very smoky and astringent. Leathery, like a worn-in saddle. Caused my eyes to squint, as if I was on the sunny, windy, cold plains on my trusty horse. A nice burn after each surly sip. A slow trot, no need to rush through the territory. As I sip through and the ice melts, the Vecchio rounds it out a little with some bittersweet notes that cut through the overall smokiness, like a cowboy remembering his lost love, a pretty schoolteacher back in his hometown, name of Meg. Maybe one day he'll get back to her.

One charming thing about sitting around the bar of The Homer, is hearing the busy bees who work there shout "Corner!" as they approach the blind corner between the bar & the kitchen. Have a swig every time you hear it.

The next drink, a proper Happy Hour 2$ off, is an Old Bird. Didn’t take a pic because my crappy Android phone keeps automatically using flash in low-light situations, and the restaurant had dimmed the lights and brought out the candles. 

The Old Bird is Reifel Rye, China-China, Vanilla Syrup, Angostura & Peychaud’s Bitters. This isn’t on the Spaghetti Western menu – this one is kind of a desserty take on an Old-Fashioned, but richer, with a slight chocolate finish. With the orange notes of the China-China & the vanilla, it’s pretty easy on the tastebuds, but not sweet.

As I sipped the Old Bird, the Superb Owl Half Time Show started. No volume, so I wonder what Samuel L. Jackson was saying when he appeared, dressed as Uncle Sam.

Probably, "corner!" We all have to watch out these days.