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:
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| 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
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| 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.
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| 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.
