Canadian Brother

Created by actors Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley, this recipe features Brother's Bond Straight Bourbon, a new whiskey and the first for the duo.

Ingredients

Serves 1
1½ oz (45ml) Brother's Bond Bourbon
½ oz (15ml) maple syrup
½ oz (15ml) lemon juice
5 blueberries and 1 orange wheel

Instructions

  1. Add whiskey, maple syrup and lemon juice to a cocktail shaker. Muddle fruit with ingredients. Add ice and shake for 15 seconds. Strain into lowball glass over fresh ice. Garnish with a fresh orange twist and blueberries.
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Gold Moon Rising

A cocktail by Barry Jackson, bar manager at Acquafarina from their fall menu.

Ingredients

Serves 1
1¼ oz (37 ml) Moonlight Premium Shochu infused with toasted sesame seeds*
½ oz (15 ml) Bols Apricot Brandy
¼ oz (7 ml) Martini Bianco Vermouth
2 to 3 dashes Cardamom bitters
sour peach candy, for garnish

Instructions

  1. *Add 1 heaping tablespoon of toasted sesame seeds to a full 1 x 750 ml bottle of Shochu. Refrigerate overnight, then strain before serving.
  2. In a mixing glass over ice, stir together sesame-infused Shochu, apricot liqueur and vermouth. Strain into a small coupe or Nic & Nora glass and garnish with a skewered sour peach candy.
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Frankenstein

Over 200 years ago, Mary Shelley wrote of a creature that had no name and was brought to life by the mad scientist Dr. Frankenstein. Like the monster that Frankenstein created, this green cocktail is pieced together from various parts, and is probably just what a monster needs, a bright and vibrant boost of vitamins.

Ingredients

Serves 1
½ long English cucumber, rinsed, seeded
½ Granny smith apple
1 cup (250 ml) packed spinach leaves
½-in piece fresh ginger, peeled
1½ oz (45 ml) Crown Royal Apple Whisky
¾ oz (22 ml) Chartreuse Green
¾ oz (22 ml) lemon juice
½ oz (15 ml) simple syrup*
black sesame seeds, for rim garnish

Instructions

  1. Press all of the fruit and vegetables through a juicer**, alternating ingredients to maximize extraction (or use a blender for a thicker texture). Fine strain juice into a cocktail shaker with cubed ice and add apple whisky, chartreuse, lemon juice and simple syrup. Shake to chill. Moisten half the outer rim of a Collins glass and dip into black sesame. Strain drink over new ice in rimmed glass.
  2. * 1:1 ratio of sugar dissolved in boiling water. Let cool before using.
  3. ** A “slow” juicer is the ideal method and will retain 80 percent more of the nutritional impact of the fruits and vegetables. A “highspeed” juicer will oxidize the juice before it’s even left the juicer, reducing nutrition dramatically and Frankenstein needs all the health benefits available!
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Fall Spritz

A cocktail by Barry Jackson, bar manager at Acquafarina from their fall menu.

Ingredients

Serves 1
3 to 4 blackberries
1½ oz (45 ml) Boodles London Dry Gin
½ oz (15 ml) St-Germain Elderflower Liqueur
¼ oz (7 ml) honey water*
¼ oz (7 ml) Orgeat
1 oz (30 ml) coconut water
soda water, to top
blackberry and mint, for garnish

Instructions

  1. *1:1 ratio of honey dissolved in boiling water. Allow to cool before using.
  2. In a cocktail shaker, muddle blackberries, then add gin, elderflower liqueur honey water, Orgeat and coconut water. Shake then double-strain into a double-rocks glass over fresh ice. Top with soda and garnish with fresh blackberries and mint.
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Invisible Man

This milk punch recipe is inspired by the classic 1933 horror film, where Dr. Jack Griffin, a British scientist discovers the secret of invisibility, but after experimenting on himself, he goes mad and wreaks havoc on a British town. In this cocktail, the flavours are similar to a London Fog, but the milk solids are filtered out, making the cocktail in essence "invisible."

Ingredients

Serves 1
15 oz (450 ml) whole milk (3.25%)
¼ cup (60 ml) granulated sugar
peel of 2 lemons, no pith
15 oz (450 ml) Earl Grey tea (steep 1 tea bag, 1 minute)
25 oz (750 ml) Aviation American Gin
7.5 oz (225 ml) Licor 43 Liqueur
7 oz (210 ml) lemon juice
½ oz (15 ml) orange flower water
lemon peel, for garnish

Instructions

  1. Pour milk into a large container. Set aside. In a second container, combine sugar and lemon peel then gently muddle until lemon oil is released (approximately 45 to 60 seconds). Add hot tea and stir to dissolve sugar. Stir in gin, Licor 43, lemon juice and orange flower water. Pour gin mixture into milk (NEVER pour milk into gin). Gently stir curds with small spoon. Let sit for at least 30 minutes or cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Line a fine-mesh strainer with a coffee filter and set over a large container. Gently pour the alcohol-milk mixture into coffee filter and let drain. Discard curds and coffee filter. Transfer clarified punch to a sealed container and refrigerate until ready to serve. To serve, pour 4 oz (120 ml) of chilled punch into a chilled coupe glass and express the oil from a coin-sized lemon peel over the surface, then discard peel.
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Million Dollar Ridge

A cocktail by Barry Jackson, bar manager at Acquafarina from their fall menu.

Ingredients

Serves 1
1½ oz (45 ml) Courvoisier VS Cognac
½ oz (15 ml) Luxardo Amaretto Di Saschira
1 oz (30 ml) fresh orange juice
½ oz (15 ml) fresh lemon juice
3 to 4 fresh mint leaves, slapped
½ oz (15 ml) maple syrup
dried orange wheel, for garnish

Instructions

  1. In a cocktail shaker with ice, combine all ingredients, then shake and double strain into a Martini glass. Garnish with a dried orange wheel.
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Jekyll & Hyde

This cocktail takes inspiration from the 1886 classic novel, where the kind and respected scientist Dr. Jekyll experiments with a secret serum and transforms into Mr. Hyde, the evil, self-indulgent and uncaring antithesis. Experience the first sips of bright, sweet and tart pineapple rum, then taste as it transforms into a different cocktail as the smoked tea ice cube melts.

Ingredients

Serves 1
2 oz (60 ml) Captain Morgan Pineapple Rum
2 cups (500 ml) Lapsang Souchong (smoked tea)*
¾ oz (22 ml) lemon juice
¾ oz (22 ml) simple syrup**

Instructions

  1. Pour 2 cups (500 ml) Lapsang Souchong tea into large cube or spherical ice moulds and freeze until solid. In a mixing glass with cubed ice, stir pineapple rum, lemon juice and simple syrup then strain mixture over prepared large cube or sphere of frozen smoked tea in a chilled old-fashioned glass.
  2. * Steep 2 tea bags or 2 tsp (10 ml) of loose leaf lapsang souchong in 2 cups (500 ml) boiled water for 4 minutes. Allow to cool before using.
  3. ** 1:1 ration of sugar dissolved in boiling water. Let cool before using.
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Triple Barrel

The Hornitos Black Barrel tequila spends time in three different casks, starting in ex-bourbon casks that impart some whisky-like notes of vanilla and caramel before moving to brand new, heavily charred American oak casks, adding a strong oak character and deep colour, and then finishing in lightly toasted casks that impart a little spicy character. This is a tequila that will often excite a whisky enthusiast and open up a world of flavour exploration with similar traits of whisky, yet still with the clear presence of agave, leading to a smooth finish. The Triple Barrel cocktail is a great example of letting the spirit shine as the star of the cocktail with few additional ingredients involved.

Ingredients

Serves 1
2 oz (60 ml) Hornitos Black Barrel Tequila
1 tsp (5 ml) maple syrup
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
large ice cube, to serve
orange peel, for garnish

Instructions

  1. In a mixing glass with cubed ice, add tequila, maple syrup and bitters. Stir to combine. Strain into a chilled old-fashioned glass over a large cube of ice. Garnish with an orange peel.
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Smoked Apple Rickey

The smoky character of peat can be a wonderful contrast or complement to a cocktail. Experience it firsthand with the Smoked Apple Rickey cocktail. This recipe features The Famous Grouse Smoky Black whisky.

Ingredients

Serves 1
1½ oz (45 ml) The Famous Grouse Smoky Black Blended Scotch Whisky
¾ oz (22 ml) Apple Cinnamon Cordial*
½ oz (15 ml) lemon juice
3 oz (90 ml) sparkling apple juice
oatmeal cookie, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

  1. In a mixing glass with cubed ice, add peated whisky, apple cordial and lemon juice. Stir to combine. Strain into a chilled Collins glass, add sparkling apple juice then fill glass with cubed ice. Garnish with an oatmeal cookie, if desired.
  2. *To make Apple Cinnamon Cordial, in a small saucepan over medium heat, combine 2 cups (500 ml) unsweetened apple juice with 2 cinnamon sticks broken into a few pieces. Reduce apple juice by half to yield 1 cup (250 ml), approximately 10 to 15 minutes. Remove larger pieces of cinnamon and strain through a coffee filter to remove all particulates. Rinse saucepan and combine apple-cinnamon mixture with 1 cup (250 ml) sugar. Simmer to dissolve. Store refrigerated, up to 1 month. Makes 1 ¼ cup (310 ml).
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Honey Bear

The Honey Bear cocktail features the Bearface 7-Year-Old Triple Oak Canadian Whisky. This whisky starts out in used American oak, ex-bourbon casks adding notes of honey, crème brûlée and vanilla, before moving to ex-red wine French oak casks that impart flavours of dried fruit and then finally to air-dried, virgin, toasted Hungarian oak casks that bring a unique spice character and subtle smoky quality. Each of these different casks plays a role in the spirit's complexity.

Ingredients

Serves 1
2 oz (60 ml) Bearface Whisky
¾ oz (22 ml) Carolans Irish Mist
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
lemon peel, for garnish

Instructions

  1. In a mixing glass with cubed ice, combine whisky, Irish Mist and bitters. Stir to chill and dilute. Strain into a chilled cocktail coupe. Garnish with a lemon peel expressed over surface of the cocktail.
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