Every January for 18 years, Liberty Wine Merchants hosts a fundraising event to start the bar high for the new year. Liberty is once again recruiting British Columbia’s finest food and beverage purveyors for Taste BC: a fundraiser for the BC Children’s Hospital’s Oak Tree Clinic.

BC Children’s Hospital’s Oak Tree Clinic provides specialized HIV care for infected women, pregnant women, partners, children and youth, and support services for affected families.  This event has raised a collective total of $186,336.00 since 1995 to benefit the Oak Tree Clinic.

Modern Mix Vancouver was there in 2009 and had enjoyed going from booth to booth, learning about new wines, sampling food pairings and bidding on silent auction items.    This year’s 18th annual celebration of local food and drink takes place January 24, 2012 (4:30-7:30 p.m.) at the Four Seasons Hotel in downtown Vancouver. Guests will taste, sip and experience BC’s finest wine, beer and spirits accompanied by tasty fare from local restaurants. Along with excellent food and drink, attractions include live music, door prizes, and a silent auction that rivals any other. Silent auction items include luxury items, local experience packages, destination packages and delicious products made by British Columbia’s own.

Tickets are $49.99 and available at Liberty Wine Merchant stores.

MMV Giveaway:  Modern Mix Vancouver is giving away a pair of will-call tickets to Taste BC.  Leave a comment below telling us your favourite wine and a random winner will be chosen from the comments below.  Be sure to leave your email address so we can contact you if you’re a winner.  Contests ends Sunday January 22nd.  

For additional entries, you can do the following things;

• For a second entry: Follow @ModernMixVan on Twitter and tweet “I want to win a pair of tickets to @taste_BC from @ModernMixVan http://bit.ly/ylLWkc RT to enter!”
• For a third entry: “Like” the Modern Mix Vancouver Page on Facebook and post on the wall “I want to win a pair of tickets to Taste BC from Modern Mix Vancouver! http://bit.ly/ylLWkc” 

Tales of the Cocktail arrived in Vancouver last week (March 13 to 15, 2011) for the first time ever.  Originally an annual event held in New Orleans, the organizers decided to bring the event to Vancouver given our city’s bar culture, appreciation and passion for cocktails and spirits.  The three-day event brought together mixologists, authors, bartenders for a celebration of the history and craft of cocktails.  Created with industry professionals and cocktail enthusiasts in mind, the event featured seminars presented by top mixologists and special events such as the BC Bar Crawl and Chambord’s Palais Royale.

Tales of the Cocktail was founded in 2003 by Ann Tuennerman, who was driven by her passion for the history of New Orleans and fine cocktails.  Through The New Orleans Culinary and Cultural Preservation Society, also founded by Tuennerman in 2006, Tales of the Cocktail is made possible and produced annually as part of the non-profit organization’s vision to preserve New Orleans’ culinary history.  A smaller scale version of the original event, Tales of the Cocktail on Tour is expected to be an annual event in Vancouver with additional locations planned for the near future.

The official cocktail for Tales of the Cocktail on Tour Vancouver is the Dalhousie Cocktail, created by Vancouver’s own Jonathan Smolensky of Brix Restaurant and George Ultra Lounge.  Featuring plum-infused Gibson’s Canadian whisky mixed with a Chinese spirit (Domaine de Canton) and an Eastern European spirit (Zwack Unicum), the cocktail speaks to the diversity of Vancouver as the ingredients used represent the immigrant groups brought together to build the city.  The name of the drink, Dalhousie, originates from a train station in Quebec from which the first Canadian Pacific Railway train departed.

During the event, specialty cocktails were prepared by mixologists from Grand Marnier, the world’s first liqueur, and Don Julio, one of the world’s finest tequilas, at the Fairmont Pacific Rim.  Featured were the Grand Smash (my personal favourite), Grand Marnier’s twist of the classic mojito, and Don Julio’s Agave Drop made with Tequila Don Julio Blanco and agave nectar.  Don Julio ambassadors were on hand to introduce their three drinks.  Delegates were asked to choose one of three cards and three personality traits were printed on each one.  On the back of the card was a drink made with premium Don Julio tequila that was based on your personality.

Other notables included exclusive tastings of Root and Snap, two soon-to-be launched spirits from Art in the Age in Philadelphia, and Canada’s cocktail, the Caesar.  The premise of Root and Snap is that they are both certified organic neutral spirits and made with a slew of North American herbs and spices (birch bark, cinnamon, cardamom, allspice, clove, anise, wintergreen, spearmint to name a few), pure cane sugar, fresh ginger and molasses.  Guests were invited to mix their own drinks using the two spirits in a private suite as well as sample special drinks prepared on site.

The Best Caesar in Town competition, presented by Mott’s Clamato, took place on March 14 at the Fairmont Pacific Rim and was won by Vancouver’s very own, Arthur Wynne of The Cascade Room, winning with 51.5% of overall votes.  Recipes were submitted during Mott’s Clamato’s call out in January and were judged by Len Fragomeni, the Dean of Caesar School, and a panel of experts from Mott’s Clamato.  Two recipes were chosen based on originality, taste and presentation and the finalists Wynne and Lauren Mote (The Refinery) prepared their drinks during Tales of the Cocktail on Tour Vancouver.

Crowned “King of the Caesar,” Wynne’s drink entitled Liquid Brunch Caesar was voted as the winner and beat out Mote’s Denman Street Caesar.  The uniqueness of his creation comes from the use of his roasted garlic and bacon infused vodka, which is infused for three days.  Similarly, Mote used Isi rapid infusion to create celery and nigella-seed bitters for her cocktail, which took second place in the competition.

The three-day event closed off with the BC Bar Crawl featuring the city’s top bars with stops at The Keefer Bar, L’Abattoir, Pourhouse, The Refinery and The Cascade Room.  Guests sampled unique and original cocktails prepared by the city’s finest bartenders made with special spirits before being whisked to a “secret” location in Gastown (later revealed as The Lamplighter) where the party started at exactly 11:59pm.

Chambord’s Palais Royale, the exclusive and final event to celebrate the end of Tales of the Cocktail Vancouver will take place March 21 at The Refinery.  Specialty cocktails will be mixed by The Refinery’s award-winning mixologist, Lauren Mote, using Chambord’s Black Raspberry liqueur crafted from raspberries and blackberries, Madagascar vanilla, Moroccan citrus peel, honey and cognac.  Modern Mix Vancouver will be present at the event.

This year’s Tales of the Cocktail returns to New Orleans July 20 to 24, 2011 with even more extensive seminars, culinary events, competitions, and special events showcasing products from the world’s top brands.  For event details, visit www.talesofthecocktail.com.

Has it been a year already??  For the second year in a row, Modern Mix Vancouver was at the exclusive Bombay Sapphire event with Master Mixologist Merlin Griffiths. As you may remember, last year the event took place at a loft at the Shangri-La Hotel. This year, with an equally chic environment, the event was held at a Gastown loft on Cordova Street- the perfect venue for a patio party with summer cocktail pairings and BBQ essentials.  This year, it was officially titled the “inspired entertaining party” and as per the year before, we were served Bombay Sapphire cocktails with the recipes in a press kit to try for ourselves at home.  Out of a group of 30+ media members, I volunteered to help Merlin out with the Sapphire Sangaree – a colorful gin cocktail, with fresh berries, reminding me of a sunny day sangria.  Feel free to browse the gallery at the bottom of this entry for more drink and event photos.

Sapphire Sangaree

Ingredients (Makes 4 cocktails)
4 oz Bombay Sapphire gin
2 oz Ruby Port
2 oz Cointreau Liqueur
3 1/2 oz Lemon slice, seasonal berries and mint leaves for garnish

Method
Into a chilled pitcher, add the lemon juice, orange liqueur and BOMBAY SAPPHIRE and stir to mix. Pour into rocks glasses filled two thirds full with cracked ice and gently drizzle 1/2oz of ruby port over the mixture. Finish the cocktail with a thin shimmering layer of cracked ice and ornament with a lemon slice, seasonal berries and clutch of mint leaves.

Mixology Tip: Cracked Ice
Take a large zip lock bag and fill 3/4 full with ice, and then fold a tea-towel (cloth) around the bag. Take a rolling pin or muddler and firmly, but not furiously, crack the ice with smart firm taps. The ice should reduce to popcorn-sized pieces; this improves dilution, chilling, and appearance for “sip and stir” style drinks.

The Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival, Canada’s premier wine show, runs from April 19 to 25, 2010. The Playhouse Wine Festival is one of the biggest and oldest wine festival events in the world. The featured theme regions for 2010 will be Argentina and New Zealand with the global focus of rosé. The festival features a week of special events including a gala auction, wine seminars, wine minglers, winery dinners, lunches and brunches at fine restaurants and hotels.  To purchase tickets online, click here.

George Ultra Lounge is the Godfather of Vancouver’s cocktail culture. Modeled in the London style, George pioneered the cocktail kitchen concept in Canada when it opened in 2005. Today, with award-winning Shaun Layton behind the bar, George continues to pour proper classic and market-fresh cocktails, complimented by a dinner and late night menu through 2 a.m

George Ultra Lounge (1137 Hamilton Street) is taking a page from the Vancouver 2010 Olympics and holding their own “Mixlympics”, a competition featuring ten bartenders (6 international, 4 local) competing head-to-head in a black box style event. Sponsored by Martin Miller’s Gin & Arc’teryx, these masters of mixology will be vying for the top prize – $500 cash provided by Martin Miller’s Gin, but there will be medals too. Gold, silver and bronze, just like the athletes competing in Vancouver and Whistler. The event is free and open to the public. Doors open at 12:00 pm but it might be best to get in line a little bit earlier.

The international contestants are:

• Joe Stokoe – Bar Manager for all three All Star Lanes, London, UK
• Abdul Kpekawa – Bartender, All Star Lanes, London, UK
• David Grieg – Bartender, All Star Lanes, London, UK
• Ola Carlson – Bartender, Box 101, Stockholm, Sweden
• Nicolos de Soto, Bartender, Experimental Cocktail Club & Curio Parlour, Paris, France
• Charles Tan – Bartender, China Club, Paris, France.

Representing Canada will be:

• Mark Brand – Owner, Boneta and The Diamond, Vancouver
• David Wolwidnyk – Bar Manager, West, Vancouver
• Jay Jones – Owner, The Pourhouse, Vancouver
• Darryl Macdonald – Bartender, Port, Toronto

The space has been given a sleek makeover that has drawn both thankful regulars and new clientele. Smiley’s Public House delivers the style of a modern, British-style pub while retaining the warmth and character of a traditional pub. The open-concept room boasts 240 seats and a range of table sizes, including 16-seat picnic tables. Guests come in to loosen their ties, tuck into modern pub food, watch a football match and engage in good-natured banter around the pool table. The dance floor brims on busier nights, and a DJ spins to the after-work crowd on Fridays.

Bombay Sapphire held an exclusive cocktail event at the Shangri-La Hotel’s 58th Floor Estate on Monday night. During the night, the 50 or so guests were treated to inventive drinks mixed by Bombay’s Global Brand Ambassador and Master Mixologist, Merlin Griffiths, and treated to canapes prepared by Vancouver’s very own, Murray Bancroft. Guests learned simple food pairings for classic cocktail drinks using Bombay Sapphire.

It was a highly educational evening as we learned that Bombay Sapphire is no ordinary gin. Instead, it is a premium gin like no other and highly unique. 10 perfectly balanced botanicals obtained from various regions of the world are infused and released upon drinking it. These botanicals include almonds and lemon peel from Spain, grains of paradise from West Africa, liquorice from China, and orris root from Italy to name a few. Each ingredient complements another and are carefully added such that no single botanical overpowers another. The natural flavours are infused to create a subtle yet highly aromatic taste and thus, appeals to both gin and non-gin drinkers.

Throughout the night, Merlin prepared some classic cocktail recipes such as the Sapphire Collins, Sapphire Ginger Mints, Sapphire 75s, Sapphire Ultimate Martinis, and my very favourite, Sapphire Cosmopolitans. These drinks were paired with Murray’s easy-to-make recipes including Parma Ham Crostini with Lemon, Parsley and Marcona Almonds, Dungeness Crab with Lemon, Mint and Radish, and Gorgonzola Dolce with fresh BC Honeycomb guaranteed to impress even the boss. Murray shared his expertise and tips with the group for simple yet sophisticated home entertaining, perfect for the upcoming patio season. One of the most basic tips is the importance of using fresh, quality ingredients.

Overall, it was a highly entertaining and educational evening which ended off perfectly with a sunset view of Vancouver from the highest and newest building at the Shangri-La hotel. At the end of the night, we were given our own “Sapphire Collins” kit, complete with a lemon juicer, stir stick, and a bottle of Bombay Sapphire gin.

Photographs by Kent Kallberg

By Guest-Writer Joanna Lee

Last night, Vanessa and I went to Taste BC 2009, a charity event organized by Liberty Wine Merchants for BC Children’s Hospital – Oak Tree Clinic.  Tickets were $50 per person with all proceeds to charity.  The event featured live music, door prizes, a silent auction and indeed a lot of tastings.  Taste BC was “a celebration of local food and drink” with more than 40 wineries, 10 restaurants and 600 attendees gathering at the Hyatt Regency in support of a charitable cause.  The event ran from 4:30 to 7:30 pm and when we arrived at 5:00pm, things were well underway.  Even with in and out privileges to the event, the grand ballroom was always quite full and bustling with people of different ages.   The turnout was impressive and the crowd mixed to include pods of avid yuppies, men and women still donning their business suits, and the more mature wine lovers. 

We were handed an empty wine glass at the entrance of the grand ballroom, and thus began our night of fine wine and delectable food.   While I must admit that I don’t know a whole lot about wine, it was certainly very easy to appreciate the variety of wines, liquors, and spirits on hand.  I had more than a dozen tastings and merchants were welcoming and educating about the history and description of their products.  From your everyday reds and whites to beers and even Japanese sake, Taste BC lived up to its name. 

It was equally impressive to see some of the city’s most renowned chefs participating for the worthy cause.  Chef Angus An of Gastropod, and Two Chef and a Table’s Karl Gregg and Allan Bosomworth were all dishing up plates of their gastronomical sensations.  Young chefs from the recently-opened Miku Japanese Restaurant fired up raw salmon sushi on the spot, while Rodney’s Oyster House served their specialties with a playful theme of “Eat Me Raw”. 

Some of the notable mentions from the night include:

Dirty Laundry’s 2007 Pinot Gris – This pinot was so light, airy and full-bodied I could have drank the entire bottle.   I was thought-provoked by the name and intrigued by the minimalist and trendy look of the label (designed by Vancouver’s Brandever Strategy).  Once known as Scherzinger Vineyards, the name changed to Dirty Laundry, which comes from the story of an early 1900s Chinese railway worker who ran a laundry that eventually became a front for a brothel. 

Okanagan Spirits’s cranberry fruit liqueur -  Five fruit liqueurs were available for tasting.  I sampled the cranberry liqueur and was pleasantly surprised to find that the fruitiness did not overwhelm the liquor.  It is best served on the rocks or as a mixer, over cheesecake or even ice cream.  New from Okanagan Spirits, other flavours include blueberry, raspberry, blackberry, and blackcurrant.

Winchester Cellar’s Victoria Gin – Victoria Gin is a blend of 10 locally grown organic botanicals and one secret ingredient, and is BC’s only handcrafted premium gin.  Served in shot glasses, I decided to have one straight up (instead of complementing with gin offering) and found it strongly flavoured.  Victoria Gin was launched in celebration of Queen Victoria’s 100th birthday and Winchester is now on hiatus from its other wines to focus on production of their gin. 

Road 13 - formerly known as “Golden Mile Cellars”, the winery recently went through a re-branding to Road 13.  The change provides an opportunity to give the “Golden Mile” name back to the wine industry in hopes that all wineries in the area can adopt the name regionally and work together to promote the unique farming history and spectacular growing conditions of the area.

Despite being the the midst of exam season, I still managed to go out and celebrate a friend’s birthday at The Blarney Stone on Saturday night. The Blarney Stone is more “grungy bar” than modern Gastown joint. However, I was quite impressed by the size of the venue! Two floors with a pool table and a moderately large dancefloor on the bottom floor. On the second floor, picnic-style benches fit about six to a table – perfect for having a drink or looking out of the castle-like window openings to the floor below. However, despite spending my previous New Years Eve Celiah (“cay-lee”) dancing in Scotland, the live Celtic music at the Blarney Stone is not my preferred genre of music. Then again, with 2 for 1 shooters for $6.50, you could just drink a lot and drown out the music.