This Sunday we were on a cocktail crawl, checking out 4 local bars, hosting guest bartenders for this week’s 50 Best Bars celebration. We would be trying 3 different drinks from 5 different bars from Canada, US, and Europe. Each doing 2-3 hours stints, leaving us at 15 drinks total. Each bartender was in town for the upcoming awards ceremony, so it was nice for those not attending to get to know these bars through their drinks by way of such pop ups open to the public.
Our first stop was Anh and Chi taken over by Evelyn Chick and the team from Simpl Things (North America’s 50 Best ‘One to Watch 2024’). This was a cross-Canada collab inspired by the Vietnamese tradition of Ham Choi, used to describe someone who loves to have fun and parties, even sometimes having too much fun. We certainly got it here. This modern Vietnamese eatery with traditional flavours was busy with energy, the room was as vibrant as the drinks being served, and as bold as the food suggested to be paired with it.
Located in Toronto, Simpl Things is an Italian restaurant by day and an Asian snack bar by night. They focus on uncomplicated drinks featuring Asian flavours. A great first stop to warm us up serving approachable cocktails on the lighter side. We would order all three being offered and pair it with the suggested dishes from the kitchen of Anh and Chi.
The Golden Goose is Grey Goose, St Germain, manzanilla, apple, fennel, and cardamom soda. The most complex of the three with the herbal fennel notes coming through first and foremost. At Simpl Things this would have been served carbonated, and honesty I thought some fizzy bubbles would have improved this, turning it more into a spritz.
The menu’s actual spitz is the Flower Power with St Germain, amaro montenegro, tio pepe fine sherry, and soda. It was light and refreshing and went best with our Vietnamese bites.
The Plum and Circumstance made for a great digestif. A mix of smoked slum patron, umeshu, acidfied grapefruit, kombe saline
patron reposado, salted agave, spiced orange marmalade, and lime. It reminded me of perseved salted plum in drink form, that ends in a tangy citrus.
For food we had a couple of their skewers. Shiitake Mushroom and AAA Beef tasty on sticks and would be amazing over rice as a full entree.
The former more teriyaki-like with the sweeter dipping sauce, the latter a lovely lemon grass. Both with nice pickled vegetable to refresh in between bites.
The fresh roll was your classic garden roll with lettuce, shrimp, and vermicelli, except at Anh and Chi they add in deep dried spring roll wrapper rolled for an added crispy texture. A welcome addition and innovation. The peanut sauce with crushed nuts made all the difference and was delcious.
I found our choice of Butter chicken wings a little bland and would do Chilli Fish Sauce next time. Served with a butter and pepper dipping sauce, I found myself preferring the one for the mushroom for this.
With some food in our bells and a good warm up here, we then moved next door to Good Thief for their sister lounge/bar’s bartender takeover.
Andrew Whibley of The Cloakroom (No.39 on North America’s 50 Best Bars 2024) was behind the bar. This Montreal bar is known for having no menu. You get what they have, when you come in, on any given day. Creativity from their back bar.
The menu this afternoon was inspired by the Vietnamese tradition of “Nhâu”, communal dining experience centred around connection and “Nhâu Kêt Nôi” celebrating the coming together of East and West. The three cocktails were described as defying tradition by interpreting Southeast Asian flavours using local ingredients from across Canada.
The Conference was Patron Reposado, Calvados, pineau des charentes; Cloakroom Amaro, chamomile, and peychauds. This is the type of cocktail I gravitate towards, full bodied and punchy with its spirits, soften by floral notes.
The CCT was tart, refreshing, and more botanical with Grey Goose, Lillet, St. Germain, lemon, and cucumber slices. This one paired with the snacks we had below.
The Cobbler stood on its own and was one that I grew to like the more I drank. Manzanilla, St. Germain, Cloakroom Apple, and floral tincture. Strong contrasting notes of floral, fermented spice, and medicinal greens.
One top of a cocktail, the $20 tickets also included small bites. Good Thief’s complimentary pickled vegetables and deep fried lotus root and taro chips. Plus a small serving of frog legs done like they would crispy wings.
For stop number three, we moved from Mount Pleasant to Chinatown, starting with Bagheera. I have never actually visited this Indian inspired speakeasy when it had a teller in the front of the “booking box”, asking for the password. We got through her with a bet on “King Louie” and were able to proceed through to the back.
From 4pm-1am Bagheera was hosting five different bartenders from Rome, Paris, Washington, Montreal, and Victoria. Each doing a stint one after another, encouraging guests to stay or come back for them all. Each taking over the bar to showcase their bar with cocktails featuring India’s whisky Amrut.
Sadly we would only catch two different bartenders here. Each had their menu printed on postcards that we could fill in with our address and have the team at Bagheera mail them out through traditional Canada Post.
Second behind the bar and first for us here was Davide Bagnato of Danico. This Paris bar is known for blending French elegance with the highest level of creativity in their 1920s-style bar.
The following were all $20 a glass, and the price tag was worth it considering how nuanced each cocktail was.
The Curry was Amrut old port rum, burnt cashew distillate, curry madras distillate, korma spice mix, coconut, carrot, lemon, and goat milk. Just reading the ingredients list you could tell this one was special. This was the most memorable cocktail of the crawl. Savoury like a soup, but thin on the lips, ending clean in the mouth, despite the reputation of curry.
Cacao + Blackcurrant with Amrut single malt, blackcurrant, yacon syrup, orange, and lucuma bitter. It was richer in the mouth like melted cocoa, with a savoury Mexican mole quality and the sweetness of dates.
The Leche Le Tigre was Amrut nilgiris gin, ceviche distillate, coconut oil, aji alajillo, and agave. You get a fruitiness to start, which ends green and vegetal for another more savoury cocktail. As a fan of savoury over sweet cocktails, this was my favourite drink menu of the night.
Next behind Bagheera’s bar was Deke Dunne from Allegory, located in Washington, D.C. This bar was decribed as a stalwart of Washington D.C’s cocktail to scene, where cocktails tell powerful stories, of art and activism. All of Deke’s cocktails had a unique garnish that when taken with the cocktail, changed what was in the glass. It would have been nice to ask him the thought behind the name of each cocktail, as I didn’t see how it connected one to the other.
Mardi Gras with coconut washed Amrut Two Indies, white rum, epic mango coconut, and chia seed. The easiest going of the three given the introduction of fruit.
All That She Carries: Amrut Single Malt, cognac, amontillado, Amaro blend, pecan orgeat, tamarind, marshmallow/mushroom ice cream. The warmth and fire of the whisky and cognac comes through, although I would have liked more tamarind to counter balance. The biggest takeaway was that the flavour of marshmallow is from a root that was dehydrated and served on the side of this cocktail.
Saturday Morning Cartoons was not as whimsical in the glass as I expected, given the name. Amrut Single Malt, Amrut Two Indies, liquid cornflakes, nixita blote, saffrok tincture, and saline. It was reminiscent of an old fashioned, but with the added waves of nuance from variations between sips.
Our night ended at Lao Wai, the Chinese themed speakeasy, big sister to Bagheera; hiding behind the front of a dumpling shop. They too were hosting 5 different bars, in consecutive shifts, which they titled “World Edition” with representation from Milan, Oaxaca, LA, Hong Kong, and Toronto. Five different drink menus made with spirits form the TS Global portfolio.
It was getting on in the day and a school night, so we only stayed for the first bar up to bat. Moebius in Milan was represented by Giovanni Allario, who brought his bar staff as moral support. Their bar is described as “a futuristic food & drink lab redefining the Milanese scene”.
Like with Bagheera all the cocktails were priced at $20, and given the intricacies of their ingredients and the depth in each glass, well worth it.
The Toasted Highball had Shinobu Whiskey, barley shochu, hazelnut cream, coconut water, tonka, and bubbles. It was unexpectedly fizzy for a refreshing, yet dense mouth-feel. A juxposotion in a glass with a chocolate pocky stick to temper the flavour in between.
The Tropical Mi-To featured the Isle of Harris Gin, dry Marsala, white bitter, coconut oil, and dill. I have never had the pairing of dill and coconut before, which proved to be another daring contradiction in a glass that worked.
Another memorable cocktail of this crawl was the Pesto Martini, more in line with what I expect from Italians. Vodka, vermouth, pesto, and white balsamic. Served with freshly shaved, quality Parmesan cheese to nibble one before you sip. Enough cheese for an even 1:1 ratio, if not more cheese than cocktail. It is as its name promises, I just wanted an Alfredo pasta to have this with, but sadly Lao Wai’s menu is all Asian fusion.
In short, this was such a great way to feel like we travelled around the world without leaving the country and a great representation of Vancouver’s collaborative and international drawing drink scene.
