As a part of this year’s Vancouver Cocktail Festival, 2024’s new cocktail bar from the owners of Anh & Chi hosted a bar takeover. They have team up with New York hot spot Sip & Guzzle to bring this one day only pop up.
This is a good way to try cocktails from different international bars without having to travel. Ttonight we would meet Ben Yabrow, the partner and head bartender of NYC’s Sip & Guzzle. Once a former 50 Best Bars winner Sip & Guzzle is described as “an intimate Japanese-style speakeasy that serves bespoke, innovative libations for both cocktail connoisseurs and novices alike” (as per the event description).
They are two story bar with a bustling upstairs space that pays homage to American drinking culture with understated updates on classic cocktails: “Guzzle”c and a quieter, more intimate downstairs space taking inspiration from Japanese cocktail culture, “Sip”. Ben Yabrow helms the downstairs bar with recognizable drinks like the Tomato Tree and the Rain & Moss Gin Fizz. We had the ability to try the former today, one of five cocktails only available for one night. I was able to take photos of all five, but only try two, so only have tasting notes on the two.
Tomato Tree is part of the “Sip” collection with Tanqueray No. TEN, fruit, flower, leaf, and sap. This was a savoury number that I found great with food. It reminded me of a savoury caprese salad with the acidity of tomato and the herbal freshness of basil leading the forefront.
The entire menu was intriguing with the merging of two well known cocktails into on homogeneous one. Like the Sixty Forty, another “Sip” cocktail that merges a martini and Manhattan. I didn’t try it, but heard it was amazing.
I did try the Champagne Grasshopper and was immediately impressed by how they were able to bring these two very texturally different beverages together. Unlike the former two that can have a similar colour and tone.This was Cacao, mint, and champagne equally fused where not one was better highlighted than the other. Effervescent with the tiny bubbles of sparkling and punchy the flavour of a mint chocolate without its colour or creaminess. To the unsuspecting customer this was just a glass of champagne.
The “Guzzle” cocktails were the more easier going of the menu, as its name suggests easy drinking to have you downing more of it. The Yuzu Margarita is Don Julio Blanco, yuzu, shiso, and palm salt. Another one I didn’t try, but was told it had the hallmarks of a proper margarita, but with more juiciness from the mellowed out yuzu citrus.
Another creative fushion was the Miami Vice Negrioni. If I was going to order another from this list it would have been this. A coconut washed, tropical strawberry negroni.
This was incredibly intelligent. I felt lucky to be able to see and taste how they brought together two completely different cocktails that you wouldn’t expect to blend, but does so well.
And seeing as we were already here, and I haven’t been back since their original opening I took the time to try a few of Good Thief’s newer cocktail creations.
The Breakfast of Gods looks like a fun fruity punch in bold fuchsia, topped with carefully chosen, different coloured Fruit Loop cereal rings balanced on a king cube. The glass was presented on a neon pink glow stick and looked like a party. Caramelized banana, acid adjusted orange juice, pho spice-tea, raspberry jam-amber vermouth, and Chica Chida (peanutbutter flavoured tequila). It read like a meal in a glass, but more berry with the bitterness of the tea coming through. I couldn’t taste any of the peanutbutter, but got the creaminess of it.
The Nhäu of Never was a fun one. Whereas other bars only have their cocktail with one smoke infused flavour bubble, this had a tower of them in pagentry and scent. What looked like a juicy citrus cocktail had a hidden spicy kick. Nodo Reposado, white port, Ancho Reyes Verde, fresh lemon & lime, charred Thai chilli & pandan, and maldon salt solution. Sour to start, but refreshing on the palate. I tried hard to get the pandan, although it was probably washed out by the dull chilli spice that lingered.
And you can’t visit Good Thief without trying their Pho cocktail. This is one of my favourite cocktail in the city. I love a savoury drink and this one is so well conceived, especially as it features the same pho seasonings and broth from Anh & Chi. Phö Däc Biêt with Beef Pho Blade & Bow, Junmai Sake, Rice Noodle Amylase, and Me’s Pho Seasoning & Herbs. The result is a cocktail that pairs well food, one that is silky and not oily, and comes with a unique umami personality.
And you can’t drink this much without eating, and lucky for us Good Thief has a late night food menu with small bites to share that not only taste good, but help cut into someone of the stronger cocktails, inspiring you to reach out for your glass in chase.
The Binchotan Grilled Skewers are meat on with in rotating features. Tonight it was beef and chicken heavily seasoned and cut thick for chewier cubes.
The classic drinking food is fries and they have an extra thick cut Pomme Frites with curry leaf and a Thai green chili aioli for dipping. Larger bricks for meatier morsels given flavour with a thick smear of dip.
If looking for a more fulsome fry option, the Pho-tine is a play on poutine, as its name suggests, but doesn’t actually include pho. The same crispy pomme frites as above, topped with cheese curds and oxtail gravy, you also have the option to add-on oxtail meat to the mix.
The Frog Legs were crispy breaded and fried frog legs coated in Me’s fish sauce glaze. They are like chicken wings, but with less meat and more bones.
The Wagyu Beef Tartare was lemongrass, sawtooth cilantro, fried shallots, egg yolk gel, and pickled chili fish sauce. This made for a great chilled and chunky dip option, scooped up using black sesame rice cracker.
The Bon Nughies were their gourmet take on house made gluten-free chicken nuggets, dressed with a spicy maggi sauce ketchup. Shaped like a block it had a crispy exterior and a soften fibrous interior, not what you’d expect a chicken nugge. For me it was more a dry pate with a canned tuna-like texture.
And for something fresh we had the Pomelo and Lotus Root salad. A mix of large chunks of pomelo, salt cured lotus root, mint, peanuts, and calamansi vinaigrette. This was a great palate refresher and something fresh to end on.
In short this was a fun night and a great spot to catch up with your girl friends.
Good Thief
3336 Main St, Vancouver, BC V5V 3M7
(604) 428-3336
goodthief.ca
