Today we were gathered at PNE’s fairgrounds, for one of their handful of outdoor drinking events. Last week they hosted their craft beer number and their whisky country themed event; and this week we have Punch Bowl. Previously know as the cocktail event, but has expanded to include tacos for a very tequila friendly event this year.
This is an adult only event, ticket holders are given a plastic drinking cup to use throughout the event. You are invited to explore the fair grounds purchasing shots, ready to drink cocktail tasters, and cocktails of your choosing. Payment is via a token system, where you exchange $1 for one token to be used for drinks. Most coolers were $2 a pour and cocktails $3-4 a pour. Although half of the glass was ice for the latter. All and any food items is cash only. I will be mostly covering the drinking component to this.
The event advertised 250 of the “finest spirits, beer, cider, wine, canned cocktails and more”. As per the map the day of, there were 42 cocktail stations, 18 taco stations, 4 miscellaneous food stations, and a handful of other vendor showcasing their wares. The latter included pretzels and cigars.
Naturally, I won’t be able to cover them all, but will do the best to review the 18 drinks we did try, and highlight the most memorable.
There were only a handful of local vendors like the fan favourite: Copperpenny Distilling based out of North Vancouver. They had the longest and most steady lines thanks to their always eye catching stylized booths and unique twists to gin.
Today we would try their Provence Gin & Tonic with the flavours of grapefruit and lavender as well their popular icy Negroni Slush.
Please! Beverage Co brought their taps out to pour their natural fruit, ready to drink cocktails. They have been garnering extra attention thanks to their new brand ambassador, Vancouver’s own, actress Cobie Smulders; who will be making an appearance at their Mount Pleasant Distillery on August 8th.
Today we had their best selling mango, coconut, and pandan cocktail and their raspberry, juniper, and mint number to help keep cool.
Vancouver’s first ever LGBTQ spirit brand was also out today. Squirel Friendz with their mascot squirrel figures, but sans their usual drag queen(s) brand ambassador. Today they were mixing their vodka with flavoured tonic water. We had one with lime and cucumber and another with lychee.
And Farming Karma, a BC favourite for their farm fruit juices were here showcasing their same juices, but mixed with spirits for their newer ready to drink canned options.
Celebrity branded tequilas also made a showing. I was drawn in to trying Flecha Azur thanks to the Mark Wahlberg cutout. I am a fan of the actor and performer as a brand. He is actually one of the reasons I kept at F45 for over 2 years now.
We gave up 6 tokens for a tasting of one of each of their cocktail offerings. I had to get his name sake “Marky Mark” with Flecha Azul Blanco, Lime Juice, Coconut Water, Pineapple Syrup, and Fresh Basil. The more booze forward cocktail of the two. The other cocktail was name “The Italian Job” with Flecha Azul Reposado, Blood Orange Soda, and Lime Juice.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson also had his own cutout, and his own truck to sample his tequilas out of. Teremana had “The People’s Margarita”, which we had to try for name alone. A mix of Teremana Blanco, Pineapple Juice, Agave Nectar, and Lime Juice. Plus a classic “Coconut Lime Margarita” with Teremana Reposado, Sparkling Coconut Water, and Lime Juice.
I was also ecstatic to be able to pick up a couple of branded enamel pins here. I collect spirit pins and was happy to be able to add these to my collection.
I also noticed a Guy Fieri cutout for his brand of tequila, but unfortunately this was late in the afternoon and by this time we were all out of tokens. So didn’t get a taste.
There was an area of the fair grounds named “Margarita Village”. It was at the centre of all the taco restaurant booths and stand-alone food trucks. A shaded patch of green decorated with colourful cuts out of papel picado over head, and had tables for eating on. Cointreau was the feature spirit here and they had 4 booths set up for dispensing their towers of premixed margaritas. 4 tokens got you a tap pour.
Jarritos had a large presence and tied in well with all the tacos. You could spin a wheel to win prizes and sample their best selling soda flavours.
Well known brands like Grey Goose, Canadian, and Don Julio were also sampling their alternative flavours and ready to drink options.
This event is also a great way to discover and try new caned cocktail brands like LoLo in either Honey Paloma or Tequila Lime Fizz.
And Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin, named after the city in Ireland where it is distilled. It takes influences from Chinese gunpowder green tea, which one of the four botanicals that are vapor-distilled into this gin.
There were also Korean spirits in the mix. We tried Son Won soju neat just because its packaging was so strong and alluring, although didn’t find the spirit itself all that unique.
Kook Soon Dang has us following them on Instagram, in order to get a traditional Korean drinking bowl in return. This we did and had them fill it with one of their two cocktail options. This was their strawberry yogurt flavoured one.
There were two free food vendors Violofe was sampling their vegan cream cheese by way of making it into a cheese sauce on location. Then doling it out into paper cups for guests to have with chips, in order to match the theme.
The other was Snack Factory giving out bags of seasoned pretzels for those who like to graze while they drink.
Otherwise it was cash or card for tacos. This included the traditional Mexican variety, American style Tex-mex tacos, and fusion options like Taco Nori, which is essentially sushi as a taco. There was even an ice cream taco that utilized a frozen surface to scrape ice cream into a roll.
We stopped at the Natural American Spirit Cigarette lounge. There, they had us do a survey for a surprise prize. This giving of information gave us 2 tokens in return, plus the ability to get a free temporary tattoo from their smoke lounge.
This I redeemed for a mystery envelope tattoo, which turned out to be a beer bottle. I thought it very fitting and decided to adhere it right away. Doing so, only to find the ink bleeding, as I was sweating in the sun. I was suppose to keep in on and dry for 1 hour and in return the tattoo was said to last for 2 weeks. Therefore it should be a couple of days before this blue smudge washes off, considering I had it on for about 10 minutes.
While all the above was going on, on the stage were live DJs doing sets, offering beats and levity to the event. Kutcorners, Hush Music Party, Seko, and Flipout were playing hits from the 2000’S.
In short this was a fun day for those who like cocktails and taco and the ability to roam and explore as they please. Bookmark this one for next year, as I am sure they will be returning for both their afternoon and evening session.
