Cocktail books: I have my favourites, though I must confess to winging new recipes on a regular basis – all properly measured and noted, of course.
But my thoughts have turned to books as the buzz builds for the Measures and Volumes Book Club run by Katie McDonald who has bartended at the Veneto, Clive’s Classic Lounge and the defunct Solomon’s. The group meets once a month and near the end of June they explore Canadian cocktail writer Christine Sismondo’s America Walks into a Bar and perhaps the best part is that being in Clive’s you have the opportunity to order libations, which I think must be more fun than having to wait until you get home.
And while on the book topic, a frequent guest at Art of the Cocktail, renowned bartender and cocktail blogger Jeffrey Mogenthaler has written The Bar Book, the only technique-driven cocktail handbook out there. If you want to feel the overwhelming control of being master of your domain then add this one to your list.
Around Town
Now it’s time to get off the page and into the lounge. Check out The Beach House for lovely fresh tasting cocktails and a great view of the waters off Cordova Bay.
Pizzeria Primastrada is dabbling in classic Italian cocktails and is even going to the trouble of making ice globes for their Negroni’s. Sweet.
On a final note congrats to Clive’s Classic Lounge for scoring a third Tales of the Cocktail nomination for Best Bar.
Third time lucky?
Monday’s incognito Lounge Lizard imbibes at all the best joints in town. Do you have a favourite pub or barkeep to recommend?