As another gray winter quickly fades away with the vibrance that spring brings (officially Thursday!), Pacific Northwest bartenders are keeping themselves busy behind the bar as they craftily concoct seasonally inspired cocktails created to refresh and revitalize. From Victoria, BC, to Portland, some of our favorite bartenders are sharing their recipes for cocktails made with spring in mind.
As the name suggests, Catalano Restaurant & Cicchetti Bar at Magnolia Hotel & Spa in Victoria, BC, specializes in “small bites,” but that doesn’t mean that this Mediterranean themed restaurant doesn’t also boast a generous menu of finely cultivated and handcrafted cocktails, including the First Train to Jerez. Made with sherry, lemon and elderflower cordial, this refreshing sipper is served elegantly in a wine glass and embodies a delicate balance of spring-esque flavors.
First Train to Jerez
2 ounces amontillado sherry
3/4 ounce lemon juice
3/4 ounce elderflower cordial
soda water
lemon twist and fresh mint (for garnish)
In a wine glass, combine sherry, lemon juice and elderflower cordial. Add ice and top with ice and soda water, and garnish with a lemon twist and fresh mint.
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Cucumber, lemon and ginger combined with the robustness of earl grey and the fragrant flavor of gin spring-forward to awaken the senses in Seattle with Cafe Flora’s Pimm’s Teacup. Bartender Amber Ricciardi brilliantly mingles these flavors to create a sensational sipper.
Pimm’s Teacup
1 ounce earl grey infused gin (made with Remedy Tea’s earl la creme tea)
2 ounces Pimm’s No. 1
3 cucumber slices
2 lemon wedges
ginger beer (made in house)
additional cucumber for garnish
In a cocktail shaker muddle cucumber and lemon. Add Pimm’s, gin and ice, and shake well. Without straining, pour contents of cocktail shaker into a Collins glass and top with ginger beer and garnish with a cucumber wheel.
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Add some “spring” in your step with the Bent Brick’s The Pith and The Pendulum patio cocktail. Created to be enjoyed outdoors on a warm spring day, this Portland-born cocktail is loaded with fresh sage leaves, lime, blackberry tonic, rhubarb tea and Oregon’s own Merrylegs Genever Style Gin from Oregon Spirit Distillers.
The Pith and The Pendulum
2 fresh sage leaves
1/2 ounce simple syrup
2 ounces Oregon Spirit Distillers Merrylegs Genever Style Gin
1/2 ounce lime juice
1/2 ounce Art in the Age rhubarb tea
1/2 ounce house blackberry tonic
additional lime and sage for garnish
In a cocktail shaker, muddle sage and simple syrup together. Add remaining ingredients and ice, and shake well. Double strain into a snifter, add ice, and garnish with lime and a sage leaf.
