The local food movement is widespread in the Pacific Northwest, from farmers’ markets to restaurant menus. When it comes to cocktails however, our farms and producers—while bountiful—still have some limitations. Locally produced gin and vodka are plentiful, but what about specialty liqueurs and citrus?
Bartender Shawn Soole has lived in British Columbia for nearly 10 years. During that time he’s made a name for himself as a masterful mixologist and his latest post is as bar manager at Olo Restaurant in Victoria. The restaurant is located in Chinatown, where generations of English, Chinese, French and First Nations tribes have traded. The name “Olo” means “hungry” in chinuk wawa, or Chinook Jargon, which is a unique language created and used for trade in the 19th century. The restaurant’s chef and owner Brad Holmes is committed to farm-to-table dining, and that ethos carries through to Soole’s bar where he only pours local gin and vodka made without using neutral grain spirit (NGS)).
“Craft distilleries in BC are allowed to use NGS, which is fine, it doesn’t mean it’s bad.” Soole says. “But there are a lot of distilleries that make their base from scratch, using all BC grain, and flavor their products with other locally harvested and foraged products. I made a judgment call and selected 10 local gins for the menu, ranging from classic grain-based ones to fruit-based ones, and even a honey-based gin, which is very different.”
At Olo, Soole has had the opportunity to get creative with some of the cocktails, as he challenges himself to use only products produced or sourced in the Pacific Northwest. “In the ‘local showcase’ section of our menu, I always try to offer a variation of a classic cocktail so it’s very comfortable for people, but with that local twist,” he says. “Since we’re trying to move away from citrus, which is never very easy, we’re playing around with things like acidified apple juice and pear juice that is from the local market that still gives the drink that texture and flavor without using lemon juice.”
On the menu is the Foraged & Found cocktail, which uses Empiric gin, made by Arbutus Distillery on Vancouver Island. The gin is made entirely with locally foraged ingredients, including lemon verdena in place of citrus for flavoring. For the Foraged & Found cocktail, Soole’s made a riff on the classic Martinez. “Everything is local, and everything comes from a different region in BC,” says Soole.
He also plays with maraschino, a cherry liqueur that originated in Croatia, in a few of his cocktails. Soole uses the version made by Okanagan Spirits in other cocktails on the menu like the Kalakala. That drink also utilizes a flowering red currant syrup made in-house.
Olo’s commitment to farm-to-table dining and drinking can be challenging. Soole has to plan carefully and get creative. He uses substitutions like saline solution to replace citrus and balance drinks, and makes things like elderflower cordial in big batches so it will last for months. They have recently been making a lot of rhubarb bitters and rhubarb syrup that can be used over the course of the next year. Despite the challenges of their local focus, Olo still manages to offer innovative cocktails.
Foraged & Found, by Shawn Soole
1 ounce Arbutus Empiric
1 ounce Odd Society Bittersweet Vermouth
Bar spoon of Okanagan Spirits Maraschino
2 dashes of Phillips Fermentorium Hop Drop
3 drops of 20 percent saline solution
Stir & strain, garnish with a pickled grand fir tip.
Kalakala, by Shawn Soole
1 ½ ounces Okanagan Spirits Gin
½ ounce Okanagan Spirits Maraschino
½ ounce flowering red currant syrup
¾ ounce lemon juice
Shake and double strain, garnish with cherry caviar.
