Vancouver packs a lot of boozy talent into its 115 square kilometers (45 square miles) of British Columbia. On a recent visit, the talents from Odd Society Spirits, Bittered Sling Bitters and Uva Wine Bar converged. In my glass!
Since 2013, Odd Society Spirits has been tickling Canadian’s tastebuds. Owner and distiller Gordon Glanz uprooted his wife along with one of their daughters in 2009 to pursue a lifelong desire to learn about distillation, and attended Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. Glanz has been fermenting and distilling fruit wines since he was a teen and finally had the opportunity to refine his craft.
Vancouver-based bartender Lauren Mote has won a passel of awards for her prowess behind the stick, including Bartender of the Year by Vancouver Magazine, Canadian Bartender of the Year by Diageo and more. She started Bittered Sling Bitters in 2012 and has been the bar manager at Uva Wine Bar, adjacent to Cibo Restaurant and the Hotel Moda, since 2013.
Glanz has been experimenting with various liqueurs and spirits since the inception of Odd Society Spirits. They make a herbaceous gin, a bittersweet vermouth, as well as a crème de cassis using BC grown black currants. It’s their malty East Van vodka that caught the attention of Mote, who uses it in her Dr. Who cocktail, along with some of the distillery’s cassis, as well as her own bitters.
“I am a fan of ‘new make whiskey’ the way Scotland produces, with malted barley clear spirit right off the still,” she says. “I see similarities in that with East Van vodka. Floral and rich by comparison to other base material—you can honestly taste the difference in cocktails.”
Mote uses Odd Society’s crème de cassis in a variety of cocktails at Uva as well. “Cassis is always great to provide vivid color and a leafy, peppery sweetness,” she says. “I like to use it as an accent in the build, rather than a majority flavor.”
On my recent visit, I enjoyed the Dr. Who cocktail Mote created, combining the East Van vodka and crème de cassis from Odd Society Spirits, along with her own Bittered Sling Kensington aromatic bitters, as well as some fino sherry, lemon juice and a peach-tea syrup made in-house at Uva. The resulting drink was sweet with a nice dryness on the back palate, with rich, purple hue.
Dr. Who, by Lauren Mote
1 ½ ounces Odd Society East Van vodka
½ ounce Odd Society crème de cassis
½ ounce fino sherry
½ ounce lemon juice
½ ounce peach-tea syrup
2 dashes Bittered Sling Kensington aromatic bitters
In a shaker, combine all ingredients with ice and shake. Strain neat into a coupe glass. Garnish with a thin slice of lemon peel, expressing the oils over the top of the glass, and then dropping inside.
