Think you know the martini? Vancouver Cocktail Week says think again
Vancouver Cocktail Week
When:
March 1-8
Where:
Various locations
Tickets:
thealchemistmagazine.ca
Think you know how to make a martini? Think again.
“There’s every wrong way to make a martini and there’s every right way to make a martini,” respected industry insider H said.
“When it comes to a martini, everything is important. If you mess up even one little area — the ice, the glass, the dilution — you will destroy that drink. If you can master a martini, you’ve accomplished something phenomenal. If you master a martini, you can master any stirred drink.”
A veteran of the Vancouver and Toronto bar scenes, H is coming to town to deliver a seminar on the drink he calls “the king AND queen of cocktails.”
When he does, he’ll face a tough audience — his fellow mixologists.
H’s Classic Martini seminar is part of this year’s Vancouver Cocktail Week. The seminar is one of the few industry-only events during the annual celebration of crafted concoctions and the culture around them.
Nearly all of the 30+ events — including cocktail crawls, boozy brunches, a competition, cinq-a-sept happy hours featuring VCW signature cocktails, dinner-and-cocktail pairings, a Roaring ’20s Speakeasy cruise, and a closing gala — are open to the public.
Now in its fifth year, VCW is a presentation of The Alchemist, a Canadian magazine devoted to the art and culture of craft cocktail and artisanal distillers.
Part of the appeal of the festival is the chance for guests to discover new, or new-to-them, spirits, says Gail Nugent, publisher of The Alchemist.
One that’s gaining ground is umeshu, a Japanese liqueur made with ume fruit and shochu. Shinji Inaba, brand ambassador for Choya, the leading producer of umeshu, will deliver a seminar, Understanding Umeshu and Shochu, at Miku on Granville (March 4).
Baijiu, a distilled spirit that is often 40 per cent ABV or over, is another buzzed-about spirit. Fenjiu, a brand and style of baijiu, will be in the spotlight in a March 3 seminar at Good Thief on Main. Baijiu is the biggest selling spirit in China.
“People are still learning about it, but bartenders are all over it,” Nugent said.
Laowai, a speakeasy in Chinatown, stocks the spirit and uses it in several cocktails.
Old standbys like whiskey are also popular at VCW, and Japanese brand Nikka will be represented in a pairing dinner, Kaiseki style, also at Miku, on March 4. Brand Ambassador and award-winning mixologist Koki Yokoyama is preparing a special welcome cocktail for the March 4 event. On the following evening, he will pull a guest shift at Meo in Chinatown.
And, of course, the classic martini gets a deep dive this year, courtesy of H.
H says that his affair with the martini wasn’t love at first stir.
“But since I started making what I was told to make as a martini — a rocks glass with some old vermouth, a big slug of Gordon’s gin and an olive — I’ve slowly been getting better at it and learning. And I’m still learning. It’s the gin, the vermouth, the garnish, the glassware, the ice, the dilution — everything.”
A revelatory moment came in 2008, over a decade into his career, when he saw renowned mixologist Ago Perrone in action at London’s Connaught Bar.
“I watched him make his signature martini and it just blew my mind. Ever since then, I’ve been watching him, watching Japanese bartenders, and just trying to get better at making the martini.”
The martini is still evolving, he says, and he’s still learning — which is something he wants to impress upon his fellow industry pros. But pressed for his preferred garnish — olive, onion, or twist of lemon peel — he doesn’t hesitate.
“Lemon oil.”
Besides leading the March 1 Classic Martini seminar, H will be one of several guest bartenders mixing drinks at L’Abattoir March 2 for VCW’s Gastown Classics.
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Source: vancouversun.com