Top Vancouver Bartenders vs. International Stars in Cocktail Competition
By Joanne Sasvari, Special to The Vancouver Sun
All that cheering can sure make you thirsty. Good thing the city’s bartenders are going out of their way to make sure you can quench it. Here are just a few of the libationary activities to check out during the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
Mixlympics
Forget the men’s gold-medal hockey game — for the cocktail geeks among us, this is the most exciting event of the next few weeks.
On Feb. 21, starting at noon, George Ultra Lounge will pit four of Canada’s top bartenders against half-a-dozen international stars in a black box cocktail competition. Local competitors include The Diamond’s Mark Brand and Jay Jones of Pourhouse, who are making rare appearances behind the shaker. International competitors are coming from London, Paris and Stockholm.
And George’s own Shaun Layton, who’s already won more than his share of contests here and abroad, will be overseeing the action. The event features some of the most innovative bartenders in the world.
If you want to see what they’re shaking up, the Mixlympics is open to spectators on a first come, first served basis.
Hospitality Houses
The nations and provinces that have set up hospitality houses throughout Vancouver, Richmond and Whistler are doing it to showcase their culture, tourism and economic development. But we’re there for the beer. It will certainly be flowing at Holland Heineken House in Richmond’s O Zone and Molson Hockey House on Pacific Boulevard.
But there will be plenty of action everywhere from Saxony House in Stanley Park to Switzerland House on Granville Island. Admission is generally free to the provincial and national houses, though you will have to get a day pass for access.
Drink specials (and special drinks)
There’s not a bartender in the city worth his (or her) Hawthorn strainer who hasn’t come up with something special for the Olympics. At Yew Restaurant and Bar at the Four Seasons, for instance, Justin Taylor and Jordan Moore have created three cocktails commemorating the Olympic Games held in Canada: an updated whisky sour for Montreal 1976, a beefed-up Caesar for Calgary 1988 and a cucumber-flavoured gin fling with a smoked salmon garnish for Vancouver 2010.
Lauren Mote, the tirelessly creative manager at The Refinery, has worked with personal trainer Vaneska Zahuta at VanFit Athletics to create five healthy cocktails. Each incorporates performance-boosting “super foods,” such as beet juice and rhubarb bitters in the gin-based “Beet It,” which is rich with iron, anthocynim, vitamin C and antioxidants. It might just help keep us nourished through the long days ahead.
Meanwhile, just up the street at the Granville Room, Trevor Kallies has created five luscious drinks commemorating important Olympic events, such as The Winner Takes All, made with Crown Royal Special Reserve, honey syrup and a Gamay Noir float, in honour of speed skater Cindy Klassen’s medal haul in Turin
Click here for more informtion on the George Ultra Lounge 2010 Mixlympics
Click here for to read the full article “Drinking in the Olympics” on The Vancouver Sun online
