When my husband first introduced me to the annual Hopscotch Festival - a liquor expo, my palette for tasting alcohol wasn't quite what it is now. After my first experience 4 years ago, I have ventured from trying the flavoured vodkas and hard iced teas, to searching for a gin, rum, whiskey or scotch, which may be the best for sipping on its own, without added flavourings. That being said, there are some pretty amazing honey-flavoured whiskeys out there right now. Enter Punch Bowl, the first summer cocktail festival, brought to you by those who operate Hopscotch. For those who don't particularly like their alcohol on their own or on the rocks, the festival is for you. Sure, you can try items by themselves, but the focus is on the small cocktails each vendor has crafted for your enjoyment. A bunch of my sibling-in-laws and their partners joined us over the weekend, and we all had a fabulous time. Understated...this is quite a highlight for the summer! While there were line-ups for pink gins (crowded by mostly ladies) and what appeared to be a never-ending line-up of club go-getters at Don Julio, my husband and I ventured around to discover new craft liquors, either from ones we hadn't heard from or from our favourites, which had something new to offer. Here's what were standouts for us, which are in on particular order: 1. Arbutus Distillery - Bohemian Mule We've had a bottle or two from Arbutus at home, and I kickstarted the evening with their take on a Moscow Mule - the Bohemian Mule. Combining their BabaYaga Absinthe with ginger beer was a refreshing way to start things off. The flavour combination of liquorice and and spice was divine. Arbutus Distillery may be located in Nanaimo, BC, but you can find them easily at private liquor operations. Visit https://arbutusdistillery.com/ 2. Sheringham Distillery - Coffee Liqueur Another goodie from the island (Sooke), my close friend got us into Sheringham by gifting us a bottle their Seaside Gin. We currently have a bottle of their Kazuki Gin at home. They are so incredibly smooth and delicious on their own, but if that's not your jam, you can access several recipe ideas on Sheringham's website. While at Punch Bowl, they were offering a very new addition - the coffee liqueur. It's so new, even the distillery rep hadn't tried it yet. Hey coffee lovers, if you like having coffee liqueurs at home, this one's for you. My reaction was that it kicks Van Gogh's double espresso to the curb. It's smooth, not overly sweet, and perfect with a single ice cube. Visit https://www.sheringhamdistillery.com/ 3. Stillhead Distillery Inc. - Wild Blackberry Collins So it appears distilleries on the island are killing it with their craft liquors. Stillhead Distillery, out of Duncan, BC, was new to us, and they have a delicious wild blackberry gin, which is perfect for summer enjoyment. Stillhead was showing off this spirit in their fruity Wild Blackberry Collins. After tasting my husband's, I later purchased my own, because on a beautiful summer evening, this refreshing, fruity cocktail is what you want to be sipping on. Visit https://stillhead.ca/ 4. Mount Gay Rum - Bajan Rum Punch We always have a bottle of Mount Gay at home. This rum has been around for so long for good reason. Mount Gay was showcasing their Eclipse Rum - a beautiful amber-coloured spirit with warm flavours of molasses, caramel, clove and more. The rum punch they were serving is something you could enjoy year round, which included pommegranate, lime and shaved nutmeg. the aroma and taste of nutmeg has me wanting this drink on a Christmas morning....yes that's correct....morning. Visit https://www.mountgayrum.com/ 5. Anderson Distilleries - Earl of Bergamot Unfortunately I missed out on saving the spirit name that Anderson Distilleries had available, that's very popular to locals in Greece. If you track it down, it has a distinct anise-flavour; it's a Greek-style Grapa. Anyways, they were also featuring these flavourful tea-infused gins. If you're someone who like their drinks on the lighter-tasting side, tea-infused spirits are perfect for you. We tried their earl-grey infused gin cocktail, infused with their tea-infused simple syrup and bitters. We found this citrus drink quite delightful and not overpowering at all. Visit https://andersondistilleries.ca/ 6. Cocalero - Unique Spirit Yes we'd like to try a spirit that looks nuclear. Okay, so they did mention a hint of colouring was added to make the green more vibrant, but this unique Cocalero spirit does include ingredients that give it an intial greenish colour, including coca leaf, an leaf belonging to South America. Having 17 botanicals, with some exotic ingredients familiar to Andean culture, this is something served best on ice, with a wedge of lime. It's smooth, refreshing and herbal. Visit https://cocalero.com/ 7. Tofino Distillery - Everything I say everything because we tried everything from Tofino Distillery. We even went out the next day to Langley and purchased the jalapeno vodka and old growth cedar gin. I guess we left this until last as it was our favourite of the day. The one rep bet me all my tokens that the jalapeno vodka would not disappoint me with flavour (something I often find underwhelming with food and beverages advertising jalapeno flavour). I was sold (and didn't lose my tokens) and enjoyed a cocktail from Tofino. For the record, I told the rep that for having a vodka straight up, it's one of the best I've ever had - and I've had a lot of vodka. We ended up having at least all of them straight on their own and the cocktails they were serving. the flavours of them all are very unique, flavourful to what they describe and lend themselves as well to a crafted drink. My hats off to you gents! Visit https://tofinocraftdistillery.com/ The Honourable Mention Honourable mention goes to Wildebeast. This restaurant is one of our favourites as they dish out unique, delicious eats and have a solid cocktail bar. This is a dangerous combination. As one of food vendors onsite, I made sure they were aware of our love for them, and that if I could I'd easily just sit with them and eat all of the elk. Their smoked elk pastrami with grand fir mustard and puffed sorghum was divine. The meat was so tender, perfectly grilled and apparently NOT something I wanted to share with my husband once I took the first few bites. Visit https://wildebeest.ca/ Punch Bowl Festival, I think, was a huge success. And there's no better group of people to be with at such a wonderful event. Enjoying an evening with such good family and friends is what these festivals are all about in my books. You don't need to be an avid cocktail connoisseur or love every spirit. It's a good time out with good people. Crossing our fingers for 2020!
Cheers to summer of 2019.
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