From trendy downtown terraces to private poolsides, cocktails are always popular when the thermometer rises. Several trends are coming together behind the bar this summer, and it’s easy to take inspiration from them for our in-house creations, mixologists tell us at the heart of the action.
Daphnée Vary Deshaies, bar director for A5 Hospitality group and co-founder of Cocktail Roads, develops cocktail menus for several downtown Montreal establishments. “When putting together a summer cocktail menu, I tend to go with alcohols like vodka or gin, as opposed to the colder seasons where we prefer heavier alcohols with woody or spicy notes. What we want is something refreshing with fruity or floral notes,” says the lively mixologist.
With kind approval
Daphnee Vary Deshaies
In Quebec City, at Restaurant Légende par la Tanière, customers can discover a 100% local six-course menu with boreal accents that changes with the seasons, accompanied by six matching wines or cocktails. Bar chef Jean-François Laurence’s cocktails are an integral part of the adventure and can include ingredients as surprising as meat juice or mushroom infusion!
With kind approval
Jean Francois Laurence
“I work by the seasons, by what’s on the plate. If there are peas in the dish, there might be peas in my cocktail, or even turnips or small red fruits. We also incorporate the mushrooms and use the cooking water to make a syrup that brings a nutty flavor, a forest side.
He also wants to add freshness to his creations. “I use freshly squeezed juices, but also fresh herbs, lemon balm, basil, tea maceration, fennel, caraway. One trick is to add acidity to reduce the overly sweet flavors and bring in a refreshing side. I also prefer agricultural flavors, a bit sour, for example through the use of kombucha, or even a certain bitterness, like that of hops.
Aperol Spritz and alcohol free
Flowers and honey are also aromas that evoke the heat of summer. “We can now find wildflower liqueurs made by Hydromeleria here. Very nice products!”
Working with the general public, Daphnée Vary Deshaies is well placed to spot trends. “This summer everyone is asking for Apérol Spritz! There’s also a return to the classic 1990’s cocktails: I’d never made cocktails with blue curacao before, and this is where I’m asked! And of course non-alcoholic or less alcoholic cocktails.
The ultimate cool down will always be ice, explains Daphnée. “If we want our cocktail to stay cool for as long as possible and the ice doesn’t melt too quickly, we have to put as much as possible in our glass, we won’t get away with that!”
FOR A FRESH, EASY TO PREPARE HOMEMADE SYRUP
- 1 cup of water
- 1 cup sugar
- Herbs, fruits, vegetables, your choice!
Traditionally, the syrup is made by boiling the water with the sugar and the ingredients chosen to flavor it for a few minutes before filtering it. The mixologist for even more freshness Daphnee Vary Deshaies offers an easy-to-make syrup without boiling:
“Simply add equal parts water and sugar to a glass, with an ingredient(s) of your choice; it can be mint, strawberries, jalapeno! Then let it rest in the fridge for 24 hours. Just filter the next day and we have our syrup! The fact that the ingredients are not cooked allows to extract very fresh aromas. Instead of tasting like strawberry jam or mint tea, the syrup tastes like fresh strawberry or fresh mint!”
To Daphnee Vary Deshaies, Recovery is a very current trend among mixologists. “We are also concerned about our ecological footprint, so we are increasingly trying to maximize our consumption to avoid food waste. For example, nothing is easier than keeping the lemon or orange zest after squeezing and adding it to the sugar to make a syrup.
dandelion
by Jean-Francois Laurence
- 3/4 oz Sliv (plum brandy)
- 1 ounce La Cueilleuse (wildflower liqueur)
- 1/2 oz Ledum flower syrup
Leek champagne
by Jean-Francois Laurence
- 1/2 oz verjuice
- 3/4 oz honey syrup and leek infusion
Cathcart Club #2
by Daphnee Vary Deshaies
Photo courtesy of Folly Arts Medias
* Cocktail served at Cathcart
- 1 1/2oz gin
- 1/2 ounce Blue Curacao
- 1/2 oz Prosyro grapefruit syrup
- 3/4 oz fresh lemon juice
- 2 Angostura characteristics
chele
by Daphnee Vary Deshaies
Photo courtesy of Folly Arts Medias
* Cocktail served at Bar Loïc
- 1 ounce Pisco
- 1 ounce fino sherry
- 3/4 oz fresh lime juice
- 3/4 oz jalapeño syrup (recipe below)
jalapeno syrup:
- 500ml cold water
- 500 ml white sugar
- 2 medium jalapeños
Acid Fove
Photo courtesy of Samuel Pasquier
- 2 ounces Fove White Acerum
- 1 ounce lemon juice
- 1/2 oz yuzu syrup
- 2 dashes of Bittercube Orange Bitters
- 1 egg white
- 1 slice of lemon zest
Pina Colada Sainte Marie
- 1 ounce Sainte Marie Coco Rum
- 1 ounce vanilla cream
- 3 ounces pineapple juice
- 1/2 oz lime juice
- 1 piece of fresh pineapple
The beautiful flip
Photo courtesy of Quentin Caffier
*Lavish and unexpected, this cocktail is inspired by an ancient family of cocktails dubbed the Flip by early mixologists in the late 1800s.
- 1 1/2 ounces Belle de Brillet
- 1/2 ounce red vermouth
- 1 egg yolk
- Ground nutmeg
Large Margarita
- 1 ounce Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge
- 1 ounce Tequila Espolon
- 1 ounce Grand Marnier
- 3/4 oz fresh lime juice
- 1/2 oz agave nectar or simple syrup (optional)
- Garnish with lime
Polynesian rum
- 2 ounces Cherry River Spiced Rum
- 1/4 oz Cherry River Triple Sec Orange Liqueur
- 1 ounce lemon juice
- 2 ounces mango nectar
- Maraschino cherries
Hit 3 lakes
* For 4 people
- 6 oz Gin 3 Lacs Grapefruit Rosemary
- 4 ounces dry vermouth (or oaky white wine)
- 14 ounces cold green tea
- 150 g sugar (2/3 cup)
- 3 ounces fresh lemon juice
- zest and juice of one orange
- zest and juice of one grapefruit