Page 37 - MENU Magazine - Sept/Oct 2017

innovative avours and mixologists are bringing the recipes and novel food pairings to life.
Gin is in and it’s being championed by a somewhat unprecedented co- hort—female drinkers. It seems that gin cocktails are perfectly pleasant in every way and purveyors of ingenious gin cocktails are enjoying an impres- sive market presence on menus across the country.
When properly mixed, gin delivers that extra layer of avour to a cocktail that vodka (being the closest to neutral of any spirit) just can’t bring. This is why you don’t see vodka as a base in some of the more progressive cocktail lists. Even Caesars, which are predominately made with a vodka base, are being re-invented with gin, tequila, and even whisky; and popping up on menus everywhere.
Craft spirits are disrupting with style.
“We are a rst-generation farm distillery based in Ayr, Ontario. We try
and complete as many steps of the gin (and whisky) production process as possible here on our 100-acre farm. We mash, ferment and distill all Ontario grains for all our spirits and also mature everything on site. Our rst product—Willibald Gin—is a cask-aged gin that has been macerated and vapour-infused with six botanicals: juniper, coriander, angelica root, cardamom, caraway and grapefruit peel. We then cask-age the gin in American white oak casks. These casks are purchased new by us and each is used for only two maturation periods of three to six months. The mix of botanicals and oak gives you a spirit that is bold and robust with notes of juniper, liquorice, cardamom and citrus as well as hints of vanilla, caramel and marshmallow. Because of its bold aroma and avour, it is very well suited to gin cocktails in addition to cocktails that typically rely on the bolder avours associated with oak-aged spirits. It’s a spirit that will de - nitely hold its own in whatever liquid battleground you place it in.”
CAM FORMICA, CO-FOUNDER OF WILLIBALD FARM DISTILLERY
Len Fragomeni is the president and CEO of H Group Inc. H Group owns, operates and manages various hospitality brands and venues including SpiritHouse Toronto, SpiritHouse Montreal, Toronto Institute of Bartending, Montreal Institute of Bartend- ing Chicago Institute of Bartending, Toron- to Cocktail Week Inc., and Whiskylicious.
Len Fragomeni will be introducing proven bar beverage programs at RC Show
2018! For more information, please go to restaurantscanada.org.
Earlier this year, The Macallan unveiled their Double Cask 12 Years Old to the Canadian market, and MENU was invited to take part in an exclusive tasting event. There we learned all about the exceptional wood management which de nes every aspect of The Macallan whis- ky creations. From amber to gold, to the rich, creamy butterscotch hue of Double Cask, the range of colours and their respective avour pro les are formed organically between the whisky and the wood of the casks, without any additions of avour or colour.
“The Macallan has built a reputation as one of the world’s truly greatest single malt whiskies. It is an innovative brand whose foundation is built on and upheld by its de ning six pillars: the spiritual home, the curi- ously small stills, the nest cut, the exceptional oak casks, the natural colour and the peerless spirits. These, in combination, contribute to the essential character of The Macallan and lead to the creation of marques like The Macallan Double Cask 12 Years Old.
This exquisite marque combines a perfect balance of whisky aged in American and European oak cask to reveal an exceptional liquid that is truly the best of both worlds.”
Marc Laverdiere, The Macallan and Highland Park Emeritus Ambassador
Taste Pro le of The Macallan Double Cask 12 Years Old
• Aprominent,unmistakableAmericanoakstylewithabackdropofEuropeanoak
• Thedelicate avourofAmericanoak—vanilla,citrusandlightoak—takescentrestage
• ThetraditionalMacallancharacterofrichfruit,sherryandwoodspice,creditedtothe European oak, a ords a familiar backdrop
When two worlds
come together
SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2017 MENU 37
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