Drinking With The Pros: New Cocktails in Toronto
by Mark Moffat

Jenn Agg mixes up her sigature Manhattan at the Hart House Tasting Series - Photos: Jo Dickins

Despite claims to the contrary, the contemporary cocktail is alive and well and living in Toronto, say some of the city’s top bartenders and mixologists who presided over a shaken and stirred audience at Hart House on November 12, 2009. Hosted by Dick Snyder of City Bites magazine, the group was led through some new twists on the standard cocktail that their grandparents and great grandparents might have consumed while listening to the stylings of Les Brown and his Band of Renown.

Leading us through the evening with their beverages of choice were Dave Mitton of The Harbord Room, Steffan Ravalli, most recently of School (now heading to DB in Vancouver, our loss, their gain), Jenn Agg of The Black Hoof ( recently named number two new restaurant in Canada by En Route) and Moses McIntee of Ame Restaurant. Throughout the evening we were shown just how much hidden talent and imagination lies within the drink slingers of our city.

The bartender is often overlooked in the scheme of most Toronto restaurants. New York, Sydney, San Francisco, Vancouver all have vibrant cocktail cultures, where people stand on line to get the best drink possible from their "mixologist", and pay a premium for it. Toronto seems to lag behind in "a sense of complacency" says Ravelli. We learned that night that these bartenders are half Thomas Hart Benton and half Thomas Edison. Whether it be making their own bitters, (which they all do), grenadine, or various flavours of simple syrups, they will stop at nothing to find the right balance of flavor for the perfect drink.

Jenn Agg puts an interesting twist on one of the old standards of the cocktail world, the Manhattan. When asked about the Manhattan and its status today, Jenn said "the balance between bitter, booze and sweetness is the perfect marriage" which makes the Manhattan stand on its own. Putting her own stamp on this perfect marriage, Jenn has created the Spiced Sherry, Spiced Cherry Manhattan. Jenn uses her own cherries that she makes with "love" for her Spiced Sherry, Spiced Cherry Manhattan. Using a spiced Rye Whiskey base (cloves, all spice, cinnamon and mace) she prefers to use her own dried cherries over the standard maraschino cherry, saying "the only use for a maraschino cherry is if you are a 21 year old girl trying to show a boy how good you are with your tongue!!" Jen's infusion of spices, house made cherries and bitters, give her Manhattans a deep earthy and woody component.

The most interesting drink of the evening, if not for name alone, was the Monkey Gland, presented by Stefan Ravalli. The story goes that in the 1920’s Dr. Serge Voronoff was grafting the tissue from monkey testicles on to that of humans, with not much success. It was from this procedure that the term Monkey Gland came from. Don’t you want to try one now? The great thing about this drink, is the reintroduction of Absinthe. Stefan referred to it as the original "panty dropper" but this once thought hallucinogenic beverage, when added gingerly to a cocktail adds heat and depth of flavour. Another liqueur that he brought to this dance was Pisco, a South America Liquor made from distilled grapes. It is often used as a substitution for gin, and has been known to be called the "Grappa of South America" according to Stefan. The addition of Pisco not only provides flavour, but also a dark yellow colour to the cocktail. The rest of the flavours from his of The Monkey Gland comes from his house made grenadine, using Pomegranate juice, and a mix of nutmeg, black pepper, cardamom and mace.

The passion that resonated from our mixologists was sincere. It's clear that they wish to see a revival of the cocktail culture, either before or after dinner, or perhaps on your way home from work or an even an "eye-opener". They all believe that the success of Toronto cocktail culture will come from its kitchens and that bartending school is not the way to go, in fact Moses from Ame was heard saying "I will not hire someone from bartending school, I would much rather hire a chef who has a history of creating" . He looks for people with passion, and puts them through a rigorous 50 question interview, followed by a two day stage. Applying at Ame and planning on impressing with your Crantini is ill advised. The entire group is constantly looking at new ways to infuse flavors to their drinks, to stay current and fun. Jen is working on a savoury drink with a bacon infused rye, Moses is looking through the dry goods section of the Ame kitchen for new influences that can add a new twist, ( It was here that he found the Tandoori for his Tandoori Pisco Sour). Dave Mitton is constantly trying new combinations of liqueurs and syrups at both the Harbord Room and his new venture, the Double Deuce Saloon, ( where you can find a cocktail made in honour of Chef Cory Vitello).

The evening ended with a question of whether or not Toronto was ready or willing to wait 15 minutes and pay $14 to $18 for a cocktail. Most agreed that the price was right for the times, considering the "hidden costs" of labour, cleaning chemicals, glassware and whatever else. On the question of whether people will wait that long for a drink to be made a la minute, there were two school of thoughts. Moses believes that people will wait, and "should wait" for the drink to be created, much like we do with food. He believes it is up to the mixologists to make us wait us, so that it becomes the norm, and that we get away from the mentality of "I want my Gin and Tonic now" pound it back, and get a second right away. Dave Mitton had a more practical approach, while not taking away from the freshness and integrity of the drink. He prefers to prepare his syrups, and bitters the afternoon of service and have enough on hand to get through the night, understanding that the culture of waiting for a good cocktail is coming, but has not yet arrived.

Wherever you stand on the subject is your choice, but one thing is clear, with the cocktail under the tutelage of these four individuals, our sense of taste and smell are in for a treat for years to come. Below is a list of each persons cocktails and ingredients.

The Lavender Sidecar
Dave Mitton, The Habord Room
1 1/5 oz Hennessey VSOP
1/5 oz Cointreau
1 oz Lavender Honey
1 oz Fresh lemon juice (use real lemons)
2 dashes angostura orange bitters
Had Ice cubes
Sugar rim
Shake and serve

Monkey Gland
Steffan Ravalli
1 1/5 oz Pisco
1 1/5 oz Orange Juice
1 tsp spiced grenadine
1 tsp Absinthe
Serve straight up

Spiced Sherry, Cherry Manhattan
Jenn Agg, The Black Hoof
2 oz Spiced Rye
1 oz Harvey's Bristol Cream
Dash of Sour Cherry bitters
Garnish with two dried, macerated cherries
Stir over ice and strain
“If its clear stir, if its opaque shake,” says Jenn Agg on how to determine whether to shake or stir a cocktail.

Mark Moffat's website is dinenvines.com