*By Natalie Taylor*
While the weather is not quite up to snuff in Toronto yet, it doesn’t mean we can’t dream of summer getaways in Ontario. Cottage season is a beautiful time in the province — one that involves drinks, drinks and more drinks by the lake! Last year, Georgian Bay Spirit Co. answered our dreams of this fantasy by creating a drink that’s the best cocktail in a can we’ve ever had: the Gin Smash. The effervescent, light taste of the lemon, lime, tangerine and a finish of mint doesn’t taste alcoholic and certainly goes down easy. The vodka drinkers wanted a can of their own and GBSC answered their prayers with their brand new Vodka Smash that hit LCBO shelves just in time for May 2-4 and the start of cottage season…
To launch the new Vodka Smash, we were invited to their version of Muskoka in the city at a private residence in Yorkville (file under: best press launches ever). Up an escalator and into a bright airy space complete with a long sectional and scrabble board by the fire, we were sipping out of our cans immediately! We couldn’t help but notice the gorgeous pool —complete with an oh, so casual canoe display—right in the middle of all of the downtown skyscrapers that made the cottage in the city theme complete…
Mixologist and co-owner of Kensington Market’s El Rey, Owen Walker, led our group a tasting of GBSC’s bottles of gin and vodka and the smashes. Walker taught us to acclimatize our mouth to what we were tasting in the first sip and take note of how the taste feels in our mouth on the second sip. What’s different about GBSC’s vodka is the floral complexity on the nose, giving it a light and bright taste.
Though the vodka and gin smashes taste a bit similar in my opinion, I noticed that the tangerine is swapped with grapefruit in the vodka smash and the vodka has a stronger taste to it whereas the gin smash is very light. Regardless, I’ve found my summer drink! To more weekends away, drinking while cooking, and time by the lake!
For the cocktail lovers, here’s a great recipe to try this summer:
“Balmy Bay Days”
45 ml Georgian Bay Gin
15 ml Cynar
10 ml Rich Simply Syrup (2 sugar:1 water)
22 ml Fresh Lemon Juice
1 Half Moon of Orange
1 Basil Leaf
2 Dashes Orange Bitters
Place all components in a shaker tin and shake hard until diluted to your liking. Strain over new ice and top with 30 ml of Gin Smash. Garnish with a leaf of basil.
Thank you to Georgian Bay Spirit Company for hosting us. As always, reviews and opinions are our own.
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