Mix Quebec | The Press

The aromatics that flavor the majority of Quebec spirits offer a natural marriage with the holiday season. Balsam fir, wintergreen or small red berries, these ingredients are found in the cocktails imagined by the three mixologists to whom we have given the mandate to put Quebec in the glass for Christmas.

The Mingan Archipelago Lighthouse Keeper

Mixologist: Patricia Jeanson

The holidays are synonymous with excitement for Patricia Jeanson. But rather than pouring champagne into the classic French 75, the mixologist at La Distillerie bar in Montreal uses flavored sparkling water from Quebec company Harrington. She also adds cranberry liqueur from the Côte-Nord as well as essence of sweet clover so that the taste is reminiscent of “that of the forest”, she says. When serving, Patricia Jeanson suggests burning the end of a sprig of rosemary, then placing it on the cup. “The scent is very similar to sage,” she says. It’s simple to make and the magic happens every time.

Ingredients

• 1 oz Niapiskau Puyjalon vodka
• 1 oz Puyjalon Nordic Rubis cranberry-based gin liqueur
• 1 oz homemade rosemary syrup*
• 1/2 oz freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 pipettes of Quebec Sweet Clover essence from Gourmet Sauvage
• Wintergreen Harrington Botanical Sparkling
• 2 sprigs of rosemary
• 1 lemon zest

*Recipe for homemade rosemary syrup

• 1 cup of water
• 1 cup of sugar
• 5 sprigs of fresh rosemary

Syrup preparation

Put the water and sugar in a saucepan, then bring the mixture to a boil. Once the sugar has dissolved, lower the heat and add the fresh rosemary. Leave to infuse for 8 minutes. Strain and pour the syrup into a glass jar. The mixture will keep for two to three weeks.

Preparation

In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, combine all ingredients except Harrington’s Wintergreen Sparkling Beverage. Add a sprig of rosemary and shake vigorously. Double strain into a champagne flute and top up with sparkling wine. Garnish with a sprig of smoked rosemary.

grandma’s remedy

Mixologist: Julien Vézina

Using Quebec products in Asian-inspired cuisine is getting easier and easier, says Julien Vézina, mixologist and owner of Hono Izakaya restaurant in Quebec. The proof: he chose turmeric from Port-au-Persil and shiso leaf from Jardin d’Inverness to concoct a cocktail called Remède de grand-mère whose recipe everyone will want.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 oz St. Laurent 3 Grain Whiskey
• 1/4 oz St. Laurent Rye whiskey
• 1/2 oz of Rhubarb Menaud liqueur
• 1/4 oz Monsieur Cocktail lemon syrup
• 1/2 oz turmeric honey syrup*
• 2 shiso leaves
• 1 dash of Bitter Kebek Flowers bitters
• garnish: shiso leaf from the Garden of Iverness

*Turmeric Honey Syrup Recipe

• 1/4 cup Bellechasse honey
• 1/4 cup of water
• 1/2 tsp. Port-au-Persil turmeric

Syrup preparation

Bring to a boil, then strain.

Preparation

Combine all ingredients in a shaker filled with ice and shake vigorously for 30 seconds. Double strain over ice in an Old Fashioned type glass. Prick a shiso leaf to decorate.

Boreas

Mixologist: Gilbert Lemieux

Forest walks and pink peppermint candies in a bowl at his grandmother’s are Christmas staples for Gilbert Lemieux. The Maison Boulud mixologist at the Ritz Carleton in Montreal wanted to recreate those memories with a cocktail. To do this, he prepared a syrup made from wintergreen and balsam fir. “You feel like you’re walking in the cold when you take the drink,” he explains. He named his recipe Borée in honor of the name of the north wind. And to keep the family spirit inseparable from Christmas, Gilbert Lemieux uses Nomades gin, whose creator Marc-Antoine Langlois is his cousin.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 oz Nomads gin
• 1 1/4 oz forest syrup*
• 1 oz lemon
• Egg white
• Dark and Bitter Forest Bitters

*Forest Syrup Recipe

• 175g sugar
• 250g water
• 5 g dried wintergreen (about 2 tbsp)
• 5 g balsam fir (about 2 tbsp)

Syrup preparation

Put the ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil. From the first bubbles, turn off the heat and leave to infuse for 30 minutes. Strain into a glass jar.

Preparation

Combine all ingredients in a shaker and shake dry (without ice) to emulsify. Add ice to the shaker and shake vigorously again. Strain and pour into a coupette, then decorate with a small fir branch.