We asked five bartenders Quebecois to design a holiday cocktail based on local alcohol. This week, Lori Chiaradia, who works both at Le Royal bar and at Rouge Gorge above, chose not one, but two Quebec spirits: Charlevoyou whey brandy and gin Radoune.
When we told her that the main subject of this Christmas Gourmet was the tourtière, we didn’t think that Lori Chiaradia would really take this information into account. But it was bad to know the one who has a diploma in cooking from the Institut de tourisme et d’hôtellerie du Québec (ITHQ) and who has already invented a cocktail inspired by Chinese pâté!
The chord enthusiast immersed herself in reading François Chartier’s “creation of harmonies” books. She decided to focus on the notes of the lactone family, which are expressed of course by aromas of dairy products, but also of peach, pork, coconut, hazelnut, almond, caramel. , mushrooms and sherry.
It was while working with Maximilien Jean (author of the first cocktail in this series) that Lori developed her passion for “liquid cuisine”. Waitress at the Jockey, she quickly migrated behind the bar. “Night life had always challenged me. She also continued to evolve with her “mentor” at the Royal, when he was head of the bar there.
PHOTO DAVID BOILY, THE PRESS
Lori Chiaradia is bartender at the Le Royal bar and offers the Moccione cocktail menu.
Always curious to learn and improve, she has combined a diploma in cooking and sommelier courses, and is currently pursuing a certificate in management and socio-cultural practices of gastronomy at the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM). When its dining room and terrace reopened, the Moccione restaurant asked the designer to develop its cocktail menu. She also worked there. ” The bartenders who are surrounded by cooks are the most stimulated, ”she firmly believes. At the Royal, she is lucky enough to also be able to work in the environment of the Rouge Gorge, located above.
Lori’s holiday proposition, which can be drunk before, during or after the tourtière, is a testament to her love of cooking and well-made pairings. It is a strong alcohol cocktail (it looks like boozy in English), but whose harmony is such that it gives the impression of drinking silk. Like many others bartenders from home, she uses Amer Kebek products, a range of bitters with local wild plants, created by Claudia Doyon.
PHOTO DAVID BOILY, THE PRESS
Radoune Gaspé gin, Amer Kebek with mushrooms and Charlevoyou whey brandy are part of the composition of Lori Chiaradia’s cocktail.
Permafrost
It takes 24 hours in advance to prepare this cocktail, which requires an infusion by fat wash of the main spirit. It is important that the marsala used is dry and not soft. It can be replaced by a dry sherry such as an avalillado. Radoune gin has a very distinctive mushroom taste which makes it rather essential to the recipe, but nothing prevents you from experimenting with other gins that are more woody than fruity / floral.
Ingredients
1 ounce of Charlevoyou whey brandy, flavored with coconut milk (see recipe below)
3/4 ounce of Radoune gin
1/4 ounce of dry marsala, a fortified wine from Sicily (Lori used the dry Vecchioflorio, offered at the SAQ)
1/4 ounce of amaretto
2 dashes of bitter with Amer Kebek mushrooms
PHOTO DAVID BOILY, THE PRESS
Lori Chiaradia mixes her cocktail for about ten seconds (about twenty spoonfuls) before pouring it on a large ice cube,
Preperation
1. Pour all the ingredients into a mixing glass. Fill with ice and turn with a bar spoon for about ten seconds (about twenty turns).
2. Pour over a large ice cube (or several smaller ones, but not crushed ice!) And garnish with a dried mushroom.
3. Serve before, with or after the tourtière!
For the brandy flavored with coconut milk
the fat washing is a technique that consists of flavoring an alcohol from a fatty substance (whiskey and bacon, rum and foie gras, etc.). Lori poured 250 ml of Charlevoyou whey spirit into a closing container (a Mason jar, for example), added two tablespoons of coconut milk (the fatty part especially) and let the mixture macerate for 24 hours in the refrigerator. The fat sets and becomes very easy to remove by passing the mixture through a coffee filter. The rest of the infused brandy can be stored indefinitely and can be used in other cocktails.