Cocktail Kitchen Series @ The Refinery

Vancouver Cocktails and the Bartending community have come a long way in recent years, but we’ve only just begun. Five years ago, an event as ambitious and bold as The Cocktail Kitchen Series would not have been possible. The brainchild of the Refinery’s magnificently creative and gregarious, Lauren Mote; this series of events is set to last into next year and beyond.  It takes a lot of hard work and chutzpah to commit to this kind of ongoing program, but it’s no surprise to see it successfully born at The Refinery.

The support of the community has been remarkable, with the first month of events selling out completely. I have been the lucky guy able to attend all four of July’s occasions – it seems I will have the good fortune of attending every Thursday for the duration of this initial six month endeavour.

Sponsorship is also integral to the success of this Series. Beam Global stepped up to the plate, launching the first month of competition with Hornitos Reposado Tequila, an ideal match for July’s theme region: Central America.

A food menu designed to inspire and challenge cocktail creativity requires the efforts of a unique individual – enter Ben De Champlain. This renaissance man is equal parts Chef and Bartender, having travelled the globe in search of inebriation and inspiration. Currently he is at home behind The Refinery Bar, but has graciously gone back to his cooking roots to spawn the feature menus of The Cocktail Kitchen Series. Ben’s personal experiences with July’s region in question has led to a diverse and wonderfully interesting trio of plates:

First Course
Beautiful Qualicum scallop ceviche with chile, cilantro, grapefruit and orange – accented with an intimidatingly massive wedge of fennel. By way of purposeful braising, Ben has effectively retained the distinct personality of fennel, while curbing its aggressive sting. It has become deliciously delicate, doubling as a lovely textural vehicle for spicy Guajillo dressing – a West Coast expression of Central American influences.

Second Course
A deconstruction of Prawn Tacos – Jerk spice poached prawns with tomato chayote and pineapple salad tossed in pimento dressing (an all spice, cinnamon, nutmeg and habanero hot sauce). Cooling is provided by a quenelle of avocado crema, while a homemade soft tortilla is there to help wipe things up – influence derived from the Caribbean and Gulf Central American Countries.

Third Course
Flank steak marinated in achiote & Driftwood Brewing Whitebark White Ale. Jicama, watercress and cucumber make a refreshing and verdant salad to foil the spicy marinade and jalapeno and cilantro dressing. Ben says no Yucatan steak dish is complete without grilled green onions, and we are soon in staunch agreement.

The Bartenders

Lauren Mote
The Cocktail Kitchen is her baby, and she takes the lead to show how it’s done. With affable style, Lauren demonstrates her knack for culinary complexities in liquid form.

Colin MacDougall
A charming and soft-spoken East-coaster, Colin has spent time behind some of the top Bars in Vancouver(West, Blue Water Cafe & Pourhouse). He lets the subtlety and precision of his drinks speak for themselves.

David Bain
A veteran of the local restaurant & Bar scene, David is armed with an irrepressible and disarming smile. Now behind the Cherry wood Bar at West, he focuses his energy on cocktail creativity.

Ben De Champlain
The Chef turned Bartender turned Chef, turned back into a Bartender for one special night. Some would suggest that this provided an unfair advantage, but I disagree. Having so much food familiarity at your fingertips can be a curse in preparation, as Bartending is often a quick art of impulse and instinct. I for one was most curious to see how Ben would fair with too much information and a month to prepare.

The Rules
Every drink must be made with the feature spirit – Hornitos Reposado Tequila. All Bartenders are required to use The Refinery house-made tinctures or bitters in each of their creations. This essential cocktail ingredient is becoming more increasingly understood and embraced, by Bartenders and drinkers alike. The Refinery’s stable of dashable potions stands at an impressive 22 types. Other than these particulars, Bartenders are allowed to stretch their imagination in any direction.

The Judging
Many cocktail competitions focus on the technique and show of Bartending – often before a panel of peers or scrutinizing scribes. The Refinery has decided to truly let their guests decide, empowering them as judges – armed with the simple attribute of having a palate and knowing what they like. Every night of Cocktail Kitchen draws a diverse crowd of thirty individuals: Refinery regulars, hospitality friends and all forms of the cocktail curious. Each drinking diner takes notes and marks score cards from the pure personal perspective of a consumer.  Scores are based on how well the Bartender matched their creations to the personality of the food – plain & simple.

The Drinks
All the Bartenders brought their best – there were no bad drinks, only better ones. Here are my favourite pairings from each Bartender:

Lauren’s “Aguas Fresca”
Her first course cocktail was veiled in a peachy hue; whispering with spice, mint and cucumber on the nose. Cucumber has a tendency to dominate other aromas and flavours, but Lauren has done a fine job of folding it in as an effective and appropriate understatement. Her own Sherry & fennel bitters serve as structure, while watermelon makes things juicy and lime juice refreshes without being too acidic. It quenches the fire of chile and guajillo and makes refreshing friends with scallop, cilantro and citrus of the first course dish. I have never had a cocktail made by Lauren that wasn’t amazingly complex and this was no exception, as new flavours kept coming in fresh waves.

Colin’s Cocktail no. 3
At the beginning of his night, Colin humbly explained that his drinks are unnamed, hoping that they would speak for themselves. His third drink took influence from a New Orleans classic – The Ramos Gin Fizz. Classically, it is a drink defined by texture and floral characteristics. The classic texture is achieved by aggressive emulsification of egg whites, which he had fun with by way of a manly group shake-off behind the Bar – a tip of the hat to the Ramos Brothers and their shaker boy routine. Lime juice carried structure and body, while instead of prescribed orange blossom water, Colin introduces key lime oil for it’s pointed vibrancy. The drink is smart and successful in slaking the flank steak’s spice and harmonizing with crisp green jicama and watercress.

David’s “Bringing Sherry Back”
Wildly creative – David stepped way out on a limb to find a firm foundation of cocktail compatibility with the first course. Aromas of sour cherry and tea are obvious on the aroma, provided by house bitters and a body of dry red wine. A curious but fascinating breath of smoke wafts up next – a creative result of drops of Ardbeg 10 year old single malt whisky. The smokey tones are made to play well with earthy fennel and guajillo. The combination of ingredients was backboned by Alvear Fino Montilla (a close relative of Sherry) and the drink took on a mulled wine character that was not only complimentary to the food, but satisfyingly firey, soothing and rewarding.

Ben’s Cocktail No. 1
Choosing to to release his creations unnamed, Ben instead cites in great detail the influence and philosophy behind his drinks. This cocktail finds it’s culinary design by way of the Sangrita (“little blood” – the fresh and spicy tomato-based Mexican chaser shot), but he leaves out the tomato juice to focus on herb and spice. The cocktail glows green with abundance of chlorophyll-enriched cilantro and the perfect bite of jalapeno. This tipple resounds with Tequila personality both refreshing and savoury. Ben demonstrates a keen understanding of balance in a most unexpected and successful combination of elements – resounding the flavours of the dish instead of challenging them.

~ Jay Jones

Click to view the August line-up for the Cocktail Kitchen Series