Cosy up with a cocktail When the weather leaves you shaken, a boozy drink can stir up the heat By: Ben Sigurdson Posted: 7:00 PM CST Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022

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This article was published 21/02/2022 (992 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The incessant snowfall and bone-chilling temperatures this month have made it feel like February has been about 75 days long — and March is still nearly a week away.

If there’s anything that can help beat the chill of yet another round of shovelling the white stuff, it’s the warmth of a good wintry cocktail — not necessarily a hot toddy so much as a slightly boozier beverage that warms from the inside.

Our drinking habits tend to change with the seasons — summer, for example, calls for lighter whites and rosés for wine, easygoing pilsners and lagers for beer. With cocktails, it would seem, it’s much the same.

“When the weather cools down, your average customer might not even realize they’re doing this, but they tend towards anything stirred and boozy: old fashioneds, Manhattans, martinis and also aged spirits — your aged rums, whiskies… any brown liquors,” says Callan Anderson, general manager and bartender at Patent 5 Distillery.

Located on Alexander Avenue in the east end of Winnipeg’s Exchange District, Patent 5 has been pumping out award-winning vodkas and gins since 2019, all the while experimenting with barrel-aging some of their products for higher-alcohol, smaller-batch releases in their adjacent cocktail bar.

Patent 5’s in-house cocktail menu changes seasonally to reflect what guests are after.

“If you look at our previous menu that we had over the summer, it was all focused on fresh fruits, herbs, flowers, that kind of thing,” Anderson says. “When we shifted towards the wintertime this time around, we were thinking of capturing the idea of something that’s comforting.”

The current cocktail menu offers drinks that pack a boozy punch, inspired by diner-type comfort food.

“We wanted something that’s evocative of wintertime, colder weather, staying warm and cosy,” Anderson explains. The Pastrami on Rye, for example, features toasted rye bourbon, vermouth, mustard shrub, black pepper tincture, lemon bitters and foam, as well as a “brisket infusion” from neighbouring Nonsuch Brewing Co.

In addition to its in-house cocktail menu for sipping in the 30-ish person cocktail bar, Patent 5 vodka and gin are also available to take home from the distillery and online at patent5shop.ca, and are also available at Liquor Marts.

One of the offerings only available from the distillery is the Elettaria, a gin infused with cardamom. “To me it’s something that bridges the gap quite nicely for rum and whisky drinkers, because it has those warm spice notes they’ll be familiar with flavour-wise,” Anderson says. “We dialed back the juniper a little bit, so it’s perhaps a bit more approachable for someone that would ordinarily say ‘I’m not a gin drinker.’”

Patent 5’s twist on the classic old fashioned — a cold-weather classic — substitutes the typical bourbon with Elettaria. It’s one of the premade cocktails they offer in 375-ml bottles that chilled imbibers can enjoy at home — ideally (and ironically, perhaps) over ice. The concoction, which combines the Elletaria gin with simple syrup and bitters, recently took a gold medal and best in class award at the 2022 Canadian Artisan Spirit Competition.

Another compelling winter bottling from Patent 5 is the experimental, small-batch Dipteryx Spiced Gin Liqueur, made with the Elletaria along with local honey, cacao nibs and tonka beans.

‘Someone jokingly once described tonka beans as ‘hipster vanilla,’ ” Anderson says, adding that the drink, which is somewhat sweet and clocks in at 26.5 per cent alcohol, “falls into the aperitif kind of realm — something that would go really well with an espresso after a nice dinner.”

Available again this year for take-home enjoyment this winter is a pair of premade Festival du Voyageur-inspired cocktails, the Boreal Punch II and the Bonfire Taffy. The former features the award-winning Patent 5 Navy Strength Gin (which clocks in on its own at a whopping 57.1 per cent alcohol by volume), cherry brandy, Caribou fortified wine and an Earl Grey and rosemary syrup.

“This time around, we took inspiration from a winter walk through the forest — some herbal notes and juniper, very fresh,” Anderson says.

The Bonfire Taffy, meanwhile, includes Patent 5’s vodka, cognac, maple syrup, crème de menthe, crème de cacao and a splash of Ardbeg 10-year-old whisky for a smoky note.

As for Patent 5’s own brown spirits, some of the distillery’s dozens of barrels were filled nearly three years ago — and once they hit the three-year mark, the stuff inside can be bottled and officially sold as “Canadian whisky.”

Anderson says they’ve been tempted to release some of the barrel-aged booze early, but figure patience is a virtue.

“We’re so close to the finish line that we may as well wait it out. We’ve tried it and it tastes really great, but it’s not quite there yet. So you know, why not wait until it’s ready — and if that happens to coincide with that three-year mark, that works out really well.”

One of Anderson’s favourite cold-weather cocktails is simple and boozy — a classic martini. “Ironically, other than maybe an old fashioned, it’s the drink I most associate with winter drinking,” she says. Her recipe includes one part dry white vermouth to five parts of the award-winning Patent 5 Navy Strength Gin — a drink surely strong enough to subdue any sailor.

She recognizes her pick of a martini in cooler temps might be seen as a bit unusual. “Usually a martini is served as cold as possible, but it’s very simple, and higher ABV (alcohol by volume) — just sit and enjoy it at a cosy bar top.”

And on occasion, when the mercury plummets Anderson will go all-in on summer flavours to help remind her of warmer times.

“If you’re anything like me, you might be inclined towards reaching for tropical flavours with a little bit of added complexity and depth as a form of escapism, if you will,” she says, laughing.

Anything it takes to push through until the mountains of snow start melting.

ben.sigurdson@winnipegfreepress.com

Twitter: @bensigurdson

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