Cooks, put your talent to work behind the bar this fall, to make cocktails with savoury, culinary-inspired flavours. It’s one of the hottest bar trends right now, thanks to places like Double Chicken Please in New York (named the top bar in North America in 2023), which makes a Cold Pizza cocktail with unusual ingredients like parmesan-infused tequila, burnt toast, tomato and savoury seasonings.
Pizza cocktail
Try the food-inspired cocktail trend by turning a Bloody Mary into a simple pizza cocktail. For each drink, in a measuring cup or cocktail mixing tin, season 4 ounces of tomato juice with spices like dried basil, oregano, parsley and garlic powder, along with salt and pepper and a dash of agave or maple syrup. Add 1 oz vodka, stirring to mix thoroughly. Moisten the rim of a martini glass and dip it into a saucer of nutritional yeast, which gives a toasty, cheesy flavour to every sip. Finally, serve each drink with a “snacktail” cocktail pick: Ham and pineapple, mini-bocconcini and fresh basil leaves, or mini-pepperoni and pickled peppers are just a few ideas.
Cocktail-inspired food
Likewise, food companies have been inspired by the cocktail world to get creative with flavours, inventing the likes of Espresso Martini truffles and Peach Bellini gummies (from Sugarfina, sugarfina.com/ca). Explore the decadent, drink-inspired treats from DWN Craft Chocolatier (dwnchocolate.com). A chocolate bar called Sitting at a Cozy Dark Bar in Toronto Sipping a Toasted Old Fashioned is inspired by Toronto’s famed BarChef lounge and is made from cacao nibs infused with the bar’s bottled Toasted Old Fashioned.
Savoury non-alcoholic options
Whether you’re abstaining or just looking for an autumn-afternoon refresher, Libra non-alcoholic beers from PEI, in savoury flavours like Lemongrass Ginger Saison or Lavender Sage Cream Ale (created in partnership with musician Serena Ryder), are delicious brews (drinklibra.ca).
When enjoyed alone, La Presserie cold-pressed mixers layer cocktail flavours – like a minty Mojito, berry-rich Strawberry Daiquiri or tart cranberry Cosmopolitan – on rich-textured, nutritious juices (lapresserie.com).
Joyburst non-alcoholic canned drinks, from a company that produces juicy, fruity, sugar-free energy and hydration beverages, include a Frosé Rose with berry and watermelon hints and a little kick from caffeine, no wine required!
Gin-ovation
Craft distiller Georgian Bay Spirit Co. launched its botanical-rich Eco-Friendly Gin in a recyclable paper bottle. The company will also plant one tree for every bottle sold, through a partnership with Canada’s Forest Trust.
