HARRIS, Sask. – Pumpkin purée, preserves and sage are just a few of the ingredients that Bridget Albert, author of Market Fresh Mixology, uses in autumn cocktails.
“Culinary trends in cocktail culture are about sustainable relationships with the land and the people who grow the fresh ingredients,” says Albert, a fourth generation mixologist who comes from a farming community near Chicago.
Albert says that consumers should not overlook what’s in their own backyards.
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“If you are going to eat cherry pie for dinner, why not try some pureed in a cocktail to complement the meal?”
Albert, who will talk about seasonal products at the Art of the Cocktail Festival in Victoria Nov. 7-8, will be taking along farm products to educate bartenders, consumers and beverage connoisseurs about how to use farm fresh product in cocktails.
She recently returned from a field trip with her mixology students to a farm in Huron, Ohio, where students sampled products, asked questions and got to know the history of the farm operation.
“If you can weave a bit of history of the ingredients, a little first-hand knowledge of how it is grown, you have a much bigger story to tell, and evoke more interest in quality, handmade beverages versus pre-fabricated cocktails,” Albert said.
David Wolowidnyk, bar manager of Vancouver’s West restaurant, has been using farm fresh ingredients for four years.
“I go to farmers’ markets or talk to our chef about what fresh product we have in the cooler.”
He has his favourite local suppliers but also buys from two farmers that drop by every week.
Some of Wolowidnyk’s favourite autumn ingredients are carrots, beets and heirloom tomatoes and fruits like apples and pears. His signature cocktail is the Beet-nyk, made with golden beets, potato vodka and apple liqueur.
Wolowidnyk says that cocktails made with heirloom tomatoes can fetch $16 per cocktail, but consumers should expect to pay $10 to $13 on average for a drink made with farm fresh ingredients.
His customers expect something fresh, different and not too sweet and many request pairings with cocktails to refresh the palate throughout a meal.
Frank Deiter of Okanagan Spirits in Vernon, B.C., has been making artisan fruit spirits for five years using pears, cherries and apricots, flavoured with herbs and botanicals like anise, fennel, lemon balm and hyssop.
He uses about one tonne of herbs per year but finds that the biggest hurdle to expanding production and markets with growers is the distribution fee charged by the liquor board.
“If we did not have to pay such high distribution fees, we would be able to pay higher prices for high quality apricots for example,” Deiter said.
He said that production of fruit spirits is much more expensive than grain spirits, about $20 to $25 per bottle compared with five cents per bottle for grain spirits.
Dieter said consumers are responsive to his products and they are educated by on-site tastings and events like Feast of Fields in Summerland, B.C.
“The higher the culinary quality enjoyment and appreciation of a product by chefs and consumers, the bigger the demand by people who are locals, visitors and locals wanting to gift something quality from their region that they are proud of.”
