I’ve been reading Jason Wilson’s Boozehound: On the Trail of the Rare, the Obscure, and the Overrated in Spirits for the past, oh… 2 months now? I should have finished it long ago, but I’ve loved it so much, I’ve been purposefully stalling its completion. One of its features is the cocktail recipes at the end of each chapter.
So last Friday I was in the Yaletown Liquor Store for an Oyster Bay wine tasting (my Dad was pouring – long story), when I eyed the bottle of aperatifs behind the sampling booth. There, in all its glory, was Lillet – a French wine aperatif made famous by James Bond’s Vesper Martini – and it was selling for only $16.99 a pop. I didn’t buy it, but kept the pricepoint in mind for a latter visit.
The following Friday I found myself buying a bottle of Capel Pisco in the same liquor store – it was my goal that night to make Pisco Sours. But it the next morning I read a chapter in Boozehound that coincidentally just happened to revolve around Pisco… and it ended with a perfect recipe for a Pisco Sour, but a recipe for something called a Viceroy – a Pisco-based cocktail mixed with, yup – Lillet.
Nevertheless, a trip back to the liquor store was in order.
A Viceroy (recipe from Boozehound)
- 1.5 ounces of Pisco
- 1 ounce of Lillet Blanc
- 1/2 ounce of freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1/2 ounce of simple syrup
- 1.5 ounces of tonic water
- mint sprig for garnish
The result?
Well, I still prefer a Pisco Sour to the Viceroy, but if you’re looking for an alternative to a gin & tonic, this’ll do. I doubt I’ll make it again – it seems to be lacking a certain flavour profile that I can’t put my finger onto. It’s subtly bitter, subtly citrusy, but not enough to make it stand out. Perhaps more lime is in order?
PEANUT LOLITA 