Fernet February: "The Vested Bartender" from Boneta

Welcome back to Fernet February, where we will be enjoying a new, original cocktail each post from the creative minds of bartenders in the Pacific Northwest.

Today's cocktail comes from the lovely bar and restaurant, Boneta, hidden in the brick alleys of Vancouver's Gastown. It has one of the best cocktail programs in Vancouver, and some of the best service I've had here in the city as well. You can see my review of Boneta here.

The cocktail was created by Mathieu Faure, an excellent bartender in skill and service, and also one of the few ways to get Amer Picon in Vancouver (as he has his father send over a couple bottles occasionally from France). "The Vested Bartender," as he calls it, has an interesting bitter bite to it along with a lot of herbal texture, but is also balanced nicely by the sweetness from the amaro and Maraschino. It makes a great aperitif before dinner, or just a nice early evening sipper.

The Vested Bartender
The next best thing to having one at home...

45ml Beefeater gin
20ml Ramazzotti Amaro
10ml Maraschino liqueur
5ml Fernet Branca
2 dashes Regan’s Orange bitters

Stir and serve in a cocktail coupe with a small twist of orange zest.

Now for those of you (like me) who use jiggers with ounce measurements rather than mL measurements, here is the basic translation (though note that these had to be approximated a little bit, and using the mL measurements is the proper way to go to achieve the taste that was intended):

1.5oz Beefeater gin
2/3oz Ramazzotti Amaro
1/3oz Maraschino liqueur
1/6oz Fernet Branca
2 dashes Regan’s Orange bitters
Now that is a little tough to accomplish as most jiggers only have 1/4 and 1/2 measurements, but you can guess at it by doing a little less than 3/4oz Ramazzotti, a little less than 1/2 Maraschino, and a little less than 1/4 Fernet. Taste as you're stirring. I found I overdid the Maraschino a little bit, and added too little Ramazzotti.

In the end, you should definitely head down to Boneta and taste this drink as properly made by the staff at Boneta, and stick around and try some other drinks as well because they have some great selections on their menu. If Mathieu is there to make you "The Vested Bartender" himself, have him also make you a Brooklyn or be adventurous and try a Trinidad Sour (Boneta is where I tried my first one). If you don't know what that is, you're in for a delicious surprise.

Thank you to Mathieu for this cocktail, and thank you to Simon Kaulback, the general manager of Boneta, for submitting the recipe and for running such an excellent establishment.
Sante, my friends!

Please share your favourite Fernet cocktails, or your original creations below in the comments section!
And, be sure to stop by again in a few days for another original creation using Fernet by another local bar...

[[ see the Fernet February introduction here ]]
[[ see the "Gastown Swizzle" from L'Abattoir here ]]
[[ see the "Dark and Fernet-y" from Rob Roy here ]]
[[ see the "Chinatown Sour" from The Keefer here ]]
[[ see "Pandemonium" from Veneto Tapa Lounge here ]]
[[ see "The Bittercup" from Pourhouse here ]]
[[ see "The Parliament" from The Diamond here ]]
[[ see "Parliament Hill" from The Hideout here ]]
[[ see "The Lucky Lady" from The Refinery here ]]
[[ see "The Denny Triangle" from Jamie Boudreau / Canon here ]]

Review: Boneta Restaurant

So I can easily say that Boneta is one of my favourite restaurants and bars in Vancouver. Recently changing locations from the edge of Gastown to the heart of Gastown (as most good food and drink in Vancouver seems to be), the ambience is great. Walking on the Gastown brick into alleys and hidden doorways leading to fantastic cuisine and treasure troves of fantastic bartenders is part of what I feel is the Vancouver cocktail experience (see also L'Abbatoir, Pourhouse, and The Diamond). While the bar is small, it's well-worth the wait on a busy night for some of the best service and best cocktails I've had in my adventures. The lighting is perfect for imbibing some classics, the windows show you the old Vancouver brick, and like all my favourites, I feel classy here. I really think that's one of the keys to a great bar, along with excellent service, and of course cocktail quality (see again Pourhouse, and also The West).

Boneta was discovered in its original location ("discovered" for me, that is) by my brother while he was visiting from San Francisco. After taking him to Pourhouse he decided to grab some food and another drink (sadly, after I had left) and stopped at Boneta after eyeing the menu. He left raving about the food, the drink, and the service, so of course I had to come see it for myself. The first time I visited, I was impressed by the food, but even moreso by both the interesting cocktail menu and the great bartending service. I had the pleasure of meeting Jess Nichol, who made me not only some great Boneta originals, but also pulled out a hidden bottle of American rye for a finely made Sazerac. Jess passed away last summer, and Vancouver and its cocktail culture will miss him and his skill. I am very lucky to have had the pleasure of being served by him.

Each time I've visited Boneta since I've been even further impressed by the food, the drink, and moreso the service (particularly by Mathieu Faure, who has served us in some capacity each time we've visited). Aside from one bad experience with one bartender in particular, I feel the service has been above and beyond (including both my lady and I receiving sparkling wine on the house, delivered by Mathieu himself upon noticing us at the door, because of the wait we had to endure for a seat at the bar on a busy night).
The menu always has interesting modern cocktails both from Boneta itself, and from the best bars in the world, like Milk & Honey, Death & Co., Rickhouse, French 75, etc. All the drinks tend to be simple and classic in mindset, which is usually what catches more of my interest. This is not as much of a place to find crazy house-bitters or infused spirits, though they do have some interesting tea and fruit syrups in their originals. As creative as those practices are, I always find myself drawn to more classic tastes.
I have to thank Boneta in particular for serving me the only true Brooklyn cocktail I've ever had (because of the impossibility of finding Picon Amer anywhere near where I live). Mr. Faure had his father send some over from France, and I'm sure there are a lot of thankful people in Vancouver.

Some current libations that stand out for me are the Vested Bartender, featuring Beefeater gin, Cynar amaro, Maraschino liqueur, and Fernet Branca, and the Gastown Proud - a variation on a Perfect Manhattan - featuring Buffalo Trace bourbon, Martini Bianco, Punt e Mes, Maraschino liqueur, and Peychaud's bitters. Overall, what I've enjoyed the most here are the 'bartenders choice' cocktails, which have never disappointed and shown us some amazing drinks for the first time, like the aforementioned Brooklyn, and also the Trinidad Sour - which is still a completely insane cocktail you must try if you have the balls.
Speaking of balls, actually, I should mention that one visit, after a very long, cold, and wet walk around the city for a history of crime in Vancouver tour, my lady and I stopped in for a drink at Boneta. My lady asked for "something with balls," which prompted Mathieu to make her a Brooklyn with Buffalo Trace, and I'm not sure anything else would have suited the mood more perfectly. That is one of the most exciting things about going to a great bar - trusting the bartender's judgement based on your mood. Boneta is definitely a place you can trust in that respect.

If you ever find yourself in Gastown - and you better, because that's where most of our great food and drink is - I definitely recommend Boneta Restaurant, particularly if you feel like having a few drinks. Thank you to Mathieu and the late Jess for their great service and cocktails!

[[ Check out "The Vested Bartender" cocktail here ]]

A Beginner's Guide to Tequila Part 2 - Buying Tequila in B.C.

I will again preface this with saying that I am not much of a tequila drinker in that I'm not exposed to it that often. This is partially because it doesn't show up in classic cocktails very often at all, which is mostly where my interests take me, but more importantly this is because we can't get much tequila in Canada.

Today I'm going to share what I've found by researching all tequila brands that are available to B.C. Liquor Stores (so, not independent ones, but very few of them have a better selection anyway).
Every B.C. liquor store I go to has a tiny and highly overpriced selection of tequila, but if you look at www.bcliquorstores.com, there are more brands available than I thought, albeit with mostly limited stock. I went through each brand and type looking for reviews, awards, anything that would give me an idea of which direction to go.

All in all there are 17 brands currently available, and only 6 of those have good reviews and/or have won awards. Of those 6, the cheapest is $60.
Yup.
However, I did find some decent reviews of some cheaper brands that are apparently very suitable for mixing drinks, which is what most of us will be doing unless we're already knowledgeable on the subject and have a lot of money to spare. As with any spirit, if you're really interested the best thing to do is go to a good bar, start asking questions and start tasting different kinds. The Pourhouse and Boneta in Gastown have a lot available and some amazing bartenders, and The Refinery and The West on Granville Street are also great places to go. (Click on "Reviews" or "Vancouver" to get more good suggestions).

As for what I've found, below is a basic list of some buying suggestions based on reviews (from such sites as www.tequila.net and www.proof66.com) and awards that any brand has won at spirit competitions.

Tequilas Under $50
Sauza Hornitos Gold - $34
Sauza Gold - $26
Cazadores Blanco - $36
(none of the above got very good reviews at all, didn’t win any rewards, aren’t liked by editors of any reputable websites, and are suggested only for mixing. Hornitos got the best reviews of the three and is suggested as a starting point for someone who doesn’t know much about tequila)

Tequilas $50-$100
Herradura Reposado - $60
Aha Toro Reposado - $80
Tierras Reposado Organic - $80
Don Julio Blanco - $85
Cabo Wabo Reposado - $90
Fat Ass Anejo - $90
Don Julio Reposado - $95

Tequilas Over $100
El Tesoro 70th Anniversary - $149
Don Julio 1942 - $150
Jose Cuervo Reserva De Familia - $185
Gran Patron Platinum - $300
Don Julio Real - $386

Aha Toro and Don Julio had the best reviews and awards that I could find out of everything available to us. Cabo Wabo (Sammy Hagar's tequila - for real), El Tesoro, Jose Cuervo Reserva De Familia, and Gran Patron are all decent to good but considered very over-priced (by American price standards, which is WAY less than ours) - especially the latter two.
So, the best way to go apparently is Hornitos if you're just starting out or just want to mix drinks, or Herradura if you're willing to spend more. Anything by Don Julio or Aha Toro would be a real treat - for sipping and not for mixing.

In Conclusion
What I’m seeing is that the tequilas available to us here in B.C., or Canada in general are ridiculously priced compared to the U.S., and mostly big name brands and products that aren’t very good. The ones that are really good are not only at least $60 but also only available in certain locations throughout B.C.
Ultimately it looks like the solution is to get tequila from the U.S., or be content drinking mediocre products like Cazadores or Hornitos, which will still run you $35-40, (compared to a very decent gin or bourbon that will run you under $30).
Doing this research has made it completely clear why I don't know much about tequila and why I don't get to try it very often. If you're looking to get into a spirit or drinking in general, the best thing to do is talk to people you can trust (good bartenders, people who enjoy drinking, etc), look up reviews, and use sites like www.proof66.com to see what kinds of awards the spirits have won. In the end, as always, it's up to your taste, but using all this information will give you good ideas of what directions to go, and along the way you'll learn more and more what you like.

Now that we know how tequila is made, what kinds there are, and what brands are worth your money if you buy in B.C., next time we can talk about how to enjoy it.

[[ click here to see Part 1 of A Beginner's Guide To Tequila ]]
[[ click here to see Part 3 of A Beginner's Guide To Tequila ]]