From the Perfect Storm to the classic Mai Tai, it’s all available at the remodelled Hudson Building
Joanne Sasvari
Sun
Bartender Steve Bath, of the Shore Club, with a Perfect Storm. It’s a blend of tropical juices and three different kinds of rum. Photograph by : Peter Battistoni, Vancouver Sun
Is it time for the comeback of the umbrella drink? Well, just maybe, at least when it’s as delicious and, yes, stylish as the Perfect Storm.
In fact, the Perfect Storm — a blend of tropical juices and three kinds of rum, all festively garnished with a paper umbrella — is one of Brett Kawaguchi’s favourites on the cocktail list he created for The Shore Club.
“There’s something here for everybody,” the bar and restaurant manager says with a laugh.
For those who haven’t yet wandered through its etched glass doors, The Shore Club is the spectacular $8-million remodel of the Hudson Building on the corner of Granville and Dunsmuir.
It’s the latest restaurant and lounge in David Aisenstat’s remarkable lineup, which includes five Hy’s Steakhouses and more than 90 Keg Restaurants across North America, as well as Gotham just around the corner on Seymour Street.
None of those places, however, has the retro glamour of The Shore Club and especially its gorgeous lounge, with its deep plush chairs, dark wood, sculpted glass features and soaring ceiling.
“The whole idea of the place was to recreate that cruise ship, steamer, back-in-the-day kind of feeling,” Kawaguchi says.
To enhance that ambience, when bar staff created their cocktail list, they included a number of almost-forgotten favourites, such as the Mai Tai and the Sling — only modernized and transformed with top-quality liqueurs, liquors and fresh fruit purees.
“Like a lot of David’s restaurants, classics kind of run through things,” Kawaguchi says.
The Granville Sling, for instance, is made with Giffard lychee liqueur and Tanqueray gin, while the Hudson Bellini is based on the classic Prosecco and white peach puree cocktail, not the “slushy, mushy” concoction found in too many bars.
Yet, while the drinks offer a nod to the past, Kawaguchi and his staff refuse to cling to outmoded trends like the cranberry and blueberry juice crazes of a few years back.
“We tried to move away from being too pink-drinked,” he says.
Now this is a lounge we want to lounge in.
RECIPES
Hudson Bellini
A variation on the classic Bellini as invented by Harry Cipriani at Harry’s Bar in Venice.
1 oz Bacardi white rum
1/4 oz Marie Brizzard peach liqueur
1 1/4 oz white peach puree
About 4 drops Pama pomegranate liqueur
Mionetto Prosseco
Mix rum, liqueurs and peach puree in a champagne flute. Top with Prosecco or other sparkling wine and stir very gently. Serves 1.
Perfect Storm
1 oz. Bacardi white rum
1 oz. Bacardi dark rum
1 oz. Bacardi amber rum
2 oz. passionfruit juice
2 oz. lime juice
2 oz. guava juice
2 oz. guava puree
Place rum and juices in a blender with a few ice cubes. Blend until smooth, then pour into a tall glass. Garnish with a slice of pineapple and a paper umbrella. Serves 1.
© The Vancouver Sun 2007