DRINK | The Amelia

First off, Happy Repeal Day. So I’m a day late but really who cares? It’s hard to believe that 80 years ago people were taking their first sips of hooch in over a decade. To celebrate the liberation of friends just south of the border, I’m shaking up the Amelia.

A little back story on this one. A few weeks ago the town of Wolfville N.S. was lucky enough to host Devour! the Slow Food Film Fest, a five day celebration of film, food and drink. The event itself was great and the few films I caught were both inspiring and mouth watering. My favourite was easily the feature film Hey Bartender. Emphasizing the historical evolution of the modern cocktail, Hey Bartender follows the path of a few individuals involved in the cocktail scene in the US, namely Steve Schneider.  The film follows his rise to fame at Employees Only, a notorious cocktail bar in New York City. Voted the best cocktail bar in the world at the 2011 Tales of the Cocktail, Employees Only is one of the epicentres of the cocktail world.

So, when our friend Lia asked me to do a cocktail for the Devour staff wrap up party, picking a cocktail from the Employees Only menu was obvious. After watching the film a second time, the choice was clear when Steve mentions the Amelia is the most popular cocktail on their menu. I knew it would be a crowd pleaser, and indeed it was. The Amelia, a vodka based drink, is another variation on a sour with blackberries and lemon as its sour and St. Germain and some simple syrup as its sweet. I have to say I love St. Germain. It adds a Summery note to any drink, suits a collins perfectly, and can be used very easily with any drink containing vodka or Gin. I also really enjoy it with rye or whiskey cocktails. Not being able to get my hands on any fresh blackberries, I opted to go with raspberries instead. It came out beautifully but I’ll let you be the judge.

Cheers.