Cocktail: A Song of Ice and Spice | Bartender: Beau McQueen

I wanted to create a Sam Ross style cocktail where it can be repeated and recreated anywhere with ingredients most bars have on hand. It was a combination of his Penicillin Cocktail and a New York Sour, but subbing tawny 10 year port rather than red wine to add some extra complexity.

Photo: Sameer Kamal

22ml Lemon Juice
22ml Honey Ginger Syrup*
30ml Sombra Mezcal
30ml Maple Rye (high quality Quebec maple syrup)
15ml 10 year Tawny Port
Atomizer Elemakule Tiki Bitters by Bittermens

Add all ingredients except the Port and the bitters into a shaker tin shake and strain into a rocks glass with a king cube. Float the the 15ml of tawny port over top of the king cube, and spritz the cocktail with the atomizer.

*Honey Ginger Syrup: 66ml water to 100ml honey. Warm and blend the two together. Using the honey syrup 500ml honey to 7% fresh ginger. Blend in a Vitamix and double strain. Will keep for 2 weeks.

Beau McQueen

I have been bartending for four years in the beautiful hidden gem they call Kananaskis, in Alberta Canada at the resort destination hotel Pomeroy Kananaskis Mountain Lodge. It was my first hospitality job and after climbing the ranks the bartender position gave me an outlet for creativity. I use all kinds of sources for inspiration and find that travel, cooking, and books can always spur on the next idea. Another of my favourite things about being behind the bar is the continuous learning that is there if you want to engage yourself in the bartending world. Finally, if there is one thing I have learned over the years it is that hospitality makes the drink, and so it's all about creating a story for the guest and making them feel at home when they come sit down for a drink experience.