
Florencia Bay

One way to deftly sidestep the gin v. vodka martini debate is to include both. Bond’s vesper is shaken of course, but this recipe deviates from the Casino Royale original and calls for a stir. If ever there was a cocktail to showcase the elegance of Vancouver Island’s craft spirits and vermouth, it’s Mike Norbury’s Nootka Sound. Photography and styling by Danika Sea.
Nootka Sound
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1 ½ oz Sheringham Seaside gin
1 oz Beaufort vermouth
¼ oz Sheringham vodka
2 dashes Ms. Better’s Orange Tree bitters
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Stir all ingredients over ice before straining into a chilled coupe. Express the oil from a 1” piece of lemon peel over top and garnish with a dried rose bud (or a Nootka rose petal if the season allows).
Riffing on a classic Americano, Mike Norbury’s Zeballos Inlet is a delectable and thirst-quenching gin-based highball; bright, citrusy white vermouth and the delicate botanicals of Sheringham Distillery’s Kazuki are buoyed by the addition of lavender soda. Great anytime, as long as there’s a bowl of salty potato chips nearby! Photography and styling by Danika Sea Design. Recipe by Mike Norbury.
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Zeballos Inlet
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1 ½ oz Beaufort vermouth
½ oz Kazuki gin
3 dashes of Ms. Better’s Trans Canada bitters (or orange bitters instead)
4 oz dry lavender soda
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Build in a Collins glass and serve long, on the rocks. Garnish with a lemon wheel and add a reusable straw.
This one is a favourite. Reminiscent of a fancy cough drop in cocktail form, the Alpine Resort is a perfectly balanced combination of zingy ginger, zippy lemon and sweet honey syrup. Curating a small, high quality bar at home isn’t hard, and certainly doesn’t need to be expensive. Invest in some high quality tools and ingredients and you’ll be able to shake your way into anyone’s affections. Photography and styling by Danika Sea Design. Recipe by Mike Norbury.
Alpine Resort
1 ½ oz Sheringham akvavit
½ oz Beaufort vermouth
¾ oz lemon juice
½ oz honey syrup*
1 coin of ginger
3 dashes of root beer bitters
Combine all ingredients in a shaker, muddle ginger. Flash chill and double strain. Serve over crushed ice in a large rocks glass and garnish with a spanked mint sprig.
*To make honey syrup at home, combine 2 parts honey with 1 part boiling water and stir well. Allow to cool.
This Mike Norbury original riffs on an old classic; the Tom Collins. It is a pretty fresh take of course, but we’re okay with being iconoclasts. The recipe incorporates Beaufort vermouth and Sheringham Distillery’s vodka, and is named for Megin Lake in the northeast portion of Clayoquot Sound. Give it a go and tell us what you think! Photography and styling by Danika Sea Design.
Megin Lake
1 oz Sheringham vodka
1 oz Beaufort vermouth
¾ oz lime juice
½ oz vanilla syrup
3 strawberries
2 oz soda
Place vodka, vermouth, lime juice, syrup and strawberries into a shaker, muddle the strawberries. Flash chill and double strain. Serve long, on the rocks, in a Collins glass and top up with soda. Garnish with a lime wheel and add a reusable straw.
Although Mike Norbury spends a lot of his time behind the bar at some of Victoria’s most illustrious watering holes and eateries, he nonetheless found time to whip up 6 unique cocktails for us. Each recipe is an Island celebration, incorporating Beaufort vermouth alongside Sheringham Distillery’s world class spirits.
Over the coming weeks, we’ll share all six recipes right here (and on our socials). To kick things off, try this exceptionally good riff on a Bronx at home. Photography and styling by Danika Sea Design.
The Comox Cocktail
1½ oz Kazuki gin
¾ oz Beaufort vermouth
6 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
¾ oz grapefruit juice
¼ oz lemon juice
¼ oz honey syrup*
Combine all ingredients and shake over ice. Double strain and serve in a chilled coupe. Garnish with a grapefruit twist.
*To make honey syrup at home, combine 2 parts honey with 1 part boiling water and stir well. Allow to cool.
A couple of hard frosts in the Comox Valley recently have more or less finished off the most delicate of outdoor salad greens; but there’s still plenty of kale! If you’re on the fence about a raw kale salad, try drizzling the leaves with this balsamic vinaigrette. Add some lentil dal and serve with a glass of Ça Beautage and all will be well!
INGREDIENTS Makes enough to dress a salad for 3-4 people
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp wholegrain mustard
Half a small clove of garlic, finely grated
Salt and pepper
METHOD
Place all of the ingredients in a glass mason jar and secure the lid tightly. Shake well to mix and emulsify. The vinaigrette will keep in the fridge for a week – just bring to room temp and shake well.
This recipe should help you squeeze the last out of summer – smoky BBQ mushroom sandwiches, paired with 100% Beaufort-grown Ça Beautage. We’ve long since figured that Marechal Foch pairs like a charm with mushroom based dishes, so grab a bottle of the recently-released 2017 vintage Ça Beautage and give this recipe a go!
INGREDIENTS Makes 4 sandwiches/sliders
4 large portabello mushrooms
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tblsp molasses
2 tblsp white vinegar
1 tblsp demerara sugar
2 tbslp soy sauce
1 tbslp Dijon mustard
1 tsp sriracha (or your favourite hot sauce)
1/2 tsp sweet smoked paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper
*You will also need 4 buns or sliders (or you can use a baguette cut into 4 as we did in the photo)
*Other sandwich fixings of your choice; we used coleslaw and lettuce but we think red onion and avocado would be a great addition too!
METHOD
Life would be so dull without avocados, and tortilla chips! This is a super simple recipe for summertime snacking. Use ripe avocados and a vegetable masher for the best consistency. Make lots and keep leftovers in the fridge in a tall Tupperware container (or a glass jar) with a layer of olive oil on top to prevent oxidation.
Have you tried our 2018 Ortega yet? If not, stop by the tasting room soon! This guacamole is a perfect accompaniment to a chilled bottle of Ortega. Just add a couple pals and a big bowl of Abuelo’s corn tortilla chips. You can find Abuelo’s chips in our tasting room, as well as at the Courtenay Farmer’s Market on Saturdays.
INGREDIENTS Makes about a pint
4-5 large ripe avocados
1 medium tomato
1/4 of a small red onion
juice of 2 limes
1/2 tsp dried granulated garlic
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsps ground coriander
2 large handfuls of cilantro
salt and pepper to taste
METHOD
Not strictly a pairing recipe, but a recipe that calls for wine none-the-less. I know it’s hard to believe, but sometimes the best of us find ourselves with a collection of half finished bottles on the kitchen counter or window ledge. Rather than discarding the contents (even if past its prime for drinking), use those ‘kitchen counter’ wines in an easy peasy wine jelly. We used Ça Beautage in ours for its deep red colour and earthy aromas, but white and rosé will work too. Dry wines are best suited to this recipe. The jelly is great in both savoury and sweet applications, though it really is best in a grown-up PB&J sandwich. Don’t be tempted to reduce the sugar – fruit pectin requires a certain amount in order to set to a jelly.
INGREDIENTS makes about 3 x 350ml jars
2 cups cups of wine
.25 cup of fresh squeezed lemon juice, strained of pulp and pips
1 pouch of liquid pectin
3.5 cups sugar
METHOD
1. First wash your jars and lids with hot soapy water. Rinse well and sterilize. We popped our clean, dry jars in a 275oF oven for 20 minutes.
2. Place the wine, lemon juice and sugar into a large saucepan and place over a medium heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Bring the mix to a gentle simmer then remove from the heat. Immediately stir in the pectin and mix well.
3. Using a sterilized funnel and glass measuring jug, carefully decant the hot liquid into the jars and seal immediately. Allow to cool entirely. The wine jelly will keep in a cool, dark place for many months. Refrigerate once opened.
Address: 5854 Pickering Road,
Courtenay, BC
V9J 1T4
Phone: 250-338-1357
General Inquiries: greatwines@beaufortwines.ca
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