Whisky Holiday Season Buyer's Guide - Issue 3: LCBO No Stress Holiday Cocktails

Premium Pre-Made Cocktails

Premium pre-made cocktails have their place in the whisky world. Imagine arriving at a friend’s party, and bringing a bunch of Old Fashioned or Manhattan cocktails that just need to be poured over ice. It’s so sensible.

There are three main options that can be broken down easily enough depending on the venue. The biggest bang for the buck is J.P. Wiser's Manhattan Canadian Whisky (12865). At $29.95 for a 750ml bottle at 35% ABV is a great price. It’s not a rye-forward Manhattan, but it is boozy, and it’ll cool down quick when poured over ice. It’ll make anywhere between eight to twelve manhattans depending on your pour size. That’s fantastic!

The next level of premium batched cocktails involves a difficult choice. I've had Frankie of BarChef on the podcast before. His cocktail skills are wild, and his cocktails are not gentle in flavor. Barchef Project The Toasted Old Fashioned (546994) is an intense ride. I recommend pouring it over ice and vigorously stirring to settle the sugars and spices. You’ll either love the BarChef Old Fashioned or you’ll hate it. It’s not a traditional cocktail, and it is herbal forward.

The happy medium is Founder's Original Old Fashioned (568667). This is boozy, sweet, and carries through a nice level of complexity. Founder’s Original is a project launched by the former owners of SpiritHouse, so their cocktail background is also quite extensive.

No matter your choice, the above are great alternatives to the usual wine. When it comes to parties, I just prefer walking around with a cocktail. At to that an affordable tray of large square ice-cubs, and you have it made!

In the Less Spirited Category

I’ve been doing my best to expand my non-spirit knowledge. Helpful in that endeavour has been subscribing to Christine Sismondo and Adam McDowell’s super helpful Moose Milk mailing list. There’s a yearly subscription. You get a ton of booze knowledge focused on what’s coming out of the LCBO. They’re currently running a content. If you subscribe by today, you have a chance to win one of many cocktail books they’re giving away!

I asked Christine what her top three picks were in the non-spirit category, and here are her picks, based on easy cocktail making during the holidays:

Da Foz White Port (434190) is the fortified wine you didn't know you needed. Why? 'Cause White Port & Tonic is an excellent, low-octane alternative to G&T that won't knock you off your feet.

We don't get a lot of Palo Cortado sherry in Canada, so head to the LCBO to grab this dry Lustau expression (748798) to see what all the hype is about. Serve it chilled and with snacks.

Versatile, affordable, bitter-sweet and easy-to-use, Cynar (380832) checks all the boxes. My family always said artichokes were good for the liver, so I consider it a health tonic, too. Mix it with soda, grapefruit or lemonade or have fun with it in cocktails.

Thanks Christine for the recommendations!

Listen to Two Whisky Authors Talk about Rum And Give the Gift of Books

A couple of weeks ago I sat down with fellow whisky author Davin, and we drank some rum! It made for a terrific podcast. Additionally, we plugged our books. Davin’s book is a fantastic exploration of Canadian Whisky. My book is perfect for someone that’s new to whisky, or someone that’s exploring new categories in whisky.

You can listen to the podcast on your favourite podcasting network: The Whisky Topic Episode 139.