Vancouver Gourmet Tour held their Yaletown Cocktail Crawl a few weeks ago and they brought guests on a cocktail adventure in the trendy neighbourhood of Yaletown. We indulged on cocktail and food pairings at 3 of the best restaurants in Yaletown – House Special, Per Se Social Corner and Brix & Mortar within 3 hours.
The evening began at Xoxolat for a Prosecco toast with some snacks before we all split up into groups.
House Special: Stop #1
House Special is a local favourite specializing in modern Vietnamese Cuisine. At this location, we were able to choose from these 3 cocktails:
- Matcha Do About Nothing
- Kaffir Lime Collins
- Lavender Baby No 2
These were paired with the Drunken Squid with Cucumber Salad.
Matcha Do About Nothing
This cocktail is made with their house-made lemon grass vodka, Sons of Vancouver Amaretto, and Matcha-infused honey syrup. I really enjoyed this as it was well-balanced.
Lavender Baby No 2
Mezcal, lavender syrup and egg whites are used in this cocktail. Love the bits of lavender on the top of the drink.
Per Se Social Corner: Stop 2
Per Se Social Corner is a blend of classic Italian kitchen and modern Spanish and Latin American tapas bar. There were 2 drinks on the menu to choose from:
- Gin Brusco
- Hall of Fame
Both paired with the Wagyu Beef Carpaccio and caprese salad skewer.
The dining area is pretty nice. Since we all shared one long table, it was great to mingle with the other guests on the cocktail crawl too.
Gin Brusco
This a twist on a gin and sour. It has house-made Lambrusco, blackberry reduction, thyme, and lemon. This was my favourite cocktail of the evening. I was so surprised how good the ingredients were balanced. I would be happy having another one. Looks great too.
Hall of Fame
Consider this their version of a Manhattan 2.0. It has Wayne Gretzky whisky, elderflower liqueur, Fernet Blanca and orange peel.
Brix & Mortar: Stop 3
The last stop of the evening was at Brix & Mortar serving up modern Canadian cuisine in the 1912 heritage brick building.
At the bar, they were mixing up 2 different cocktails to choose from:
- Big Flavours in Little China
- Seyton’s Whispers
These were served with seared bacon wrapped scallop on peking duck fried risotto.
We sat right by the downstairs bar, so we got to see the bartenders in action creating all the cocktails.
Seyton’s Whispers
This cocktail is made with Grants sherry casked scotch, yellow chartreuse, fino sherry, organic cassis, and fresh lemon.
Big Flavours in Little China
I love this presentation in a cute Chinese take out box. It has Absolut mandarin vodka, lychee liquor, lemon, clove spiced pear, and plum bitters served over rocks.
Since it was the end of the evening, I started getting hungry, so I ordered a plate of mussels and we all got 20% off food on their regular menu.
Final Thoughts
My friend and I enjoyed the night a lot trying new cocktails and having a taste of each restaurant. We met some awesome people that were part of our group as tasted what Yaletown has to offer.
If you’re want to check out more cocktail crawls in Vancouver, check out vangourmettours.com.
