Great cocktails need to be paired with great bar snacks, don't you think? - Last week, I got to visit East Thirty Six for an exclusive tasting of their new fall / winter cocktail menu. East Thirty Six spot near the downtown core that focuses on craft cocktails and shareable dishes. As mentioned, I was here to taste out this new cocktail menu created by one of Toronto's top mixologists, Julien Salomone. Specifically, we got to sample 4 cocktails while nibbling on snacks from their food menu.
Here are the four cocktails that we got to taste:
• The St-Germain: Beefeater gin, st-germain elderflower liqueur, lemon juice, syrup, and cava
• Apothecary: Hayman's london dry, Hayman's sloe gin, tonic syrup, lemon juice, rosemary tincture, and perrier
• Nutcracker: Lot 40 rye, drambuie, house spiced rum, walnut bitters, and black cardamom
• Night Capp: coffee vanilla infused bourbon, macadamia nut syrup, and espresso
In addition, we were able to share a couple of their dishes among each other. From the fries with crispy chicken skin to oysters to octopus to a charcuterie board and burrata. Everything was delicious, and all I wanted was more, more, more! Out of the four cocktails, I enjoyed The St-Germain and Night Capp the most. The St-Germain was very easy to drink although you could tell that it was quite a strong drink. It paired really well with the charcuterie board, burrata, and oysters. I also really enjoyed the octopus dish that was served with a smoked fingerling potato, tonnato, olives, and charred onions. I was advised that it paired the best with the Nutcracker, but I found the Nutcracker to be a little too strong for my liking and it would wash out the delicious taste of the octopus. The Night Capp was like a soothing way to end off my night. It was a warm drink and just smelled (and tasted) like a warm hug that I forgot it had alcohol in it, ha.
