Serves: 6 people
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 15–20 minutes

INGREDIENTS:
1 Ontario burrata ball
2 cups yellow candy beets
2 cups purple beets
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground pepper
1 tbsp parsley, chopped
2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
or balsamic glaze for drizzle

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Preheat oven at 375F/190C
2. Wash and peel beets and
cut into quarters. Toss in olive
oil and salt and pepper
3. Evenly spread beets on a
prepared baking tray and bake
for 20–30 minutes
4. Place roasted beets onto
a serving platter, top with
chopped parsley
5. Lay Ontario burrata ball on
top. Drizzle with olive oil and
salt and pepper to taste
6. Drizzle pomegranate
molasses over the salad
and serve.

Find it at your local grocery store.

The post Quality Cheese: Simple Roasted Beet Salad With Fresh Burrata appeared first on City Life Toronto Lifestyle Magazine.

Filled with over 100 easy-to-follow recipes, A Generous Meal features an array of simple meals like Spicy Oven Charred Cabbage and Lemons, and Herb Stuffed Rainbow Trout or Cod and Zucchini in Curry Coconut Broth.

With recipes that are equally as simple as they are delicious, there’s something for everyone. Flynn shares the dish that represents herself best: “The Lemony Spaghetti Squash with Burrata and Basil stands out. It’s so simple, but when you put everything together it’s more than the sum of its parts.” We dig into Flynn’s past and what it took to make this book full of appetizing recipes come to fruition.

Q: Can you tell us about what prompted you to write your cookbook A Generous Meal?
A: I’ve worked in kitchens for over 20 years, but it wasn’t until I had my daughters that I started cooking at home in a meaningful way.  The act of cooking dinner, like a little puzzle I could solve, or a solution to be found each day, was a real gift, especially over the last few years, and I wanted to share that with other people.

Q: Why is dinner your favourite meal of the day?
A: Dinner is a meal that can be lingered over, whether you are with others or even alone with a good book and a glass of crisp white wine.  there’s a romance to dinner that everyone can tap into.

Q: When did you know you wanted to become a chef?
A: I sort of fell into it when I started working in a German bakery in Halifax while I was in university. I don’t think it was ever a conscious decision. I just loved food and one job led to another and now here we are.

Q: What does your culinary background look like?
A: I’ve eaten, studied and worked in a lot of different places, so my background is diverse. I got my start in Halifax, but I went to culinary school in Manhattan and interned in France. I spent my 20s working seasonally at a fine dining restaurant on Nantucket, where I also ran the culinary department of the Nantucket Wine Festival. In 2013 I moved to Toronto and became executive chef and partner of iQ Food Co., a group of healthy, fast, casual restaurants focusing on nutrient-dense scratch-made meals. I kept my foot in the door in the U.S. with food styling, working with major clients like Mountain Dew, Oreo and Sonic. In 2021 I took on a management role at The Good Earth Food and Wine Co., where I now teach classes, throw events and handle a myriad of other things.

Q: Can you share a little bit about The Good Earth Food and Wine Co. and whether it influenced the recipes in your book/your overall process?
A: The Good Earth is a winery, bistro and cooking school in the heart of Niagara. I teach demonstration-style classes at The Good Earth and this is such a great way to figure out what and how people want to cook. There is a direct line of feedback that helps me create recipes that really speak to people, and that they will make again and again. As a chef, it’s also where I pinpoint some of the techniques, or tricks which are to me innate, but which lay people are amazed and intrigued by. Being able to cook live with people is such a gift, and it’s my favourite part of my job.

Q: What did your process look like in developing the recipes for your book?
A: These are very much recipes I cook regularly. My process is a bit ad hoc, but it mostly involves cooking, eating and sharing with others.

Q: If you had to describe your style of cooking using three words, what would they be?
A: Balanced, surprising, simple.

Q: What are the main topics you cover in the essays that are featured in the cookbook?
A: I write about my life in food, and the things that make it meaningful to me.

Q: Who has had the greatest impact on the style of your cooking?
A: My children have dramatically affected the way I cook. Getting a meal on the table quickly that’s delicious, appeals to a wide range of palates, and fits our budget is no small task, but I find restriction makes me more creative and my style has really evolved.

Q: Not only do your recipes stand out, but your style does, too! Do you approach your style in the same way that you approach your cooking (colours, composition, etc…)?
A: I want to live a beautiful life surrounded by things that make me happy. I would say I am a sensualist in the way I plate my food and the way I decorate a space, or put together an outfit. Minimalism has its place, but to me, there’s something really wonderful and compelling about  fistfuls of herbs, vintage floral plates and, of course, puffy sleeves. Mark Twain has this great quote I always go back to: “Why not go out on a limb? That’s where all the fruit is.” It’s good to be extra, and sometimes too much is just enough.

“I write about my life in food, and the things that make it meaningful to me.”

Q: What experience has allowed you to expand your understanding of food most?
A: Travel has been really formative for me. Because I worked seasonally when I was younger, I was able to see more of the world than if I had worked year round. Going to other places, getting outside my bubble and challenging myself have all helped me develop a really strong sense of myself as a cook.

Q: Which recipe in the book was hardest to develop and why?
A: The Marble Cake did take a minute. Cakes are hard, and I’m always nervous sharing more technical bakes. When we shot the book I was so relieved the bake was good, and the swirl for the photo came out the way I wanted.

Q: What were some of the speed bumps in creating A Generous Meal and how did you overcome them?
A: The pandemic posed challenges in almost every aspect of writing this book, from sourcing groceries, to finding child care so I could write, to navigating lockdowns when it came time to shoot. Not to mention supply chain issues, which delayed the release. I don’t know about overcoming the challenges, but I certainly rode the wave, had a lot of support from friends, and I think shifted many of the recipes for the better by leaning on ingredients that are easy to source — staples like cabbage and potatoes.

Q: If you had to share one message to the readers of your book, what would it be?
A: Don’t worry about things being perfect — the world is full of solutions.

The post For the love of food appeared first on City Life Toronto Lifestyle Magazine.

Each Lyre’s spirit resembles the original in terms of appearance and flavour. The only difference from your classic favourites is the absence of the giggle juice. Lyre’s spirits give an opportunity to choose between replacing some of the hard liquor in a drink in order to make a low-alcohol Lyre’s and creating a non-alcoholic version of your favourite cocktail. 

In a partnership with one of the world’s most advanced beverage technology companies, Lyre’s found the perfect combination of ingredients and adapted to the new consumers’ preferences. With an extensive range of spirits capable of recreating 90% of the world’s best-selling cocktails, no-, low- and sans-alcohol Lyre’s allows everyone to drink their way. 

Replacing a base liquor with Lyre’s non-alcoholic spirits and adding some other flavoured ingredients, like aromatic bitter, white sugar syrup, lemon or orange juice, is an easy way to recreate well-known delicious cocktails. From a  to an  to an , these fantastic well-balanced masterpieces act as perfect alternatives to the classic mixed drinks. 

The Lyre’s Manhattan is the Midnight Cowboy of cocktails (minus poor Dustin Hoffman dying in the back of a Greyhound bus). Start with a big pour of American Malt — that’s the country boy trying to make his way in the Big Apple — then throw in some fruity, slightly bitter local, then stir and, finally, serve. Four easy steps to make your own masterpiece.

LYRE’S MANHATTAN COCKTAIL

Ingredients:
60 mL Lyre’s American Malt
15 mL Lyre’s Apéritif Rosso 
2 dashes Aromatic Bitters 

Method:
Stir briefly with ice, strain 

Glass:
Cocktail coupette 

Garnish: 
Maraschino cherry 

The post The Most Awarded Non-Alcoholic Lyre’s Spirits Recreate World’s Best-Selling Cocktails appeared first on City Life Toronto Lifestyle Magazine.

INGREDIENTS

½ oz (14ml) Dillon’s rum
½ oz (14ml) Dillon’s peach schnapps
½ cup (125g) Ontario plums, sliced
½ cup (125g) Ontario peaches, sliced fresh or frozen
1 tbsp (20g/15ml) local maple syrup
1 tbsp (20g/15ml) Ontario butter
1 whole Ontario burrata
salt and pepper to taste
fresh garden herbs (sage, rosemary, thyme, parsley)
toasted pumpkin and sunflower seeds

METHOD

STEP 1: Preheat a medium non-stick skillet or pan on medium-high heat.

STEP 2: Once the pan is hot, remove from the heat and carefully add the rum and schnapps to the pan. Then, immediately and very carefully set the pan aflame with a BBQ lighter. Be sure to not be standing too close to the pan when igniting!

STEP 3: Once the flames die down, return the pan to the heat and add the stone fruit to cook. Cook for 2-4 minutes to soften the fruit. Finish with maple syrup, butter and a pinch of salt.

STEP 4: Pour the stone fruit compote over the burrata and garnish with herbs and toasted seeds. Serve with crackers or warm bread.

RECIPE BY RICKY CASIPE

The post Burrata & Stone Fruit Flambé appeared first on City Life Toronto Lifestyle Magazine.

With the holidays around the corner, Diplomático has the perfect easy cocktail recipes to try with their rums. 

One recipe is called the Diplo Toddy. With the perfect blend of citrusy and sweet flavours plus a hint of cinnamon, it will certainly put anyone in a holiday mood!

Diplo Toddy

Ingredients:

1.5 oz. Diplomático Reserva Exclusiva
1 oz. Freshly squeezed orange juice
0.5 oz. Freshly squeezed lemon juice
0.5 oz. Honey
Cinnamon sticks

Glass:
Glass coffee mug

Method:
Mix all the ingredients in a mug and fill with hot water. Garnish with cinnamon sticks.

For a traditional taste, the Old-Fashioned Diplo is the perfect cocktail for anyone to enjoy this holiday season. It contains a blend of sweet and bitter flavours. 

Old-Fashioned Diplo

Ingredients:
2.5 oz. Diplomático Reserva Exclusiva
0.25 oz. Sugar syrup
3 lg. dashes of Angostura bitters
Orange peel

Glass:
Rocks

Ice:
Over ice

Garnish:
Orange peel

Method:
Add all ingredients to a stirring glass, fill with ice, stir and strain. Garnish with an orange peel.

It’s time to grab a bottle of Diplomático’s Reserva Exclusiva from your closest LCBO to try out these two recipes. It is the perfect staple to anyone’s holiday gatherings with family and friends. 

The post A new City Life find for any rum or cocktail lover! appeared first on City Life Toronto Lifestyle Magazine.

You never forget those “pinch me” moments in life, such as when you’re told that the job — hosting the most prestigious culinary competition in the country — is yours. And, even after five years of hosting Top Chef Canada, Eden Grinshpan is still in awe. “Obviously, my mind is blown,” she says. “But, when you hear the successful, knowledgeable judges tell the contestants that this is world class, and that it’s blowing their minds, too, you can’t help feeling like you’re part of something really special.” To be able to taste food from the different terroirs of the country, using all of the different ingredients grown in Canadian soil, and to see how all the different cultures across the country influence the cuisine is all tremendously inspiring for Grinshpan.

Keeping a show fresh for nine seasons is no small feat. How do they do it? “Every season, chefs from all over the country bring some of their best dishes to the table, and it’s amazing because everyone has their own journey, and we get to witness it,” she says. “This one is a special season because everyone, especially in the restaurant industry, is so challenged right now, everyone was just so excited to go there to contribute, and you could really feel the energy.” Add to that, the producers had to get super-creative this season with coronavirus restrictions, and they did an outstanding job, she says.

Grinshpan isn’t just a TV host, either; she has the chops to back herself up. She grew up in Toronto, then moved to New York after studying at Le Cordon Bleu in London. After a whirlwind romance, which ended up with her getting married to Ido, she co-created two cooking shows, Eden Eats and Log On and Eat with Eden Grinshpan, travelling the country looking for the most adventurous bloggers and social media influencers.

When you work in TV, there’s a lot of time in between filming, which gives you an opportunity to dabble in different projects, she says. So, about seven years ago, she decided she wanted to get back in the kitchen, partnering with Samantha Wasser to open Dez with Esquared Hospitality group: it was a casual, contemporary restaurant featuring Middle Eastern food.

“Don’t ever be ashamed to ask for help — and I think once you let go of that, it kind of gives you a sense of calmness and relief”

The restaurant shut down, but if you’re Grinshpan, you don’t stand still. You forge ahead, and she did, carving out another project and releasing her first cookbook, Eating Out Loud (Clarkson Potter/Penguin Random House, 2020). “The restaurant, my travels, my Israeli background and also growing up in Toronto, one of the most multicultural cities in the world, really inspired the book,” she says.

Filled with mouth-watering photographs, the cookbook is full of recipes that are not only delicious, but also accessible, and that was important to Grinshpan. “It’s not super-traditional or authentic, it’s very much my own contemporary approach,” she says, adding that the cookbook is a reflection of the way she personally eats, and that taste, texture and flavour combinations are paramount. “I’m inspired by the season and what I see at the grocery store,” she says. She happens to eat a lot of vegetables and that’s why “the biggest chapter in the book is making vegetables — Middle Eastern and Mediterranean food just lend themselves to that kind of a diet.”

If you’re scrolling through Grinshpan’s Instagram pics, you’ll fall in love with all the fun bits and pieces of her life that she shares, from dancing around her home to yoga poses to posing topless covered in pizza when she was pregnant with her now three-year-old daughter, Ayv. And now she’s pregnant again, but she has no issue with saying that she has a lot of help.

“I can’t do it all by myself, and I’m the first to say that it takes a village,” she says honestly. “Sometimes, when we’re on set, it’s 16-hour days.” In fact, that was one of the reasons they decided to move back to Toronto, so that her parents could help out. Her tip? “Don’t ever be ashamed to ask for help — and I think once you let go of that, it kind of gives you a sense of calmness and relief,” she says. “Once I asked for help, I got better at being a mom and better at doing my job,” she adds.

What’s coming down the pipeline for Grinshpan? “I love what I’m doing right now, getting to take part in a lot of really creative projects,” she says. She feels so fortunate that she gets to be a part of Top Chef Canada every year, and that is something she hopes will continue. She enjoyed the creative process of putting her book together, so hopefully another one is in her future. But that’s not all. “There are so many different projects in my head, and I’m slowly working my way toward them, hoping they’ll happen eventually.”

Editor’s note: We have no doubt.

Eden’s recipe

Charred Whole Eggplant with Crushed Tomatoes, Basil and Mint

Almost every restaurant in Israel has a version of this whole-roasted eggplant, so it only made sense to have my own. Serving eggplants whole, stem and all, makes for such a special dish because people can see the vegetable in its beautiful original (or original-ish) form. It’s also the perfect blank canvas for a variety of flavours and textures. Sometimes I’m in the mood for a drizzle of pomegranate molasses and yogurt, while other times I add crushed ripe tomato for its bright acidity, balanced with nutty tahini and earthy za’atar. You’re going to want a whole loaf of bread or challah for this one.

SERVES 6

3 medium eggplants
1 medium tomato
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon za’atar, store bought or homemade
1½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
½ cup Garlicky Tahini
1 tablespoon Red Zhug
⅓ cup fresh basil leaves
⅓ cup fresh mint leaves
Flaky sea salt
Thick slices of sourdough, challah or pita, for serving

1. With the tip of your knife, pierce each eggplant in two places — it doesn’t need to be perfect or in the same place every time; this is just so the eggplant doesn’t explode on you.

2. Pick a cooking method for the eggplant: grill, broiler, or stovetop burners. The bottom line is that you want this eggplant to be almost unrecognizably charred. It’s going to deflate and the skin will get white in some places, but that just means the fire is working its magic on that eggplant.

OPTION 1: Grill Preheat the grill until hot. Add the eggplants and let the fire do its thing, making sure to keep turning the eggplants so they char all over. You want them to get black and maybe even white in some places, 20 to 30 minutes total.

OPTION 2: Broil Preheat the broiler. Put the eggplants in a broiler-proof roasting pan and place the pan as close to the heating element as possible. (You may have to adjust your oven rack to accommodate the depth of the pan and eggplants.) Broil until they are evenly charred all over, 35 to 40 minutes, checking and turning the eggplants periodically. You want the eggplants to keep their shape but get really charred and wilted.

OPTION 3: Stovetop Gas Burners Line your stovetop around your burners with foil. Working with one at a time, place the eggplant over a medium flame and let it char, making sure to turn it every 5 minutes. Continue cooking until it is deflated and black all over, about 15 minutes.

3. Transfer the cooked eggplants to a colander in the sink and let the juices run. (The juices can make the dish taste bitter.) Once they’re cool enough to handle, and being careful to maintain the original shape, remove all of the eggplant skin except for the stem. (Feel free to reserve the skin to make Charred Tahini) Set aside on a large platter.

4. In a blender or food processor, blend together the tomato with the kosher salt. Set aside.

5. In a small bowl, mix together the za’atar and olive oil. Set aside.

6. Gently press on the eggplant flesh with a fork to spread it out. Drizzle the eggplants with the garlicky tahini and spoon over the pureed tomato. Drizzle with the za’atar oil and some red zhug (if using). Garnish with the basil and mint and finish with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt. Serve warm with fresh bread.

Excerpted from Eating Out Loud: Bold Middle Eastern Flavors for All Day, Every Day by Eden Grinshpan with Rachel Holtzman. Copyright © 2020 Eden Grinshpan and Rachel Holtzman. Photographs © 2020 Aubrie Pick. Published by Penguin Canada, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the publisher. All rights reserved.

The post Eden Grinshpan: What’s cooking, Canada? appeared first on City Life Toronto Lifestyle Magazine.

1 part Grey Goose Vodka
1 part Peach Liqueur
1 part Chamomile Syrup
1 part Lemon Juice
3 pieces of peaches, cut in half
Garnish: 2 oranges sliced extremely thin

DIRECTIONS

Add ingredients to shaker + muddle, add ice. Shake vigorously. Double strain over fresh ice. Top with soda. Garnish with Oranges + muddled peaches.

Chamomile tea syrup: Bring 1 cup water + 1 cup simple syrup to boil, add 10 chamomile tea bags. Boil 1 min. Remove from heat, let cool. Steep tea bags in syrup overnight for best results.

INGREDIENTS

2 oz VIBE Organic Electrolyte Black Tea Peach
1.5 oz Tequila
0.5 oz Lemon
0.5 oz ginger syrup

DIRECTIONS

Serve in an old fashioned glass with salt rim Garnish with candied ginger.

The post Feeling Peachy? It’s National Peach Month! appeared first on City Life Toronto Lifestyle Magazine.

INGREDIENTS

PANNACOTTA:
2 cups Olympic Krema vanilla yogurt
1 ½ tbsp. powdered or flaked agar agar (note: you can replace the agar with a 7-g gelatin envelope soaked in ¼ cup cold water)
1 cup of milk
1 cup of cream (35%)
¼ cup cane sugar

BLUEBERRY COULIS:
1 cup frozen blueberries
2 tbsp. water
2 tbsp. cane sugar
½ tbsp. cornstarch

PREPARATION

FOR THE GROUT:
In a saucepan, mix the ingredients of the coulis and simmer until a syrupy consistency is obtained. Pour into the bottom of each small glass.

FOR THE PANNACOTTA:
In a large bowl, combine the Olympic Krema vanilla yogurt with half the milk and cream.

In a small saucepan, bring the rest of the milk and cream to a boil and add cane sugar and agar agar. Whisk to dissolve sugar and agar agar.

Note: To activate, agar agar needs to be brought to a boil, unlike gelatin which should be added off-flame.

Pour the mixture into the yogurt bowl and mix.

Divide the mixture into 5 glasses and refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours.

The post Pannacotta with Vanilla appeared first on City Life Toronto Lifestyle Magazine.

After a few weeks of binge quiche-making and a brunch at Russ & Daughters, the Lower East Side Manhattan restaurant that specializes in smoked fish and Jewish tradition, I came up with this recipe. Think bagels and lox, the Sunday-morning meal of millions of New Yorkers, Jewish or not. But to say “bagels and lox” is to shortchange the dish. What you want with your bagel and smoked salmon (lox is one kind) is “the works”: cream cheese, red onions, capers, dill and tomato. And that’s what you get in this tart.

Working ahead: you can prebake the crust up to two months ahead and keep it, wrapped airtight, in the freezer

To capture the spirit and flavour of the weekend special, I did a couple of things I’d never done before for a tart: I used raw red onion, so that it would retain some of its texture (I usually cook the onion before adding it to something to be baked); I speckled the tart with small chunks of cream cheese; and I tossed in capers. As often happens, the oven’s heat was the magic ingredient, making all these firsts seem as right as the Lower East Side ritual and just as tasty.

If you’d like your tart to look like the one in the photo, cut the cream cheese into chunks so they won’t melt completely, and reserve some of the capers and dill to scatter over the top with the tomatoes.

INGREDIENTS
One 9- to 9½-inch tart shell made with Pâte Brisée partially baked and cooled
1½ oz. (43 g) cream cheese, cut into small bits or chunks
3 oz. (85 g) smoked salmon, finely chopped (about 1/3 cup)
¼ cup (36 g) thinly sliced red onion, rinsed and patted dry
1 tbsp. chopped fresh dill
3 tbsp. capers, rinsed, patted dry and chopped if large
¾ cup (180 ml) heavy cream
2 large eggs
½ tbsp. fine sea salt
¼ tbsp. freshly ground pepper
12 to 15 cherry tomatoes, halved

METHOD
1. Centre a rack in the oven and preheat it to 350 degrees F.
2. Place the partially baked tart shell on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Scatter the cream cheese over the bottom of the crust, followed by the salmon, onion, capers and dill.
3. Beat the cream and eggs together with the salt and pepper in a bowl until smooth. Pour this into the crust, stopping when you’re just below the rim. (It’s often hard to judge just how much filling a crust will take, so you might have a few drops left over.) Top with the tomatoes and very carefully slide the baking sheet into the oven.
4. Bake the tart for 40 to 45 minutes, or until it is puffed and set — a skewer inserted into the centre will come out clean. If the centre of the tart has risen as much as the sides, you can be certain it’s baked through. Transfer the baking sheet to a rack and let rest for at least 15 minutes before serving — it’s best just warm or at room temperature.

LOWER EAST SIDE BRUNCH TART is excerpted from Everyday Dorie by Dorie Greenspan

Photography by Ellen Silverman.

The post Lower East Side Brunch Tart appeared first on City Life Toronto Lifestyle Magazine.

Written By Tristan Stephenson

Excerpted from The Curious Bartender, Vol. 2: The New Testament of Cocktails by Tristan Stephenson.

If you can’t make a Rusty Nail taste good it’s probably time to give up on this mixology thing. After all, a drink that comprises only two ingredients, where one of them is Scotch whisky and the other is Scotch whisky that’s been sweetened and had herbal flavours added to it, ought to be simple enough to balance to anyone’s palate. Like it sweeter? Add more Drambuie. Like it dryer? Use less Drambuie. Only those people born with a complete inability to understand why they do or do not like a flavour or with an inability to change things appropriately will stand a chance at messing this one up.

So what is this Drambuie stuff? In the most basic sense it’s a whisky liqueur, flavoured with heather honey, a bunch of other herbs and exotic spices. The name Drambuie is derived from the Scots Gaelic an dram buidheach and means “the drink that satisfies.” By the light of an open fire on a cold Scottish evening, it’ll do just that.

The accepted history of this product is a tale of Scottish spirit seasoned liberally with various fantastical components. It begins with Bonnie Prince Charlie (Charles Edward Stuart), a.k.a. the Young Pretender, whose failed Jacobite uprising of 1745 left him in exile on the Isle of Skye rather than sitting on the thrones of England, Scotland, Ireland and France. With little left to occupy his time, Charlie became acquainted with the noble arts of wenching and drinking—French brandy being his preferred tipple. As was common among the nobility of that time, Bonnie Prince Charlie had his own recipe for a curative liqueur, which would have been formulated for him by a personal physician or apothecary. The story goes that Charles shared the recipe for his tonic with his friend Captain John MacKinnon in 1746, though Drambuie’s testimony on this matter has changed at least twice over the years. Early 19th-century advertising states it was “a follower of Prince Charlie” that brought the spirit to Scotland, then later a “gentleman of the bodyguard of Prince Charlie.”

The truth is that nobody really knows how John MacKinnon came to acquire the recipe, but most people agree that it was probably brandy-based in the first instance. The recipe remained a MacKinnon family secret for some 150 years, then was passed on to the Ross family who ran the Broadford Hotel on the Isle of Skye. The Rosses registered the trademark for Drambuie in 1893. Production later moved to Edinburgh and the company was bought by Malcolm MacKinnon (no relation to the other MacKinnons in this tale), in whose family it has remained ever since.

These days, Drambuie has a reputation for being a divisive liqueur. I have friends and colleagues who love it and others who hate it, but very few who sit on the fence. The general rule of thumb, so much as I can tell, is if you’re not averse to very sweet things, you will get along with it just fine. This, then, is where the Rusty Nail comes into its own. A simple tweak of the ratios will get you where you want to be in terms of sweetness and herbal lift.

Photographs by Addie Chinn

Illustrations by Selina Snow. Used with permission from Ryland Peters & Small

The post Rusty Nail appeared first on City Life Toronto Lifestyle Magazine.