Top shelf caesar worth shelling out for

Have you ever wandered into a fancy bar only to be greeted by a $20 cocktail menu? Do you wonder what makes such a drink worth the money?

If you make your own cocktails and you’ve never actually had such a drink you really should splash out now and then. I’m told I make a pretty mean cocktail but I’m here to admit I am several levels below Chris Cho, head mixologist for the Grassroots Restaurant Group (Sticks and Stones, Ayden’s etc.). He won a national cocktail competition this year with his variation on a Caesar. I stopped by to try it and was completely and absolutely blown away.

He went through one regional and then straight to the Nationals where he competed against eight other competitors. He used Shochu (distilled Sake), Yuzu (Japanese citrus instead of lemon juice), Takoyaki sauce, house made hot sauce, a pickled garlic clove and hot pepper, with a rimmer of Togarashi and Hickory salt. The garlic and pepper are muddled, the other ingredients added, and then he topped up the glass with Mott’s.

The result is palate blowing. Perfectly balanced with an extraordinary finish, this is a cocktail that you need to try to replicate to understand the delicacy of Chris’s palate and his ability to blend ingredients. He tops it off with a garnish of two steam buns with two shrimp inside each bun topped with Nori, green onion and Furikaki.

If you’d rather leave such perfection to the mixologist, Chris will be featuring the cocktail at Sticks and Stones throughout December. He assured me he would have photocopies of instructions to provide to anyone wishing to replicate the drink. The Grassroots group is opening a restaurant in Regina soon. Stay tuned.

Spirited Away Caesar $14 ***** Christmas bubbly next week. Other wines on Twitter @drbooze.