Get a jump on Mother’s Day with three cocktail gifts
Flowers are nice for a day or two, and chocolates are wonderful until the guilt sets in, but sometimes the mom in your life needs something with a little kick to get her through the day. With Mother’s Day on the horizon, spring for one of the following four gifts, and then make sure to remind her that somewhere it’s 5 o’clock, with the caveat that, even if it isn’t, she’s certainly earned the right to pretend it is.
TEALEAVES PANTONE COLLECTION GIFT BOX
We know what you’re thinking, namely that tea isn’t the most rock ’n’ roll of drinks, especially if you’re looking at Celestial Seasonings’ Sleepytime offering. (You know the box—it’s the one with the bear wearing a nightgown and sleeping cap, looking like he’s just mainlined 200 mg of melatonin.) But here’s something that every bartender with their own monogrammed shaker knows: tea makes for a killer secret weapon in a cocktail.
Vancouver-based Tealeaves has become the go-to brand for five-star hotels and gold-standard bartenders across the globe. Tealeaves Pantone Collection Gift Box features the faves of the company’s master blender, including Monsoon Chai, Earl Grey With Lavender, and Vanilla Rooibos.
Fantastically, each box also comes with a Tealeaves X Pantone booklet of cocktail recipes created at iconic spots like the Beverly Hills Hotel, Four Seasons Toronto, and Fairmont Pacific Rim in Vancouver. Complex in the glass, yet easy to execute at home, the enclosed recipes (each corresponding to a Pantone colour) will up the cocktail game of any bartender not named Kat Stanley-Whyte. After she’s opened the box, ask Mom to whip up a gorgeously orange-hued Dreams of Sunset (aged rum, Angostura bitters, fresh lemon juice, Vanilla Rooibos simple syrup, egg whites, and Chinese five spice powder). Not just for herself, but for the whole family, kidlets excluded. Ors he can just have a tea.
WAYWARD DISTILLERY KRUPNIK SPICED HONEY LIQUEUR
Because no one’s going to improve on what Wayward has to say about its Krupnik Spiced Honey Liqueur, let’s turn the floor over to the distillery for a second. The wording on the back label starts with this: “Before you open this bottle Wayward would like to apologize. We are about to ruin your drinking life with this golden-hued, Polish gem called Krupnik. Like cinnamon whisky or spiced rum but better, Krupnik is infused with toasted honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, raw vanilla and citrus peel. To save yourself from this addictive spirit it should NEVER be mixed with sparkling apple, ginger beer or chai tea. And never you mind that favourite flask... Once you have opened this you won’t be able to stop and we’re sorry. So sorry.”
Your mother’s been warned. And she can feel great that one percent of this sinfully delicious honey liqueur will be earmarked by Wayward for the protection of bees and other pollinators on Vancouver Island. So, of course, they can help make more Krupnik.
SONS OF VANCOUVER TIKI TRIO COMBO PACK
Let’s start with the assumption that favourite things of the mom in your life include a good Mai Tai, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific, the cocktail bars of Trader Vic and Don the Beachcomber, and Tiki Sundays at Sons of Vancouver. Those who’ve made the trek to the North Shore for the latter know that the weekly tropical bacchanalia features house tiki mugs (created specifically for Sons of Vancouver by local artist Paul Tanner), and that they come in multiple colours, including wasabi green, mulberry purple, and sky blue.
And then of course there’s one of the big reasons to love Sons of Vancouver, namely tropical-heaven offerings like the distillery’s award-winning Blue Curacao, Toasted Coconut liqueur, and Tiki Creamer. Pick up the SOV April Fools Combo pack for Mother’s Day, and someone special gets all three liqueurs, plus a Tanner-created house mug. Throw in an Alfred Shaheen hibiscus lei print swing dress, and the South Pacific soundtrack on vinyl, and that tiki-loving mom in your life is guaranteed to think you’re the greatest thing this side of Elvis Presley in Blue Hawaii. Or Trader Vic, Don the Beachcomber, and an authentic Mai Tai. g