THIRSTY? GRAB YOURSELF A TIFF DRINK
Downtown bartenders are getting ready to show off.
As celebrities start swooping into the city for the Toronto International Film Festival, an influx of specialty drink menus are also coming your way. Whether you’re an obsessed cinephile or a casual stargazer, you can still toast to that.
Across the board, this year’s selection features lots of TIFF-inspired orange, ontrend spritz-style mixes and drinkable film references. Best drink name this year? Easy. Dame Judi Quench, available at Luma.
Cocktails range in price from affordable ($10) to wildly A-list — maxing out with $1,000 ultra-bougie experience at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.
Here’s a non-comprehensive list of festival-inspired cocktails coming to town. Cheers!
THE MARSHALL
Where? Thompson Hotel
How much? $16
What’s in it?
1.5 oz Chivas Regal 12 year
1/2 oz Glenlivet
1/2 oz Cinnamon and bay leaf syrup, house-infused
3 dashes Angostura Bitters Skewered cherry and lemon zest
Aplay on an old fashioned, this drink was created as a toast to one of TIFF’s cofounders, Bill Marshall, who died in January at the age of 77.
This smooth and warm-tasting drink is one of four on the Thompson’s festivalthemed cocktail list, including an easygoing $10 shot-glass-sized “Snack-Tail,” which is a nod to the film Downsizing, in which a couple shrink themselves.
Jeff Waters, the Thompson Hotel’s general manager, says the festival-themed drinks are meant to be enjoyed by both the movie star crowd and everyday Torontonians alike. He remembers Brad Pitt munching on mac and cheese at the hotel’s diner one early morning.
“The celebrities that are involved at this hotel would often mix with our customers,” he said. “We are a neighbourhood hotel that has people visiting from all over the world.”
LEVER DU SOLEIL
Where? Soho
House How much? $15
What’s in it?
1 oz Grey Goose
1/2 oz Raspberry liquor (infused in-house)
1/4 oz Aperol
3 oz soda water
1 oz Prosecco Mint sprig
Soho House, the private club that opened in 2012, says the film fest is pretty much the reason you can even drink there in the first place.
“By spending time in Toronto via TIFF, we were able to see the growing creative community that the city encompasses,” explained Allison Wagner, Soho House’s communications director, in an email. “After we found the building, it was a natural decision to make the city the location for our first Canadian outpost.”
Chris Hudnell, Soho House’s North American Bar director, says the drink is a take on another Grey Goose drink called “Le Grand Fizz.”
“There’s a lot of day drinking or day events during TIFF, there’s a lot of nighttime events . . . so I was thinking more of a drink that you could drink during the day and during the night,” he said.
HOLLYWOOD DREAMSICLE
Where? Luma
How much? $16
What’s in it?
2 oz guava juice
1.5 oz Aperol
1 oz egg whites
1/2 oz Simple syrup
1/4 oz Galliano
1/4 oz lemon juice Angostura bitters and food colouring (for garnish with the TIFF cut-out stencil)
This boozy ode to the popular frozen treat is an attempt to keep summer alive, just a bit longer.
Along with the Dame Judi Quench — a floral G&T spinoff for $12 — it is one of a half dozen festival-themed drinks under $20 that will be available at Luma, the second floor restaurant at TIFF Bell Lightbox.
Like the Thompson, Luma is also offering a chance to raise a glass to TIFF co-founder Marshall, with its $17 old-fashioned-esque “The Founder’s Barrel Reserve,” made with Canadian whisky.
THE VELVET ROPE EXPERIENCE
Where? Ritz-Carlton Toronto How much? $1,000 for two (you read that right) What’s in it?
8 oz Louis Roederer Cristal 2009
2 oz Rémy Martin Louis XIII Cognac 1.5 oz saffron and hibiscus simple syrup, house-infused
1 oz fresh squeezed clarified lemon juice
4 drops Peychaud’s bitters
2 caramelized hibiscus flowers Acadian wild sturgeon caviar
6 Canadian oysters
While you don’t need to be mega famous to order this one, you do have to be mega rich.
The Ritz’s new “experience” is an all-or-nothing deal meant for sharing. It includes two cocktails and an indulgent seafood snack from New Brunswick.
The drink is a take on a French 75, featuring a shot from a $3,300 bottle of cognac and a pour of $300 champagne.
“(A velvet rope) always leads to a party or celebration or something very exclusive, so this is our little sneak peek to let our guests kind of see what’s going on the other side,” said food and beverage manager Brian Morrison.