Advertisement

Toronto Life - The Dish

The latest buzz on restaurants, chefs, bars, food shops and food events. Sign up for the Dish newsletter for weekly updates. Send tips to thedish@torontolife.com

Bottoms Up

1 Comment

May 18, 2012 | 1:53 pm

New LCBO wine tags explicitly spell out sugar content

This sauvignon blanc has 3 grams of sugar per litre, making it extra dry (Image: LCBO)

Wine tasting notes are notorious for purple prose and overly impressionistic descriptions, and it’s not always easy to glean that most basic of factors: how sweet the darn thing might be. Luckily for Ontarians, the LCBO has started putting up new bin tags that list the actual sugar concentrations in honest-to-goodness grams per litre. The Globe and Mail’s Beppi Crosariol explains the new numbers replace the previous sugar scale, which ranged from zero to 15 and was frankly a little opaque. The new tags will also take the sugar-acid balance into account by including one of five terms on the tag: extra-dry, dry, medium, medium-sweet and sweet. [Globe and Mail]

Bottoms Up

Comments

May 16, 2012 | 3:00 pm

Once again, the LCBO posts record sales—which isn’t surprising, given its monopoly

The Summerhill LCBO or Hogwarts? (Image: -sina- from the Torontolife.com Flickr pool)

Ontarians love their booze, and the LCBO’s 2011–2012 financial results prove they’ve been buying lots more of it. It’s the 17th year in a row of record sales for the board, with net sales up $218 million or 4.9 per cent over fiscal 2010–2011, totalling a cool $4.7 billion. Of course, that’s not exactly shocking, since the LCBO’s pretty much the only place in town where you can grab a bottle of bourbon or gin, unless you make your own. VQA table wines from Ontario were big winners last year, with an increase in sales of nine per cent, but the big success story is still craft beers. The fact that micro-brews are doing well shouldn’t be surprising, given the attention they’ve been getting from big beer companies, but the bump in sales is still pretty staggering: in the last year, Ontario craft beers led all segments with almost 45 per cent growth. All of this means that the liquor monopoly remitted $1.63 billion to the provincial coffers. With numbers like these, we doubt Queen’s Park would be in a greatf hurry to get rid of the LCBO any time soon.

Bottoms Up

Comments

May 15, 2012 | 4:13 pm
Do some newly unearthed classic cocktails deserve to be buried once again? 

With the rise of nouveau speakeasies like the Toronto Temperance Society and SpiritHouse, there’s been an increased interest in some of the classic cocktails previously lost in the mists of time (witness SpiritHouse’s 11-page drink list, broken down by historical epoch). But what if some of those old cocktails deserve to be forgotten? Over on the New York Times’s Dining Journal, Robert Simpson recapped a panel at last weekend’s Manhattan Cocktail Classic in which prominent mixological types weighed in on that very question. The Brooklyn? “Not a good drink.” The Aviation? “Tastes like hand soap.” Hemingway’s signature Papa Doble? “Why should we have our drinking habits dictated by Hemingway’s diabetes problem?” Where exactly this leaves the Toronto, a mixture of rye, fernet branca, syrup and bitters that’s been popping up on cocktail lists around town, remains to be seen. Read the entire story [Diner’s Journal] »

Bottoms Up

Comments

May 11, 2012 | 4:24 pm

Why the big beer companies are buying the little ones (hint: $$$)

Will Bellwoods Brewery be next to get snapped up? (Probably not) (Image: Gizelle Lau)

Canadians might be cracking down on their beer guts by drinking fewer pints and opting instead for wine—but craft breweries keep growing unabated. The Toronto Star reports that in 1981, Canadians were drinking an average of 99.69 litres of beer per person per year, but that number went down to 80.3 litres as of last year. At the LCBO, however, microbrews have posted double-digit increases in sales and volume over the last decade. One staggering stat: in the last five years, sales in the LCBO’s seasonal beer program have gone up 200 per cent (this includes craft beers from home and abroad). This isn’t exactly shocking given Toronto’s much-discussed burgeoning craft beer scene and the bevy of awards microbreweries have nabbed (Amsterdam of Toronto, Cameron’s of Oakville and King Brewery of Nobleton just won awards at the 2012 World Beer Cup in San Diego, California). These little upstarts are a big enough threat to the big boys that companies like Sapporo, Moosehead and Molson Coors have been snapping up the smaller breweries (Sleeman, Hop City Brewing and Granville Island Brewing, respectively) with abandon. [Toronto Star]

Bottoms Up

Comments

May 8, 2012 | 5:12 pm
Police charge that guy who (allegedly) ripped off the LCBO—(allegedly) big time 

On Monday, the Ontario Provincial Police charged former LCBO employee and noted (alleged) scammer Francois Agostini with a litany of offences: breach of trust, fraud over $5,000, theft over $5,000, two counts of uttering forged documents, two counts of falsifying books, possession of stolen property over $5,000 and money laundering. The story goes that from 2005 to 2011, Agostini (allegedly) exploited a liquor board program that provides booze to diplomats without tax or duty at a savings of up to 40 per cent. Agostini’s scheme, according to the LCBO’s affidavit, allowed him to make off with somewhere in the neighbourhood of $1.6 million by conjuring fake sales for imaginary diplomats. The LCBO has since followed up with a $2-million lawsuit against Agostini (and the bouncy castle operator he was in cahoots with). The obvious losers in all this, of course, were the LCBO and the suckers who shell out for its overpriced booze. The winners, on the other hand, were clearly diplomats—real or imagined. [Toronto Star]

Bottoms Up

2 Comments

April 24, 2012 | 4:07 pm

Bruce Wallner wins top prize at Ontario sommelier competition

(Image: Shannon Hamilton)

Toronto master sommelier Bruce Wallner (Paese, Mideastro) took first place at the Best Ontario Sommelier Competition at The Fifth Grill and Terrace on Sunday. Wallner beat out 15 other wine experts in the competition, which consisted of a written theory test and a blind tasting in front of a live audience. Waller will now go on and represent Ontario at the national competition in Halifax on September 17 and 18, where he’ll be competing alongside Will Predhomme of Canoe, who won the 2010 competition. Apart from the “Best Ontario Sommelier” title, Wallner also walked away with trips to Germany, Napa and Argentina. We hear they’ve got some pretty decent wine there.

Bottoms Up

1 Comment

April 23, 2012 | 4:09 pm

Bar Volo’s IPA Challenge: 32 cask ales and a whole lot of hops

The 32 beers were matched up in a bracket-style competition (Image: Adam McDowell)

On Saturday and Sunday, Bar Volo hosted the fourth annual IPA Challenge, which gathered hop heads together for a blind-tasting, winner-take-the-glory contest between 32 Southern Ontario examples of India Pale Ale—the bitter, malty, high-alcohol style of beer beloved of craft brewing enthusiasts. The melee kicked off in a packed bar Saturday at noon, but we dropped by for the more sedate fourth and final round on Sunday evening.

Read the rest of this entry »

Bottoms Up

Comments

April 20, 2012 | 1:26 pm

Gallery: the fifth annual Brewers Plate brought Ontario craft brewers together with Toronto chefs

(Image: Safa Jinje)

On Wednesday, 450 Torontonians gathered at Roy Thomson Hall for the fifth annual Brewers Plate, a fundraiser that celebrates the marriage of sustainable food and Southern Ontario craft beers. Each year, Brewer’s Plate raises money to benefit a Toronto-area initiative in the food and farming sectors. This year, the beneficiary was Green Thumbs Growing Kids, an innovative program that seeks to reconnect urban youth to their food through a variety of garden-based programs. There were a total of 47 serving stations offering up a springtime feast that featured in-season, locally produced ingredients. Each chef was teamed up with a craft brewery; some made dishes that paired well with their partner brew, while the more intrepid chefs featured beer as a key ingredient in their dishes. In all, a dozen chefs were in attendance (including Lora Kirk of Ruby Watchco, Aaron Joseph Bear Robe of Keriwa Cafe and Brook Kavanagh of La Palette), along with 21 craft breweries (Wellington, Great Lakes, Beau’s) and 11 other food producers (Wanda’s Pie in the Sky, Buddha Dog, Monforte Dairy). Check out all the beery fun after the jump »

Bottoms Up

2 Comments

April 18, 2012 | 4:42 pm
Two looks at the Canadian craft spirits “boomlet” 

The Distillery District’s large-scale booze output may be a relic of the past, but across Canada, small-time craft distillers are intoxicating hooch lovers both locally and abroad. An article in the Globe and Mail today highlighted some of those distillers’ successes. Out east, Prince Edward Distillery gin earned 92 points (the same score as Bombay Sapphire) from Chicago’s Beverage Testing Institute, an independent lab that ranks alcoholic beverages. And the distillery’s potato-based vodka won gold at the 2009 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, beating out top-name brands like Chopin, Skyy and Stolichnaya Red. Closer to home, Post City ran a story this week on Tequila Tromba, the new-ish tequila from Toronto’s Eric Brass, which is currently the only independent tequila available on the general list at the LCBO (it also makes for a great “La Hoja” cocktail). Tromba is spreading like wildfire, showing up at places like Brassaii, Boehmer, Cold Tea, The Drake, Pravda, The Thompson, Yours Truly and 416 Snack Bar. And of course there’s the Ontario Spring Water Sake Company down in the Distillery District, and the Concord-based Still Waters, which brews small batches of vodka. Still, despite what the Globe and Mail calls a “boomlet,” the craft-spirits renaissance is a tough racket. The domestic market is flooded by foreign-owned giants, and it can be tough to get listed by provincial liquor monopolies. Profit margins in the boutique booze business are small, and owners often have to keep other day jobs to stay afloat. [Globe and Mail] [Post City]

Bottoms Up

1 Comment

April 11, 2012 | 3:59 pm
LCBO sues former staffer and his bouncy castle operator friend over alleged fake diplomat fraud 

Earlier this year, we learned about former LCBO staffer Francois Agostini, who allegedly got rich by forging fake sales of booze to diplomats who didn’t actually exist. Now, the LCBO is suing Agostini for $2 million, claiming that he made off with $1.6 million worth of cash and booze between 2005 and 2011. Also implicated in this whole mess is Andrea Smallwood, a bouncy castle operator (no, really) who allegedly aided Agostini in his scam by posing as a Ukrainian diplomat. According to the Post, the LCBO is reportedly trying to seize Smallwood’s business. So be forewarned: if you steal from the LCBO, they might just come after you for everything you’ve got, whether it’s millions of dollars or, you know, bouncy castles. Read the entire story [National Post] »

Bottoms Up

Comments

April 10, 2012 | 3:15 pm

The fourth annual IPA Challenge hits Bar Volo this month

Lovers of hoppy ales, mark your calendars: the fourth annual instalment of the Cask Days IPA Challenge is coming up later this month. Starting on April 21, the event will pit 32 cask brews against one another in a tournament-style competition, with attendees and judges scoring the India pale ales in blind taste tests. The event will feature beers from 26 different Ontario breweries, and Cask Days is billing it as an opportunity to “stimulate and challenge our local craft brewers” to meet the demand for hoppier beer. As the brackets get whittled down, the losing (okay, less delicious) beers will be available by the half- and full pint. And for only $10, you get “branded glassware,” along with the chance to play king or queen maker in the brewing battle royale. The event takes place on April 21 and 22 at Bar Volo and is preceded on April 20 by a “Spin Off” night featuring non-traditional takes on IPAs and followed on April 23 by the bar’s usual $5 pint night, where revellers can drink through whatever’s left over. Check out the full list of participating breweries, after the jump »

Bottoms Up

2 Comments

March 19, 2012 | 3:45 pm
Canada now has a female beer sommelier (yes, there are beer sommeliers) 

You might react to the news that Canada has only one female beer sommelier with a question: there are beer sommeliers? Well, yes, there are. They’re called cicerones, and of the eight in Canada, Mirella Amato, who was profiled in Saturday’s Globe and Mail, has just become the first woman with the job. Amato, who received her certification after an online course—and a rigorous presentation in front of a testing panel—says she’s often met with confusion when she mentions her profession, a combination of bewilderment over a woman in a male-dominated field and the fact that the field exists in the first place. Mirella told the Globe that unlike wine, beer isn’t necessarily constrained by geography—instead, brewing’s a little more like tinkering with a really, really fun chemistry set. And in case you were wondering, no, her job isn’t just sitting around and drinking beer. She travels extensively, designs beer lists for restaurants and can even give you a chemistry lesson or two. For example, did you know that bright lights in stores can make lagers go skunky? Read the entire story [Globe and Mail] »

Bottoms Up

Comments

March 7, 2012 | 3:40 pm

11 patios on which you can celebrate this balmy, 16-degree March day

Williams Landing, the Black Bull and the upper level of La Société are all open today

Spring-like weather is a fleeting thing at this time of year, when even the sunniest afternoon can feel like it’s poised on the brink of a late-winter snowstorm. With the temperature somewhere around 16 degrees at the moment, we’d forgive anyone who’s inclined to skip out of work early and get themselves to a patio post-haste. Because, let’s face it, this probably won’t last long (actually, scratch that—we know it won’t last long, with rain forecast for tomorrow). We called around to find out which brave restaurateurs and bar owners were willing to sate Torontonians’ pent-up yearnings for outdoor drinking. Below, a list of places where you can make the most of the sunshine. Now go!

Read the rest of this entry »

Bottoms Up

1 Comment

February 28, 2012 | 11:22 am

A look at the LCBO Spring Beers release that’s got beer geeks buzzing

Panil Barriquée Sour returns to the LCBO (Image: Christer Edvartsen)

Ontario beer geeks are accustomed to lamenting the LCBO’s pedestrian general listings, but the provincial distributor’s seasonal releases are where some of the more exciting brews usually surface—while their limited quantities last of course. After the jump, some of our favourites from the Spring Beers release, which will start appearing on store shelves starting this week.

Read the rest of this entry »

Bottoms Up

Comments

February 24, 2012 | 3:50 pm

Drink the Oscars: just the right drink for each of the best picture nominees

As a companion to our 2012 Academy Awards drinking game, which tells you when to take a swig, we here at the Dish thought we’d bring you a little helpful instruction on just what to drink during your Oscar party this year, depending on which film you’re hoping to see walk away with the big prize at the end of the night.

For fans of The Artist
With the advent of the talkies, silent film star George Valentin turns to the bottle, in this case whisky, for solace. You could turn to a nice, cheap bottle of Dewar’s White Label. ($23.95 at the LCBO)

Advertisement

Current Issue
Current Issue

Advertisement

Advertisement

Links and Offers
  • Learn how to say money with thousands of money-saving tips on insurance, your mortgage, electric bills, credit cards, cell phones, and more at billeater.com.
  • Play online bingo in the best new bingo sites in the UK for your bingo pleasure.
  • Fashion4us is an online Asian fashion (Korean, Japanese, Taiwanese) wholesaler. Consumers will be satisfied with the original quality and huge discount on wholesale clothing collections.

Advertisement