When you want a drink that excites not only your senses but also your mind, what you seek is a custom cocktail created by the finest minds in the biz. These Edmonton establishiments serve custom cocktails that range from new takes on old favourites to amazingly bizarre combinations that only a drink genius could create.
After a long day of shopping downtown, it’s the best feeling on earth to sink into one of the plush booths at Cactus Club Café. The bar is always stocked with fresh ingredients for some of the tastiest cocktails to ever grace a highball glass. The Bellini is a total classic, while the Brazilian mixes fresh muddled kiwi with lime, sugar cane, Bacardi white rum and soda for a fresh take on a mojito.
This tequila bar and restaurant has so many amazing custom tequila-based cocktails that you may never enjoy just straight tequila again. You’ll want it mixed with yellow chartreuse, aperol and lemon juice (a Naked & Famous) or combined with sombra mescal, Angostura, chocolate bitters, agave nectar and an orange twist (an Oaxaca Old Fashioned). But you’ll also take their tequila with lime juice, Merlet crème de cassis and Merlet trois citrus for the Sea of Cortez cocktail.
When this restaurant opened in late 2014, Edmonton foodies rejoiced, because it meant the return of local chef Nathan Bye to the culinary scene. Formerly the chef at Wildflower Grill, Bye is now becoming known not only for his chops in the kitchen but also his ability to curate a killer cocktail list. Ampersand 27 gives custom cocktails just as much love as the grub, with a list of sippers that include ingredients such as cherry smoke, toasted coconut and chrysanthemum orange honey.
The Common will always be known more for its creative cocktail list than its food, although they are equally good. But their carefully curated cocktail list, separated by modern and vintage cocktails, reigns supreme in the hipster bar scene for a reason: sipping on something as classic as a Harvey Wallbanger or Old Fashioned makes you feel badass. And, downing one of The Common’s own custom drinks, like a Lavender Rocks or a watermelon mojito makes you feel all fresh and alive.
Their cocktail list is always changing (like their menu) based on the availability of seasonal items. It’s also so large that it’s broken down by the cocktail’s base alcohol: beer, gin, cognac, tequila, rum and whiskey. The attention to detail is insane – they even make their own tonic water for their gin and tonics! They definitely favour gin on their cocktail list, so try the Aviation – Victoria gin, Luxardo maraschino, Bitter Truth violet liqueur and lemon juice.