Bars across Toronto are serving gin made from Christmas trees this holiday season
Festive cocktails at a handful of bars across the city are coming with a particularly nostalgic flavour profile as a Toronto distillery doles out new gin made using Christmas trees.
Who says adults can't land on Santa's nice list?
Toronto's over-19 population, at the very least, got an extra special treat earlier this month, as mixologist Brenton Mowforth (Cheers to Happy Hour) and Nickel 9 Distillery co-founder Chris Jacks, dressed as Santa Claus and an elf, delivered the gifts of Nickel 9's newest product, Trees to Happy Hour Christmas Tree Gin, to bars around the city.
If you, like me, are still willing to overlook the infinite logistical headaches of a real Christmas tree simply for the smell, this is one spirit that'll most definitely hit your festive bone.
Mowforth tells blogTO that the idea of creating a Christmas tree-infused gin first dawned on him when he and his wife decided to ditch their fake tree for the real deal two Christmases ago.
"That aroma that hits you when you walk into the room is just something I didn't want to get rid of, so the idea of bottling it was born," Mowforth says. "Using it as a botanical in gin was a natural solution."
Chris Jacks and Brenton Mowforth dole out the goods to local bars.
A longtime friend of the team at Nickel 9, Mowforth tells blogTO that he and Chris Jacks had toyed around with the idea of doing a collaboration for ages, but when he pitched the Christmas tree gin idea, the deal was sealed.
The process of perfecting the final product, Mowforth says, was remarkably smooth.
Mowforth, Jacks and Nickel 9's master distiller, Greg Morrison, landed on a blend prominently featuring Balsam Fir aromas, balanced with cacao nibs and cardamom for an end product with an upfront flavour that's unmistakably holiday.
How did they settle on Balsam Fir as the aroma of choice? "I have tried many trees in my day," Mowforth explains. "I found that Balsam Fir gives off the most holiday-esque aroma. I also find Balsam Fir brighter and has a nice resinous flavour that works well, especially with the cacao nibs."
An ultra-limited release (for now), Mowforth and Jacks settled on the approach of doling out the gin to local bars a la Santa Claus, to add uniquely festive cocktails to their own menus.
Mowforth himself best enjoys the spirit used in a gin and tonic with a few dashes of chocolate bitters and Fever Tree's light tonic, but, he adds, it also makes a great Negroni or a Lucien Gaudin.
Sasha Siegel's Trees to Happy Hour creation at Lonely Diner.
Lonely Diner's Sasha Siegel, on the other hand, combined it with Riesling cordial and pineapple syrup, while Mother Cocktail Bar's Angelina Campigotto crafted what Mowforth describes as a "refreshing little number" with fermented cranberry and ginger beer.
Really, there's no bad way to enjoy a Christmas tree — whether you're decorating it or putting it in your Negroni.
Here's a full list of the Toronto bars where you can order Nickel 9's Trees to Happy Hour Christmas Tree Gin this holiday season:
Nick Lee (@bestoftorontonet)
