Darpan Spirits: It’s Cocktail Hour!

By Renu Singh

With wedding season quickly approaching, brides and grooms are looking for the next ultimate cocktail to serve at their wedding receptions. The Keefer Bar is a Vancouver hot spot offering a funky, fresh cocktail menu. Known for its specially crafted drinks sourced from local Chinatown markets and herbalists, Keefer’s bartenders/mixologists create cocktails from unique house made tinctures, bitters, syrups and teas.

The Keefer Bar shared two of their out-of-this-world cocktail recipes, which can be re-created for that special day and will surely be the talk of the night, besides the groom and bride, of course!

Keefer 75

3/4 oz Gin (Infuse gin with dragon fruit skin optional)
1/2 oz Lavender Syrup
1/2 oz Lemon Juice

Shake all ingredients on ice and strain into champagne flute.
Top with Sparkling Wine.

Optional: rim half of the rim with crushed candied rose petals.

Opium Sour

2 oz Maker’s Mark Bourbon
3/4 oz Grapefruit Juice
1/2 oz Tamarind Syrup
1/4 oz Lemon Juice

Shake all ingredients on ice and strain over ice into a highball glass.
Garnish with Poppy Seed Tincture

Serves 1
Can be prepared in batches – multiply the recipe by the number of drinks
you will need

*Tamarind Syrup – steep tamarind paste in hot water for 15 minutes.  Strain
through a fine strainer.
Add equal part sugar to tamarind water (e.g. 1 cup tamarind water to 1 cup
sugar)

*Poppyseed Tincture – Steep poppy seeds in high proof alcohol for 2 weeks.