Tarquin Melnyk is the Bar Manager at Bambudda in Gastown.

I asked Tarquin to make a selection of his unique cocktails at Bambudda.

Up first is the New Gwei-Lo

New Gwei-Lo

This drink is pineapple preserved three ways and was created to employ multiple traditional methods for fruit preservation into a tart and memorably delicious drink.

Ingredients:

55 ml Dark Horse Rye

5 ml Averna Amaro

25 ml Fresh Lime juice

15 ml Gomme

7 ml Pineapple shrub

1 dash Pineapple Star anise bitters

1 dash Chocolate Bitters

Method:

1) Combine ingredients in shaker. Add ice. Give extremely hard shake to really break up ice. Pour over three 2″ square cubes in a rocks glass with a half rim of dehydrated pineapple and espellette chili rock salt.

Pineapple Shrub: Equal parts diced fresh pineapple, organic rice vinegar and sugar. Put into large sealed container. Let sit for 3 days – strain and serve.

Bitters: Custom made for Bambudda by Ms. Betters Bitters. Try substituting Dillon’s Pear Bitters and Scrappy’s Chocolate Bitters for your own homemade version. These bitters are available at Legacy Liquor Store.

Dehydrated pineapple rock salt – We started off doing this ourselves in the Bambudda dehydrater – we go through so much that Ms. Betters Bitters do it for us now at their facility.

2) Essentially, you make a pineapple bark. You crush it into a powder and mix it with dehydrated and crushed espellette chilies, citric acid and kosher salt to taste. To adhere the salt to glass – wet desired area with a slice of lemon or lime and roll in salt mixture.

The next cocktail he made was the Post Opium

Post Opium

Inspired by the most recent trend of Passionfruit and chocolate in high end chocolate shops, such as Thomas Haas. The drink is a daiquiri at its core.

Ingredients:

45 ml Havana Club 3 yr Rum

30 ml unsweetened Passionfruit purée

15 ml Gomme

1 dash Kaffir lime bitters (Substitute by infusing kaffir leaves directly into rum)

Method:

1) Put contents to shaker. Add ice. Hard shake for 12 seconds. Fine strain into a chilled coupe. Gently express foam from siphon over top. Grate like hairs from zester over foam and serve quickly.

2) Foam: 200g Zephyr white chocolate, 200g Coconut Milk, 20 ml Calvados VSOP Apple brandy, pithless peels of one lemon. Heat on lowest possible setting, as chocolate burns very easily. When the mixture is a warm liquid – strain peels and pour into a siphon. Double charge siphon and keep in warm water bath between uses. (Siphon can be stored in fridge between uses, just reheat siphon during service)

The next cocktail he made was the Powell Street Sour

Powell Street Sour

Inspired by the concept of doing a visually captivating and nuanced flavor New York style sour.

Ingredients:

45 ml Dewers White Label Blended Scotch

15 ml BenRiach Curiousitas Peated Speyside Whisky

30 ml Lemon Juice

20 ml Gomme (2:1 rich sugar syrup)

1 egg white

Method:

1) Combine ingredients in shaker. Dry shake. Hard shake with ice. Fine strain over one 2″ square ice cube in a chilled rocks glass. Pour Cabernet Sauvignon over barspoon to carefully later wine over scotch sour.

2) Float vermouth air over top.

3) Air: Combine 800g Cabernet (aromatized with peels of grapefruit, lemon, orange, cinnamon and cassia bark – strained). 30 ml VS Cognac. 2 dashes Apothecary Aromatic bitters. 100g Gomme rich syrup. 5g Xanthin gum. 15g Versawhip. – Blend with hand blender, cover and let sit in fridge for three days. Strain with chinois. Pump air through tube attached to an aquarium pump in bowl. (You’re probably never making the air – drink still tastes great without the added air.)

Bambudda Gastown is located at 99 Powell Street in Vancouver and you can follow Tarquin on twitter @livelikeburning

By: Richard Wolak