On its surface, a cocktail program based on childhood memories doesn’t seem like an obvious connection. Certain scents or sentimental foods, no question—the taste of macaroni and cheese will forever bring me back to Friday lunch breaks when I was kid—but a smart cocktail isn’t something I would typically connect with childhood innocence, for example, as one of the new offerings in the Four Seasons program does.
But The Memoir, a new cocktail program for the Braidwood Tavern created in consultation with beverage maestro Nils Schabert, does so in a way that manages to be thoughtful, nostalgic and heartwarming—with a side of mad scientist thrown in the mix.
Schabert is a bit of a magician with a cocktail. The acclaimed consultant—who was also the brains behind the Four Season’s The Library by The Macallan—has jet-setted all over the world to develop thoughtful programs for many of the 50 Best Bars winners, and a little closer to home, has had his hand in most of the bars and resort hotels around Banff, Alberta.
For the Memoir, Schabert leans into nostalgia—and finding that, Schabert told a handful of us there to sample the menu recently, comes from defining what a memory really is: there’s a distinction between what memory is, and what we think it might be. A memory isn’t a thought at all, he notes, but an experience—you remember how you felt in a particular moment, not necessarily what you were thinking about at the time. With cocktail names that range from “Hide and Seek” to “Pajamas Til Noon” to “Under the Old Tree,” it’s a warm-hearted, nostalgia-infused program that’s as much about storytelling as it is about craft (and there’s plenty of both).
It’s a 360-degree program: everything from the glassware to each individual ingredient has a hands-on approach. Some glassware is delicate, handmade and sourced from Japanese maker Kimura; others are playful and 3-D printed by Italy’s 3D Vault, like the pillow that the “Pajamas Til Noon” cocktail sits upon.
There’s a labour intensity to each drink that I kept reflecting on long after the experience. One More Sunset, for example—that feeling of wanting one more sunset with friends— features a finisher of “banana water.” The sweet and intense water is barely two thimbles-full, but it’s extracted and sweated from up to 5 bananas over a period of 48 hours. Rye, crème de cacao and fino sherry are the base of the cocktail, an unusual combination that manages to taste like a beach vacation—all butterscotch and spice with just a bit of an herbal finish. It’s dusted with charred lime rind to reduce sweetness, and the combination of crushed and cube ice is selected to control the rate at which it melts. It goes down as easy as a sunset, but with the complexity of painted sky (Schabert’s storytelling rubs off on you.)
Cake for Breakfast, another in the series, is inspired by just that: the delight of breaking the rules by sneaking a slice of last night’s birthday cake. With reposado tequila—which brings in vanilla and almond flavours—along with clarified strawberry cheesecake (made from a milk punch created from condensed milk and strawberry purée), and oloroso sherry contributing the taste of graham crackers, it’s topped with an egg-white-like foam that’s made from yuzu, and dusted with raspberry powder. It’s both beautiful to look at it in the glass, and incredible on the tongue.
A friend and I often tease each other at our regular Friday night happy hour that at the end of the week, she’s looking for something that’s not a punch in the face, where by Friday, that’s exactly the drink I’m looking for. But at this Friday night with the Memoir in Whistler, I’ve changed my tune: I want a cocktail as memorable as any one of these.
For more information or to make a reservation, visit Four Seasons Whistler.
