The Canon Cocktail
The Canon Cocktail by Jamie Boudreau
To celebrate this beautiful battery we turn to a storied bar in Seattle known appropriately enough as “Canon”. Home to “America’s largest spirit collection”, at four thousand bottles and counting, “Canon Whiskey and Bitters Emporium” literally wraps you up in a warm embrace of bottle-lined walls. Jamie Boudreau, Canon’s owner and visionary, has one of the most extensive collections of vintage spirits and whiskeys in the world, including an original Mt. Vernon rye from 1895. His bar has also racked up the official accolades, earning “World’s Best Spirits Selection” at Tales of the Cocktail in 2017 and the #6 spot on the “World’s 50 Best Bars” list in 2014.
A drink that will blow you away
When Boudreau opened his bar in 2011 he created a signature cocktail to epitomize the oeuvre he was creating. The full name of the bar includes both whiskey and bitters, and the signature cocktail had to reflect that faithfully. While the menu has changed many times over the years, and other favorites like the “Truffle Old Fashioned” have gained popularity, the original remains a modern classic. The “Canon Cocktail”, if served at the bar, even features a stencil of the bar’s logo, a cannon (how clever and confusing), sprayed with Angostura bitters onto the special foam that sits above the liquid. The foam is made from Cointreau, the French orange aperitif liqueur similar to triple sec and well known in a Margarita. The basic drink, with rye, sweet vermouth, and amaro, is a lovely take on the Manhattan, and quite tasty on its own. The special foam elevates it to legendary status, and makes it so much more perfect to accompany these special puzzles. Class dismissed – cheers!
If boxes and booze had house rules, these follow the canon
The Canon Cocktail by Jamie Boudreau
1 oz rye whiskey
½ oz sweet vermouth
½ oz Ramazotti amaro
Cointreau foam (ideally made w Cointreau, lemon, egg white and sugar in a siphon, I whipped up a tolerable version using the blender on high speed)
Aromatic bitters (such as Angostura)
Stir the liquid ingredients well with ice to chill and dilute, then strain into a favorite glass. Top with foam and spray with aromatic bitters.
Batteries included
For prior lectures from the Summer at Berkeley puzzle series: