Odd Society Salal Negroni: Why we love this quintessentially B.C. version of the cocktail for the holidays
Coastal characteristics, international influences make up the drink’s spirits
Odd Society Salal Negroni.
HOME TO ONE of the coolest lounges in Vancouver , Odd Society Spirits has developed an annual tradition that brings B.C. to the cocktail glass.
Every winter for the past six years, the craft-certified distillery in East Van has made small batches of its signature Salal Gin—re-creating classic British sloe gin with West Coast flavour.
This year’s release was extra-special, with the hand-picked berries coming from two different coastal regions of B.C.
One batch came from Powell River and was harvested by wild-food forager and educator Alexander McNaughton. The other berries were picked in Haida Gwaii, where Marylynn Hunt runs St. Mary's Spring Estate Farm.
A traditional Indigenous food, salal berries are abundant throughout the Pacific Northwest and are high in antioxidants. They resemble blueberries when ripe, only darker.
Because they have a tart, slightly spicy, herbaceous taste, they make for an ideal swap for the blackthorn berries that are typically used to make sloe gin.
Odd Society’s spirit earned the distillery headed by Gordon Glanz an Excellence in Terroir acknowledgement and a gold medal in the Contemporary Gin category at the 2020 Canadian Artisan Spirit Competition.
The Odd Society Salal Negroni has the same building blocks as the Italian drink but is entirely its own. To make it, the the team combines ¾ of an ounce of Salal Gin with equal amounts of Odd Society Bittersweet Vermouth (made with 25 botanicals and fortified B.C wine) and its Mia Amata Amaro. The latter is a complex spirit that comprises myrrh gum from Somalia, kola nut from West Africa, Persian candied plum, Mexican cacao and vanilla bean, and Indian mace, among other ingredients, along with B.C.-grown elderflower and magnolia—a locally infused, bitter-sweet, best of all worlds digestif. It all makes for a truly distinct, tantalizing drink.
You can order one at the bar at 1725 Powell Street, or track down the spirits at select private liquor stores to make your own. Happy New Year.
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