Stirred, Not Shaken: Why we love the Fable Diner + EastVan Bees Amaretto Sour

There’s a lot of local love in this old fashioned glass

Stirred, Not Shaken is Stir’s cocktail series featuring locally made drinks that incorporate the best-of-B.C. ingredients. Sometimes, the beverages are shaken.

IN THE UP-and-coming neighbourhood of Lynn Creek in North Vancouver is Sons of Vancouver, a micro distillery and little cocktail lounge run by James Lester and Richard Klaus. Its lineup of craft spirits includes Chili Vodka, Craft Blue Curacao, and Coffee Liqueur Sucks. We’re especially fond of its small-batch No. 82 Amaretto.

Apricot kernels (not almonds) are the star ingredient, mixed with orange peel, Bourbon-soaked vanilla beans, Demerara sugar, and B.C. blackberry honey.

Fable Diner—which serves up some of the best burgers and milkshakes in town—goes hyperlocal with its Amaretto Sour, building it with SOV’s spirit alongside Peeled Orange Liqueur from Surrey’s Central City Brewers+Distillers. The latter is made with malted barley, aged for three years in American oak, and infused with citrus peels.

Next up, the Amaretto Sour is sweetened with honey from Stephen Sandve’s EastVan Bees. This raw, urban, golden goodness is chemical-free, multi-floral, cold-extracted, and gentle-filtered, every frame of honey handled caringly by hand. The drink is shaken hard, strained over fresh ice, and garnished with a dehydrated lemon peel.

Bonus: Fable Diner has kept up its pandemic practice of offering a 20-percent discount to all health-care workers and first responders for dine-in, delivery, or take-out.

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