Stirred, Not Shaken: Keeping warm with the Keefer Yard's Loco Chocolata Yeah Yeah
Odd Society’s Mia Amata Amaro takes this adult hot chocolate to the next level, served in the coolest open-air cocktail bar
Stirred, Not Shaken is Stir’s cocktail series featuring locally made drinks that incorporate the best-of-B.C. ingredients. (Note: sometimes, the beverages are shaken.)
WE RECENTLY SHARED news of Hot Chocolate Vancouver, the festival featuring all sorts of creative takes on the humble drink. The concoctions are decadent to be sure, but sometimes you want that classic beverage to have a kick—say, when it’s pouring February rain in Vancouver during a pandemic.
The only thing that would make an “adult” hot chocolate better would be the coolest outdoor cocktail bar in the city to sip it in.
There you have it: the Keefer Yard’s Loco Chocolata Yeah Yeah.
While the Keefer Bar is closed inside for the time being (check Instagram for latest updates), the bar’s Yard is not. It came about after the City of Vancouver issued temporary patio permits in the face of COVID-19.
Several local artists adorned the walls with graffiti, with @form_ske painting the Jimi Hendrix mural. Fire tables atop custom-built wooden decks went in, and so did a glittering disco ball. There are lanterns hanging from the tent for Lunar New Year, and—get this!—a mini-putt course. (The course is currently closed due to public-health restrictions. GM Keenan Hood is hoping it can reopen soon. When it was up and running, people played by donation, with all funds going to rotating local charities.)
The Keefer Yard.
The Yard is where you can order that Loco Chocolata Yeah Yeah.
The rich hottie features Bacardi Reserva Ocho (with vanilla, apricot, nutmeg, and prune flavours), Ancho Reyes Liqueur (chili pepper, brown sugar, honey, and ginger), coconut milk, cocoa, pandan. But what we love the most is that the drink also comprises Mia Amata Amaro by East Van’s Odd Society Spirits.
The Italian-style digestif just made sense: “It has a lovely bitter chocolate flavour, and the orange and dried fruit notes go well with the rum,” says Bruce, vice president of the Canadian Professional Bartenders Association.
The drink is classically topped with a toasted marshmallow, which is just plain old-fashioned fun.
The Keefer Yard is open daily from 2 to 10 pm, with a food menu that features dim sum (including dumplings), bar snacks, and small plates like brisket bao and Peking duck pancake. In a beautiful example of local businesses supporting each other, you can also order from neighbouring restos Juke (fried chicken, chicken and waffles, fried chicken sandwich, slab of ribs, cornbread, and the like) and Mila (plant-based goodness in flavour-packed dishes like bao buns, dynamite celeriac sushi cones, bulgogi cabbage-kimchi tacos, double-patty smash burger, and more)—and have the food delivered right to your table.
Happy Hour runs weekdays from 2 to 4 pm, when you can dim sum, bar snacks, and dessert (choux pastry filled with Japanese whisky-custard and dusted with matcha sugar) for half-price.
More info is at the Keefer.
The Keefer Yard, with artwork by @form_ske.
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