Stirred, Not Shaken: Straight & Marrow’s Bent, Not Broken rethinks James Bond’s Vesper Martini
The East Vancouver restaurant’s cocktail makes for a multisensory experience
Stirred, Not Shaken is Stir’s cocktail series featuring locally made drinks. Sometimes, the beverages are shaken.
CHEF CHRIS LAM opened Straight & Marrow Restaurant and Bar at the peak of the pandemic, but launching the East Village spot at 1869 Powell Street in July 2020 isn’t the only reason he’s considered daring. This is a place that prides itself on creativity and risk when it comes to both food (with Lam taking a nose-to-tail approach, favouring unusual and underused meats, offal, and other overlooked ingredients) and drink, with Chad Rivard behind the bar.
Consider some of the menu items Straight & Marrow is offering to celebrate its one-year anniversary, from July 29 to August 1: Lamb Sweet Breads come with garlic gel, brown butter powder, daikon, and Brussels sprouts; the Funnel Cake is a vanilla cheesecake with strawberry gel, strawberry powder, and duck-fat sugar. (The regular menu is available during this time as well, with dishes like Porcini Escargot Beignets, Beef Heart Tartare, and, as you might expect, bone marrow.)
A signature sipper, meanwhile, is the Porkolada, made with pineapple, coconut, orange, and bacon-infused Flor de Caña 7 Year Rum.
Lam and Rivard describe the new Bent, Not Broken cocktail as a set of simple modifications to a classic recipe—James Bond’s Vesper Martini.
Twice burnt, it shines because of its unconventional execution.
Made with Tanqueray no. 10, Luksusowa Vodka, and lemon-infused Lillet Blanc, the drink is served in a coupe that’s been rinsed with mildly peated Scotch. It’s topped with a torched rosemary sprig that seems to float, planted on a piece of dehydrated lemon, and it’s garnished with droplets of charred-rosemary olive oil.
Order one, and the aroma will reach you before the drink does, owing to the smouldering rosemary; the server drops the rosemary oil into the drink tableside. “Just like with our plates, this is rarely expected for a first-time customer,” Rivard says. “It makes the drink a multi-sensory experience.”
Bent, Not Broken is a dramatic example of the complexity and balance of flavours the team strives for across the board.
“We like to experiment,” Lam tells Stir. “We like to try different techniques and combinations of flavour to give our guests unique experiences; it can be surprising.
“It’s memorable,” Lam says of the cocktail, which, appropriately for this column, is stirred, not shaken. “It’s a story.”
Straight & Marrow chef-owner Chris Lam.
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