Celebrate Canadian cocktail history and artistry with A Field Guide to Canadian Cocktails, a collection of over 100 recipes inspired by a bounty of homegrown ingredients and spirits that will appeal to armchair bartenders and professionals alike.
From the Yukon’s Sour Toe Shot to a Prairie Caesar to New Brunswick’s Fiddlehead Martini, each beautifully crafted recipe—comprising updated classics, signature drinks from Canada’s top bartenders and the authors’ own creations—features quintessentially Canadian ingredients and cultural references, blending to create a libatious and entertaining journey from sea to shining sea.
Also featured are syrup and infusion recipes, tips and tricks, technique and equipment guides, as well as travel narratives and recommendations from the authors’ cross-country road trips.
Authors Victoria Walsh and Scott McCallum have dedicated countless hours, not to mention gas mileage, foraging, travelling and experimenting, in order to instill their own brand of northern spirit into the existing cocktail canon, and to add to the proud tradition of ensuring Canadian drinks, history and lore, in all their glory, are served at the global bar.
Victoria Walsh’s favourite place is the kitchen, where she creates, discovers and experiments with all things food and drink. Whether she’s writing about great eats, inventing and testing new recipes, or unwinding with a glass of wine and a piece of cheese, Victoria gives her kitchen plenty of quality time—and her kitchen always gives back! After Victoria received her certificate in chef training from the acclaimed program at George Brown College, she apprenticed as both a chef and pastry chef and honed her skills in kitchens across Toronto. Victoria earned her chops as a writer and recipe developer while working as associate food editor at Chatelaine and compiling, editing and developing the Chatelaine Modern Classics cookbook. She is a freelance writer, editor, recipe developer/tester and food stylist. Her work has been featured in The Globe and Mail, Food & Drink, Flare, Glow, Toronto Life and many more.
Scott McCallum’s cocktail obsession and alchemist-like knack for creating drinkable delights has led to a home bar that’s bursting at the seams. It’s loaded with an array of homemade bitters, colourful infused spirits and enough equipment to fill a small kitchen. Scott has over a decade of service experience, which he’s acquired in tandem with his acting career. He’s managed a Montreal B&B, worked at Canada’s iconic Massey Hall and spent some time slinging drinks at his favourite local. This seriously patriotic Canuck has set foot in almost every province and territory in Canada. These travels have broadened his knowledge for all the potable potential this country has to offer. The impact of these experiences has inspired him to develop a collection of handcrafted cocktails that embrace Canada and its terroir.
