The Bedwell Bramble
While the dining experience at Clayoquot Wilderness Lodge is designed to reflect a genuine sense of place, over at The Ivanhoe the bartenders are masters at distilling the Clayoquot experience into liquid form.
Head of Food and Beverage and talented mixologist Craig McNair finds it hard to choose which cocktail embodies the spirit of Clayoquot the most. Is it the bourbon bacon sour garnished with salty rashers of crispy goodness? Or the Clayoquot gold featuring local elderflower liquor, fresh lime and Champagne?
Craig McNair, Food & Beverage Manager
“It’s hard to choose a favourite because they all have a story inspired by the surrounds. But if I had to, I would say the Bedwell Bramble.”
As the namesake suggests, the process begins not at the bar but brambling for wild blackberries through the forests and deep into the valley. One of the rarer varieties found in the wild, blackberries are prized among bears and birds, as well as keen-eyed members of the lodge team (namely experience guides and bartenders) for their easy picking and sweetness.
Once foraged, the blackberries are then turned into a ‘shrub’, a sweet-and-sour mixture created by adding foraged wild flowers, vinegar and sugar, although in this case using only 20% of the typical sugar content. Ingredients are then boiled and reduced, vacuumed sealed and left to ferment. Once fermented, the juice is strained and placed back on the stove to simmer, and a dash of balsamic vinegar is added to end the process of fermentation.
With the blackberry shrub prepared as champion ingredient, the Bedwell Bramble is assembled with local island gin and fresh squeezed lemon, with the shrub poured gently over the contents. The contrasting densities of the cocktail and shrub create a stunning gradient from dark pink to white.
Of course, no good cocktail is complete without a final touch; a foraged berry and wheel of lemon to garnish. ‘It sounds simple, but packs a big punch of flavour. The kind that makes all your taste buds salivate. I think the Bedwell Bramble encompasses what Clayoquot is all about’, Craig said.