Spring Sips: 5 Drinks To Salut The Season

With patio weather (nearly) upon us, spring sipping is on our minds. Below, drinks to salut the season. —Vita Daily

DILLON’S VODKA RTDs

There’s a small-batch distillery in the heart of Ontario’s Niagara wine country crafting unique spirits using local and seasonal ingredients; just call it “grain-to-glass”. Dillon’s Small Batch Distillers offers a collection of spirits, including vodkas, gins, rye whisky, absinthe, liqueur-style gins, peach and plum schnapps, prepared bottled cocktails and a line of cocktail bitters. For spring, we love their new vodka cocktails in a can, in flavours like Bluberry Peach & A Twist Of Lemon, Apricot & A Touch Of Ginger, and Raspberry, Lemon & A Hint Of Lavendar (your best bet is to simply grab the handy Variety Pack). “We’ve spent a decade answering the question of how to drink our spirits—canned cocktails are an easy solution,” says founder Geoff Dillon. “They’re an easy way to have a balanced cocktail in a simple can.”

DILLON’S DRY GIN 7

Also from Dillon’s, this perfect-for-cocktails traditional dry-style gin is made with 100 per cent Canadian Rye and vapour distilled through seven different botanicals, including juniper, as well as through oak for a slight sweetness. Developed with top bartenders, the result is a smooth sophisticated “London-er” that’s perfect for a classic G&T and a jolly joy to the dry martini—or, mix up a spring-y Basil Gin Gimlet by muddling five basil leaves and a 1/2 ounce of fresh lime juice in a cocktail shaker, then adding 2 ounces Dillon’s Dry Gin 7, a 1/2 ounce simple syrup, 3 dashes Dillon’s Lime Bitters and ice. Shake for 10-15 seconds, strain into a chilled coupe glass and garnish with a basil leaf and a fresh lime wheel.

BEARFACE CANADIAN WHISKY RTDs

Wildly refreshing premixed cans of BEARFACE have been created to bring you a taste of the wilderness—without leaving your back yard. Easy-drinking and full of flavour, every pre-mixed cocktail is bursting with real refreshment and an uncompromising BEARFACE elementally aged Canadian whisky taste. Wildly Refreshing Whisky, Ginger & A Hint of Lime is clear, effervescent and light, perfectly balanced between whisky and ginger with a tart citrus bite. Always serve chilled, and please, remember to recycle these cans; if you are out in the great outdoors, leave the wilderness as unspoilt as you found it.

TIERRA RICA CABERNET SAUVIGNON & SAUV BLANC

Wine wise, fill your spring cup with an organic selection from Tierra Rica. The ruby-red 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon stands out for its fruitiness and character, with loads of black fruits like raspberries and plums, floral notes of violets and and soft touches of vanilla and toffee. Well balanced, it makes a great companion to roasted meats, legumes and fresh pasta. On the white side, the 2022 Savignon Blanc is bursting with notes of citrus and tropical fruits, like grapefruit, and also offers soft herbal touches. Its lively acidity makes it perfect paired with goat cheeses, seafoods and fresh spring salads.

2 HOOTS HARD ICED TEA

Here’s a beverage brand that looked at the world’s iced tea and saw that it deserved better: bolder, fresher and juicier, with some attitude. In other words, it needed people to give a hoot about it. And then another. So, 2 Hoots got to brewing, combining sustainably sourced tea with hand-picked, cold-pressed lemons. The result: big flavour and bold taste in every single can of Original, Zero Sugar and Half & Half. You’re welcome.

WHITE CLAW

Blended with real fruit juice, White Claw is making waves in Canada by introducing the brand’s first tequila-based drink along with a vodka-based version. The new collection upholds White Claw’s commitment to better-for-you beverages, containing 100 calories, 1 gram sugar and 5 per cent alc./vol. Perfect for the patio, White Claw Tequila Smash features authentic Mexican tequila with refreshing real fruit juicein four sensationally delicious flavour pairings: Lime Prickly Pear, Pineapple Passion Fruit, Mango Paloma and Strawberry Guava (available in an eight-pack Variety Pack). White Claw Vodka Smash is crafted with White Claw Vodka and blended with real fruit juice in four new flavour combinations: Peach Raspberry, Cranberry Wild Cherry, Watermelon Mint, and Pineapple Tangerine (also available in an 8-pack Variety Pack).