O Canada (or O Ontario) — The Toronto

This is a great cocktail for cold weather, although when I discovered it in was early fall in Texas (more about that below).  If you like sweet cocktails ……. stop reading because you probably will not like this one. Like many Americans, I have been to the city for which the cocktail is named.  If you have not traveled much (or at all) outside of the United States, Toronto is a good gateway destination.

So here is how you make the cocktail that will warm you up very quickly …..

Combine everything into a shaker with ice, stir like you’re shivering from a cold wind that just came off of Lake Ontario, and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

When I mention a flame kissed orange peel, I really mean it. Kissed, not burned.

So how did I discover this cocktail in Texas of all places?  Last year I tagged along with my wife on one of her business trips, and one night we ended up at CU29, a wonderful cocktail bar in Austin.  I put my liver in the hands of Cole, a fantastic bartender (he no longer works there but Belle and Chris are there and know what they’re doing), when I asked for him to make me a rye based cocktail.  What he made was a variation on the Toronto.  He used Branca Menta (a mint flavored cousin of Fernet Branca) and the result was nothing short of amazing. 

Sometimes you have to go in what seems to be the opposite direction to get to your destination.  That’s how I went to Texas but ended up in Toronto.