15 FEB 2017: Whether we want to celebrate those eagles or bemoan the bogies, most golfers look forward to the 19th hole. It’s a time and place to settle the bets, think about the next 18 or maybe mellow before your deep tissue massage. Should one of your fellow swingers insist on replaying his (never her) entire game—shot by shot by shot—order a double.
Here are few of my favorite watering holes and their signature cocktails. In all cases, both the 18s and the 19s are worthy of your bucket list. Even if you’re not a golfer, at this point in the middle of a Canadian winter, don’t you deserve a drink?
Championship Martini,
Whistling Straits
Pete Dye’s rugged and windswept Straits has hosted the 2004 and 2010 PGA Championships and the 2007 US Senior Open. This martini was created in honor of the 2015 PGA Championship.
1 ½ oz Belvedere vodka
¾ oz Chambord
¼ oz cranberry juice
Splash of pineapple juice
Bruléed pineapple garnish
Combine all liquids in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake until chilled. Serve in a martini glass with pineapple wedge.
The Dark & Stormy, Cobble Beach
Cobble Beach, located on Georgian Bay north of Toronto puts its own “North of the Border” twist on the classic Bermuda highball. The Dark & Stormy is a comforting libation following a two-club wind on Doug Carrick’s links-style course.
2 oz dark rum
3 oz ginger beer
½ oz lime juice
Dollop of maple syrup
Lime wedge
Combine the rum, ginger beer, and lime juice in a tall glass full of ice cubes. Stir and top with a splash of maple syrup. Garnish with a lime wedge.
The Mystic Cosmo, Royal Isabela
Brothers Stanley and Charlie Pasarell, teamed up with former Pete Dye associate, David Pfaff, to create their vision of a tropical Scotland at the Royal Isabela golf club in Puerto Rico.
2 oz your preferred vodka
½ oz Blue Curacao
2 ½ oz cranberry juice
Pineapple wedge, strawberry and blueberries for garnish
Mix all of the ingredients in a shaker filled with ice. Strain and serve in a chilled martini glass. Garnish with fruit.
Daisy Chain, Gleneagles Hotel
Host of the 2014 Ryder Cup, Gleneagles has been wowing guests both on and off its regal courses since 1924. The Daisy Chain, created by head bartender Cameron Johnston, calls for Haig club whisky (endorsed by David Beckham) and honey from Gleneagles’ own beehives. If you can’t enjoy this at Gleneagles, you’ll have to make a few substitutions.
1 ½ oz Haig Club
½ oz lemon juice
½ oz equal parts honey and water
¾ oz chamomile tea (cold infused)
¾ oz egg white
2 drops ginger bitters
Aromatic chamomile sugar
Pour the Haig club, lemon juice, honey water, chamomile tea, egg white and ginger bitters into a cocktail shaker. Shake and strain into a rounded coupette glass
Sprinkle with with aromatic chamomile sugar.
Bloody Mary, Four Seasons Lanai
At Views, the Four Seasons Manele golf course clubhouse restaurant, you might spot whales frolicking in Hulopoe Bay. Bill Gates said “I do” on the signature cliff-hanging par-3 twelfth.
1 ½ oz vodka
4 oz Bloody Mary mix
Lemon wedge
Celery salt rim
Garnish: baby carrot, celery stick, jumbo shrimp, 2 Queen olives
Rub glass rim with lemon wedge and dip in celery salt. Stir vodka and Bloody Mary mix in the glass with ice cubes. Top with garnishes.
Maritimer Mojo, Cabot Links
Cabot Links made global golf news as the first and only true links course in Canada. Opening this summer, the new sister course, Cabot Cliffs by Crenshaw and Coore, kicks up its debut with this east coast interpretation of the standard mojito.
Sea Fever Rum and Glanbùrn Bubbly Water are both made in Guysborough, Nova Scotia. If not available, substitute with another brand of spiced rum and sparkling water…but you should come to Cape Breton to sample the real thing.
1 ½ oz Sea Fever Spiced Rum
4 tsp white sugar
1 lime, cut into 6 wedges
6 mint leaves
6 oz Glanbùrn Bubbly Water
Fill a large glass with ice to chill. In a cocktail shaker, muddle rum, sugar, lime and mint. Top with ice and shake. Strain into the chilled glass over fresh ice. Top with Glanbùrn Bubbly Water. Garnish with lime and mint.
Sleeping Buffalo, Fairmont Banff Springs
The Sleeping Buffalo is a Canadian twist on a classic cocktail, the Old Fashioned. This martini features Canadian maple syrup, Sortilege (a Canadian Maple Whisky from Montreal) and Buffalo Trace Bourbon. With the reintroduction of the mighty buffalo to Banff National Park, this libation, created by bartender JD McIntyre, celebrates the connection between the Fairmont Banff Springs and the captivating wildlife that surrounds the resort and golf course.
1 ½ oz Buffalo Trace Bourbon
½ Sortilege
2 dashes orange bitters
½ oz maple syrup
Orange twist
Combine all liquids in a cocktail shaker with ice cubes. Shake and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with orange twist.
Aguachile Margarita, Punta Mita
The Punta Mita resort on the Riviera Nayarit boasts two Jack Nicklaus Signature courses, Pacifico and Bahia. Pacifico boasts19 fairways and the world’s only natural island green. To play this signature Tail of the Whale third hole you must carry your drive about 180 yards across the Pacific Ocean. In low tide, if you haven’t made an offering to Neptune, walk over a rocky ocean-floor pathway to putt. A par on the “Tail” deserves this spicy Margarita.
½ oz Tequila Reposado
1 oz Cointreau
2 oz Serrano syrup*
Dash lime juice
Cilantro salt (or substitute coarse sea salt)
Serrano chili for garnish
*Serrano syrup
1 English cucumber
1 Serrano pepper
¼ cup cilantro
10 oz fresh-squeezed lime juice
20 oz simple syrup (combine 2 ½ cups water with 2 ½ cups sugar and heat until sugar is dissolved, then cool)
Put all the ingredients in the blender and blend until you get a liquid consistency.
Rim a margarita glass with cilantro salt. Pour liquid ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake. Strain contents into the margarita glass and garnish with a caramelized Serrano chili.