One King West Hotel & Residence in Toronto will celebrate its 100th anniversary July 1, and it has created some signature cocktails to celebrate.
The hotel, which once served as the headquarters of The Dominion Bank, has reinterpreted some classic cocktails to offer libations that complement the building’s history and relationship to the city’s banking past.
Menu price for all the drinks is C$12 (US$11).
Invented in the mid-1900s, the Million Dollar Cocktail uses Beefeater gin as its base spirit. James Burrough, the spirit’s creator, worked as a chemist in Toronto from 1856 to 1861. The drink also features sweet vermouth, pineapple juice, house-made grenadine and egg white.
Michie’s Apricot Sour is a variation on the classic whisky sour with whisky, apricot brandy, fresh lemon juice, simple syrup and egg white. Apricot was one of several “exotic” fruits offered by Michie & Co. Grocers, which first occupied the property in the mid-1800s.
La Paloma, made with Olmeca Supremo Gold, fresh grapefruit juice, fresh lime juice, lemon-lime soda and a pinch of sea salt, honors the building’s architects, Darling and Pearson, who took inspiration from around the world to interpret the unique Canadian experience of commercial development in the early 20th century.
The Bank Note is a modern take on the Manhattan with Wiser’s Legacy, Dubonnet Rouge, McGuinness Crème de Cacao White and Fee Brothers walnut bitters. The Toronto-Dominion Bank was opened by a group of businessmen involved in the grain business, and grain is a key component of whisky.
Named for the second tower at One King West Hotel & Residence, The Sliver uses vodka, dry vermouth, a scotch rinse, an olive skewer and a sliver of lemon to pay homage to the building.