Hot New Libations

By Brad Jamieson, Don Ellis, Aaron Jacobs

Page 2 of 2

Uphoria Asian Pear Liquor
Asian pear has become one of the hottest new flavours at bars and nightclubs, thanks in part to Uphoria’s Asian Pear Liquor, capturing the true flavor of the unique fruit.

As is in that grand tradition of trying different elements, Uphoria’s liquor, while not an entirely new product retails for $21.95 for a 750 mL bottle. It does the impossible though: Filling out the ripples in crisp Asian pear’s rough edges, gently smoothing it out with the sweet flavours of apple.

Tasting Uphoria’s Asian Pear Liquor, with dampened sensory cavities of my own, shows that the liquor carries its own weight in cocktails gracefully and confidently. The custom Asian Pear possibilities are motivating to speculate upon. – B.J.

Smirnoff Fire
I have sipped various ready-to-drink coolers for a decade now, and while they do prove quick and easy – the whole idea – and some do actually have a bearable taste, frankly, I don’t give a damn. The sweet charm of Smirnoff Ice leaves me cold and the artificial flavours of Woody’s coolers have had their day in the sun; I just want to drink something cool and new. And I have no time to create.

Smirnoff has created a new wild thing in a bottle, hitting all the right spots. If coolers conjure up memories of TGIF days, rest assure that Smirnoff FIRE is more Grecian Goddess than Preppy Handbook, even if a specific taste is hard to detect.

What’s the trend in coolers? “As with vodka”, says Keith Gillespie, Director of Smirnoff Canada, “Smirnoff leads the way in RTD innovation and this year is no exception. Smirnoff FIRE and Smirnoff Twisted Wild Grape are the latest Smirnoff offerings in the market this year. Both are top-10 entries into the LCBO. Smirnoff FIRE is available only in Ontario.”

There are three things that sell alcohol in nightclubs – alcohol, coolness and flavour. This black-coloured cooler simply needs one of those things: But drink it out of the bottle; in a rocks glass, it looks like a glass of Coke. Highly unlikely that Smirnoff FIRE will be "the Gibson" for Generation X, but damned if it’s not one of the most flavourful of the batch. – D.E.

Mott’s Clamato Red Eye
Not to be outdone, Mott’s has taken their traditional hard-to-blend mix and created an addictive blend-able tint. Mott's establishes itself as the Clamato virtuoso (Clamato is a mix of reconstituted tomato juice concentrate and reconstituted dried clam broth) and now the brand crashes the Prairies’ wacky mix of beer and Clamato together in a bottle with inexorable energy and distinctive taste.

In Mexico, it’s Red Beer, in Albertans it’s Red Eye, whatever. Mott's Clamato Red Eye crashes a premium lager with a shot of zesty Mott's Clamato. A little bit of red gives your taste buds a whole new experience. Red Eye’s taste is sweet Clamato, with no spices, and a touch of bitterness from the lager that is infused, is less feisty and less credible.

"O.K., O.K.," we hear you saying. "The thing is profound. But is it a good drink?" It depends. If you never liked beer or Clamato, or beer & tomato, you’ll hate it. If the blend, however, is your thing, then you’ll love Red Eye. Some may complain that Red Eye’s flavour isn’t especially layered, but it shouldn’t be – beer and Clamato is pretty damn simple. – A.J.

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