WOLF & GROUSE
The light apéritif
Wolf & Grouse was originally conceived as a low-alcohol alternative for visitors to the Blue Grouse winery. At 6% ABV, it’s lighter than a blue grouse’s feather, yet full of delightful flavours and aromas that’ll take you back to carefree summer days and happy road trips in the countryside.
THE DRINK
The natural alternative
Wolf & Grouse is made with wild gentian root, bitter orange peels and a handful of light mountain blossoms, infused in a blend of crisp, white wine. Its bittersweet flavour makes it the natural alternative for delightful summertime cocktails.
If, like us, you prefer your drinks without artificial additives, then Wolf & Grouse might just be the thing for you.
THE MOMENT
The art of the apéritif
What is an apéritif?
To many North Americans, it’s an ingredient bartenders use to make their cocktails more interesting. To many Europeans, it’s the opening notes to a tasty lunch or dinner.
To us, the art of the apéritif is the art of being a good host. Not in a stuffy, formal way, but in a belly-laughing-until-you-cry way. It follows that the drinks we like to serve should be delightful, but very simple to make, allowing us to focus our attention on the friends who came to see us.
Good Wolf
Ingredients
2 oz Wolf & Grouse
4 oz Sanpellegrino
4 Ice cubes
1 Sprig of rosemary
Preparation
If you like picnics in the meadows, swimming in lakes and soaking in the summer sun, this is the drink for you. It’s simple, delightfully fresh, with a long bittersweet finish. The perfect lunchtime apéritif.
Here’s how we mix this in 4 easy steps:
Drop the ice cubes into a chilled tumbler
Pour Wolf & Grouse
Pour Sanpellegrino
Stir, garnish and serve
Road Trip
Ingredients
2 oz Wolf & Grouse
4 oz Indian Tonic
4 Ice cubes
1 Slice of orange
Preparation
This apéritif is the first thing we offer our friends when they come over for dinner. The Road Trip is a simple and very refreshing apéritif. It’ll remind you of beautiful road trips, cruising on country roads without a care in the world. If you like things a little more bitter, use a slice of grapefruit instead of orange.
Here’s how we mix this. Again, 4 easy steps and we’re done:
Drop the ice cubes into a chilled tumbler
Pour Wolf & Grouse
Pour Indian Tonic
Stir, garnish and serve
Walk in the woods
Ingredients
2 oz Wolf & Grouse
4 oz Blue Grouse Paula sparkling wine
1/2 Lemon’s juice
4 Ice cubes
1 Sprig of rosemary
Preparation
This is a forest-inspired variation on the classic spritz. Definitely one to drink outside, breathing in the fresh, summer air and enjoying the fragrant rosemary, which pairs particularly well with Paula, Blue Grouse’s extra brut sparkling wine.
Here’s how we mix ours:
Drop ice cubes in a chilled tumbler
Pour Wolf & Grouse
Squeeze in half a lemon’s juice
Pour sparkling wine
Stir, garnish and serve
Marianne
Ingredients
2 oz Wolf & Grouse
2 oz Genièvre or fresh juniper gin
6 Drops of cranberry juice
6 Ice cubes
2 Sprigs of thyme
Preparation
This is our French take on the classic martini, uniting flavours from “le Midi” (our gentian and bitter oranges) with flavours from “le Nord” (the genièvre). Hence, Marianne. If you can’t find any genièvre where you live, use a local gin made with fresh juniper berries.
Of course, with Marianne, you’re going to be drinking quite a bit more alcohol than the other cocktails on this list, so it might not be the right drink for you if you’re hosting the party, or driving later tonight.
This is really easy to mix:
Drop the ice cubes into a cocktail shaker
Pour Wolf & Grouse into the shaker
Pour genièvre and cranberry drops into the shaker
Shake vigorously
Strain into a chilled coupe, garnish and serve.
Red Riding Wolf
Ingredients
2 oz Wolf & Grouse
2 oz Cranberry juice
1 Egg white
1 Lemon’s juice
6 Ice cubes
1 Blackberry
Preparation
This is our take on the delicious sour cocktails. We like it very frothy, the way you’d typically make a pisco sour, hence the dry shake before adding the ice cubes. It’s a little more complicated than the other cocktails on this list, but still quite quick to make, and a real pick-me-up.
Here’s how we do it:
Pour Wolf & Grouse into a cocktail shaker
Pour Cranberry juice into the shaker
Pour one lemon’s juice into the shaker
Add one egg white
Dry shake
Drop ice cubes into the shaker
Shake again
Drop blackberry into a chilled tumbler, strain and serve
Keep it simple
When we’re mixing drinks, the most important part is the friends we’re mixing them for. So, our goal is delightful drinks that are really simple to make, allowing us to spend more time with our friends. The secret is in the quality of the ingredients: fizzy tonics, fresh fruit, fragrant herbs, dry ice.
Information and images provided by Giulia Sa Barreto, Town Hall Brands.
