This week we’re delighted to share a special edition of our cocktail hour series featuring one of Toronto’s most beloved spots, Bar Raval.
Anyone who has visited Raval knows just how much care and attention goes into everything they do there from the food and cocktails, to the ambiance and the service, yet it’s difficult to pinpoint an exacting phrase to sum up the magnetic feeling that it has that keeps bringing you back time and again.
We spent the afternoon with Raval co-owner and cocktail whisperer Robin Goodfellow to shed some light on what makes their craft and philosophy so unique. Goodfellow finds inspiration in the ingredients that make up his drinks, using sprits that are true to their method and their make up.
“I find myself personally reaching for things that are cause for tons of inspiration, that inspire me to make better drinks and inspire me to use their products with the utmost care.”
Few can say they really pour their heart and soul into their job, but Goodfellow does just that, every single day with the utmost passion, something we believe makes the warm College street bar so inviting.
“I think utilizing a life experience is an art form in itself. You don’t want to make an unbalanced cocktail with weird ingredients simply to reflect an emotion you once had, the drink still needs to stand alone.”
Goodfellow was kind enough to share his method and inspiration behind one of their current cocktails, the easy to drink Fury. “Some people just like a tasty drink and they don’t give a shit that it has something to do with the bartender.”
Fury, which he dubs “crushable,” is named after the WWII film by the same name. The addition of a Frankincense tincture which he painstakingly created after much trail and error, sparks familiar intrigue in his guests. “It’s an extremely unique ingredient, people know it, but they don’t know it right away.”
Not only is the Fury delicious, it’s also what he calls low octane, an “accumulation a lot of things I believe in… long, refreshing, fizzy cocktails that you can drink all day.”
If that wasn’t enough to get out the door and over to Raval, hit play on our video feature above.
FURY
INGREDIENTS:
1 oz Valdespino Inocente Fino Sherry
1 oz Iris Bianco Vermouth
1 oz Fresh Lime Juice
¼ oz Rich Syrup
6 drops Frankincense Tincture
Codorniu Brut Clasico Cava
Dehydrated Lime & Lemon Wheel
METHOD:
Combine Sherry, Vermouth, Lime Juice, Rich Syrup, and Frankincense Tincture in a shaker and fill with ice. Shake until bone cold and strain into a Collins glass filled with large cubes of ice. Top with Codorniu Brut Clasico Cava and garnish with dehydrated lime and lemon wheels.
Visit Bar Raval at 505 College Street in Toronto.