Bourbon is dead. Well, at least that’s what the folks over at Nota Bene think. The new cocktail menu at the upscale Italian eatery keeps the focus trained on gin, which owner Yannick Bigourdan became smitten with while on a recent tour of Spain. Gin and tonics ($17) are the name of the game but here, the beverages have a bit of a Choose Your Own Adventure lean.
The menu is divided up into a selection of gins (hailing from the likes of the UK and France), tonics and type of ice cube. Scotland’s Botanist gin is a fitting pick for the season, having a fuller floral bouquet than others on the list. We matched it with the house tonic — amber in colour thanks to the real cinchona tree bark used to make it — and selected a single block of ice, providing minimal dilution. The best part? Each cocktail is accompanied by a mini tray with slices of cucumber, a smattering of dehydrated hibiscus petals and a test tube full of dried juniper berries, allowing patrons to doctor the drink as they wish.
The result is a bout of grown-up fun.
Nota Bene, 180 Queen St. W., 416-977-6400
Karolyne Ellacott is a features editor at Post City Magazines. She pedals around town in heels, eating sandwiches and drinking cocktails. She writes about that, and about other stuff too. She is also on Twitter.