Vancouver love birds Chef Jonathan Chovancek and Bar Chef Lauren Mote designed their line of bitters to showcase the role ingredients play on the palate, plate and potion, while also taking the mind and body on a journey of healing and self discovery.
“We created seven exceptional extracts that not only promote longevity but marry beautifully in food and cocktails,” said Lauren Mote. “We spent years researching and experimenting with all natural, ingredients to create superior taste experiences that can serve as the bridge between the cocktail and culinary world.”
From wild flowers to spices, plants and fruits, Mote and Chovancek hand selected extracts that not only offered the best taste profiles, but alternative benefits ranging from improving circulation, aiding digestion, supporting muscle health, lowering fever, acting as a natural anti-inflammatory and much more.
“This was such an inspiring part of the process,” said Chovancek. “Our Orange & Juniper extract is very floral and bright lending itself perfectly for white spirits and shortbread, but at the same time, it’s so much more. Orange is a natural relief of heartburn, strengthening the heart and its muscles while juniper has been used for centuries to help calm coughs, bronchitis and gastro-intestinal infections. Our bitters encapsulate all the elements that quality ingredients provide.”
While Mote and Chovancek, known as Kale & Nori Culinary Arts recently introduced their bitters to the U.S. market for the first time this summer during Tales of the Cocktail, they already have a significant following in Canada. Some of the best chefs feature their extracts in sauces, donuts, soups, vinaigrettes and more, while mixologists have created award-winning cocktail programs and won coveted cocktail competitions. Mixologist David Wolowidnyk from West Restaurant in Vancouver can attest to the quality and taste profile of the bitters. He featured the Moroccan style bitter Lem-Marrakech in a cocktail that earned him the 2012 World’s Most Imaginative Bartender title from Bombay Sapphire.
We had a chance to try the bitters at the Crave Local test kitchen, and created a recipe for a gin cocktail we hope you’ll love.
All seven Bittered Sling Extracts can be purchased online at www.thecraftybartender.com. Each 120ml bottle retails for $25.00 and includes Orange & Juniper, Plum & Rootbeer, Moondog, Denman, Grapefruit & Hops, Lem-Marrakech and Shanghai Rhubarb.