THE GOODS FROM BITTERED SLING

Vancouver, BC | The award-winning team behind Bittered Sling, bartender Lauren Mote and chef Jonathan Chovancek will work in tandem with the Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver and Yew Seafood + Bar to curate a schedule of exciting and inventive events for the 2017 edition of the annual Dine Out Vancouver Festival from January 20 to February 5, 2017.

As part of the festival’s 17-day celebration of all things food and drink, Mote will lead four interactive and educational masterclasses at the Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver where guests will enjoy inventive cocktails paired with small plates from Yew Seafood + Bar Executive Chef Weimar Gomez, in addition to straight spirit samples and education. Bittered Sling will also bring back their ever-popular Bittered Sling Bistro for two-days of Robbie Burns Pop-Up Dinners at the Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver. The dinners will include the culinary collaboration of Executive Chef Weimar Gomez, Yew Seafood + Bar, and Jonathan Chovancek, Bittered Sling’s chef and co-founder. This year’s Robbie Burns Pop-Up Dinners will be hosted by Lauren Mote and World Class Global Champion and James Beard award-winner, bartender Charles Joly (Crafthouse Cocktails, Chicago).

The following are dates, details and ticket information for each event during the 2017 Dine Out Vancouver Festival:

Bittered Sling Bistro Presents: Robbie Burns Pop-Up Dinner & Single Malt Seminar (two seatings)
Tues., Jan. 24, 6:30p.m. – 9:30p.m. TICKETS
Wed., Jan. 25, 6:30p.m. – 9:30p.m. TICKETS
$135, price includes tax, gratuity and ticketing fees

The award-winning team behind Bittered Sling, bartender Lauren Mote and chef Jonathan Chovancek will bring back their ever-popular Bittered Sling Bistro for an exclusive, two-night-only Robbie Burns inspired Pop-up Dinner in celebration of Scotland’s favourite son. This event was awarded “Best Culinary Event” during the 2015 Dine Out Vancouver Festival. The 2017 edition is set to be even bigger and better as guests celebrate all things Scottish with a multi-course dinner prepared by Bittered Sling’s Chef Jonathan Chovancek and YEW seafood + bar Executive Chef Weimar Gomez. This year, Bittered Sling welcomes Charles Joly from Chicago. Joly, the World Class Global Champion (2014) and James Beard Award-Winner, is the founder of Crafthouse Cocktails in Chicago and will offer a very special complement to the evening. Bartenders’ Mote and Joly will face-off their cocktail pairings against Chefs’ Chovancek & Gomez’s dishes, for the ultimate Scottish celebration of spirits, cocktails and food. Guests will also enjoy a spirited masterclass of drams at the beginning of the evening, led by whisky experts, Mote and Joly.

Master Class #1: France & Cognac
Sat., Jan. 28, 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. TICKETS
$97 price includes tax, gratuity and ticketing fees
Sponsored by Courvoisier Cognac, Beam Suntory and Bittered Sling Bitters

Join Lauren Mote, co-proprietor of Bittered Sling and Four Seasons Beverage Consultant, for a one-of-a-kind cocktail seminar sponsored by Courvoisier Cognac. All guests will enjoy a welcome cocktail followed by a full tasting and two additional cocktails as they take part in an interactive workshop on methods to craft inspired cognac cocktails that range from basic to advanced. Cocktails will be paired with small plates from Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver’s Executive Chef Weimar Gomez, and all guests will take home recipes and the newly released Bittered Sling Bitters gift pack 3.0 (valued at $50).

Master Class #2: Scotland & Whisky
Sun., Jan. 29, 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. TICKETS
$97 price includes tax, gratuity and ticketing fees
Sponsored by Diageo Reserve Single Malts and Blended Whiskies, World Class Canada and Bittered Sling Bitters

Join Lauren Mote, co-proprietor of Bittered Sling, World Class Canada Bartender of the Year 2015 and Four Seasons Beverage Consultant, for an exciting look at the northerly tip of the Highlands, south to the Lowlands, east to the Speyside fields and west to the islands of Islay and Skye, along with Scotland’s traditional methods of distillation have endured for centuries, garnering them a seat among the best spirits in the world. Discover what makes Scotland’s whiskies so iconic in this exclusive master class that will delve into the history and evolution of both blended and single malt Scotch, and how it has helped inform the way the world drinks. Beyond theory, attendees will also learn about whiskies from each region, enjoy comparative cocktail tastings, and a discussion of what’s next for the industry. Cocktails will be paired with small plates from Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver’s Executive Chef Weimar Gomez, and all guests will take home recipes as well as the newly released Bittered Sling Bitters gift pack 3.0 (valued at $50).

Master Class #3: Tequila & Mexico
Sat., Feb. 04, 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. TICKETS
$97 price includes tax, gratuity and ticketing fees
Sponsored by Diageo Reserve Brands, Don Julio Tequila, World Class Canada and Bittered Sling Bitters

Join Lauren Mote, co-proprietor of Bittered Sling, World Class Canada Bartender of the Year 2015 and Four Seasons Beverage Consultant, as we delve into our long nurtured love affair with agave spirits, the complex methods used to produce them remain a combination of tradition, history and a true sense of terroir. Tequila production continues to fascinate and inspire bartenders and cocktail enthusiasts around the world. In this masterclass, attendees will learn about this iconic spirits category and discover the characteristics that make each expression so special, including three cocktails and a spirited flight. Sponsored by Don Julio Tequila and the World Class Canada program, guests will also sample cocktails paired with small plates from Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver’s Executive Chef Weimar Gomez, and all guests will take home cocktail recipes, as well as the newly released Bittered Sling Bitters gift pack 3.0 (valued at $50).

Master Class #4: Bitters 101 – The History and Modernization of our Favourite Modifier
Sun., Feb. 05, 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. TICKETS
$97 price includes tax, gratuity and ticketing fees
Sponsored by Pernod-Ricard Brands and Bittered Sling Bitters

Join Lauren Mote, award-winning bartender, co-proprietor of Bittered Sling and Four Seasons Beverage Consultant, to learn about the sensory perception of ‘bitter’. This ubiquitous ingredient is highly regarded as one of the most important in a cocktail, as well as the ‘foil’ when used as an extract in baking and cooking. Bitters continue to fill the shelves of health food stores, grocery stores and pharmacies, attracting those interested in natural remedies and alternative medicine. Myriad spirits such as Chartreuse, Campari, Aperol, Fernet Branca, Amari, Suze and Ricard are amongst the spirits who have assimilated the intrinsic feel-good properties of bitters, offering the body a rapid way to absorb the nutrients found in them. This includes bitter barks like sarsaparilla, cinchona, dandelion and burdock; sweet roots like licorice and angelica; spices like cinnamon, black pepper and cardamom; fruits like cherries, plums, grapefruit and lemon; and fresh herbs like thyme or rosemary. Attendees of this master class will learn about the history and modernization of the bartender’s favourite modifier, enjoy comparative tastings and sample bitters-infused cocktails paired with small plates from Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver’s Executive Chef Weimer Gomez. All guests will take home recipes as well as the newly released Bittered Sling Bitters gift pack 3.0 (valued at $50).

For more information on any of the events, and to purchase tickets, please visit www.dineoutvancouver.com.

Details

Telephone: 604-809-9479 | Email: info [at] bitteredsling.com
Web: www.bitteredsling.com | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Gallery

The People Who Make It Happen

Co-owner | Lauren Mote
Co-owner | Jonathan Chovancek

About Bittered Sling

Bittered Sling celebrates the unique life and business partnership of celebrated chef Jonathan Chovancek and award-winning mixologist/sommelier Lauren Mote, who together have contributed more than 30 years of professional experience, knowledge and innovation to the Canadian and International food and beverage community.

In 2012, Mote and Chovancek launched Bittered Sling — a retail line of high-quality, small-batch bitters using homegrown and artisanal products that provides palate, plate and potion with a subtle yet exciting fusion of flavours — and quickly built a reputation both in Vancouver and across the globe.

Originally marketed as a medicinal tonic, bitters are a concentration of select natural herbs, fruits and spices now used primarily as a flavouring agent for cocktail and culinary creations ranging from savoury to sweet. A common and indispensable tool of any bartender, bitters have increased in popularity thanks to the recent renaissance of classic cocktails.

The name Bittered Sling derives from the May 13, 1806 edition of The Balance, and Columbian Repository (Hudson, NY) that defines a cocktail as:

“A stimulating liquor composed of spirits of any kind, sugar, water and bitters. It is vulgarly called a bittered sling and is supposed to be an excellent electioneering potion inasmuch as it renders the heart stout and bold, at the same time that it fuddles the head.”

By the dash or the drop, each creation offers an intricate range of complex flavours that perfectly accentuates food, spirits and even sparkling water.

Since its inception, Bittered Sling has garnered local and international acclaim with aromatic labels such as Cascade Celery, Malagasy Chocolate and Kensington Dry Bitters — all of which were bestowed with gold medals at the Beverage Testing Institute’s 2014 International Review of Spirits. In 2013, the company was singled out as Producer/Supplier of the Year at the 24th annual Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards. Since 2011, both Chovancek and Mote have also both been event partners and keynote speakers with Tales of the Cocktail, the world’s premier cocktail festival, in New Orleans, Mexico, Vancouver and Argentina.

Apart from their collaboration in Bittered Sling, Chovancek is the Corporate Consultant at Cook Culture, while Mote is Bar & Beverage Consultant at the Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver, and Canadian Ambassador for World Class.

Bittered Sling strongly believes in setting a new standard in customer service, and remains committed to providing quality, respect and integrity in each ingredient it sources, and every product it creates.

AWARDS & ACCOLADES

Beverage Testing Institute International Review of Spirits Awards (2014)

Kensington Dry Aromatic Bitters – Gold Medal
Cascade Celery Bitters – Gold Medal
Malagasy Chocolate Bitters – Gold Medal
Plum & Rootbeer Bitters – Silver Medal
Grapefruit & Hops Bitters – Silver Medal

Producer/Supplier of the Year, 24th Annual Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards (2013)

“In the heart of Vancouver, there is a husband-wife team dedicated to new, ground-breaking bitters like I’ve never seen. Fortunately, I had a chance to taste some of their hard work, as a sort of preview of what Chicago drinkers can expect this year.” – Steve Dolinsky, The Hungry Hound

“I’m always impressed with the array of flavors and the innovation taking place at Bittered Sling Extracts.” – Paul G. Tuennerman, Co-Owner, Tales of the Cocktail

“Their Grapefruit & Hops extract lends itself wonderfully in a seasonal cocktail combination of clementine, cranberry, spiked with silver tequila in my Bitter Red Head.” – Kathy Casey, Kathy Casey’s Liquid Kitchen

“Bittered Sling is an uncommon name for a most profoundly concentrated and friendly spirit augmentation from one of my favorite places on the globe, Vancouver, BC. And the owners are really cool too.” – Warren Bobrow, Apothecary Cocktails

“My favourite Canadian bitter of all, meanwhile, is the Denman flavour, which is a clovey, super-spicy answer to Angostura bitters.” – Adam MacDowell, The National Post

“This new line of [Bittered Sling] bitters from Vancouver’s Kale & Nori Culinary Arts has quickly become a favourite among craft bartenders (and me). Infused with wild botanicals and blended like fine Bordeaux, the concentrated potions are designed for both cocktails and cooking. I love using a few drops to kick up plain old orange juice.” – Alexandra Gill, The Globe and Mail