The GOODS from Oakwood Canadian Bistro

Vancouver, BC | Rob Clough, Bar Manager at The Oakwood Canadian Bistro, has been with the team for a year and half since moving to Vancouver from Cambridge. While in his home country he spent over a decade working in cocktail dens and wine bars where he completed his WSET 3. Beyond the UK and Canada, Rob has extensive travel experience across Europe and South East Asia, where he cut his teeth across a vast spectrum of cuisines and approaches to beverages. Rob has recently launched his second cocktail list while with the Oakwood, this time putting a greater focus on the influences from his experiences abroad. He has moved away from common ingredients, this menu experiments with a few lesser known spirits, a diverse range of bitters and unique infusions.

Rob spent the early spring working on the new list and is very excited to have it running; as you can imagine he has a lot of thoughts on it. “My menu is an amalgamation of 10 plus years in the industry, learning about spirits, wine, food and guest expectations. I try to stay ahead of the curve, concentrating on what I enjoy tasting, which to sum up in a few words would be innovative, interesting and obscure”

Of all the cocktails on the menu, there are a couple that Rob is particularly excited about: “Island Life is a tropical, tiki-esque style drink inspired from a recent trip to Hawaii. Basically a jazzed up pina colada with three rums, coconut for a creamy mouthfeel, pineapple falernum adds fruit & spice, molasses bitters gives richness to the rum and lime juice to balance. The piece de resistance is a scoop of POG (passion fruit, orange, guava) sorbet to garnish. This drink is delicious as a dessert”

“Third Beach Sunset was six months in the making. It began with a twist on a classic called, The Last Word, and evolved from there. The drink is mezcal based with a splash of yellow chartreuse, sweetened with raspberry, texture from egg white, acidity from lemon and finished with a fernet branca mist. It is complex with many layers, but still very quaffable.”

With the new menu finalized, Rob is already looking towards the next big shake up at the bar. “Over the coming months I will be working on a tequila/mezcal based liqueur range, balancing agave and vegetal flavours to create drinks with a savoury edge”

Oakwood

Neighbourhood: Kitsilano

2741 West 4th Ave.

(Closed)

604-558-1965

WEBSITE