I was one of the few epicurean bloggers and journalists in Montreal invited to experience the Bombay Sapphire Collins event last Tuesday at the upstairs meeting room of Le Local. It was a fun, intimate evening developed around cocktail, food and entertaining. The night seems tailored for At Home with Kim Vallee.
As a bonus, my husband Jerome is my official photographer at events. Jerome was delighted to help me out since he is always on the lookout to expand his bartender skills. On top of that, Bombay Sapphire is his favorite gin.
We got the chance to meet and chat with Merlin Griffiths, the renowned mixologist who is the global brand ambassador of Bombay Sapphire. He came from the United Kingdom for a Canadian tour. During the evening, Merlin demonstrated how to prepare 4 easy drinks; each one is perfect for when you have guests over. The cocktail recipes contain 4 ingredients each. And the best of all is the fact that these recipes take almost no time to make. Merlin is knowledgeable and passionate about what he does. He is funny and a great entertainer. Later when we chatted with him, Merlin gave my husband cool tricks. He helped him refine his green tea martini recipe.
In each city, Bombay Sapphire teamed up with a local Chef to pair appetizers with their drink recipes. You may have noticed that cocktails and food pairing for an entire meal is in vogue. We had the chance to learn how to make and taste 3 appetizers prepared by the popular young Chef Louis-François Marcotte of Le Local. I will publish the recipes of the cocktails with the harmonizing appetizers next Wednesday on my Gastronomic column.
Jerome took beautiful pictures. I had a hard time limiting the number of pictures when I produced my photo montages. The glittered Bombay Sapphire bottle, used for displays and photos, is made with Swarovski Crystals. It is gorgeously crafted.
We received a swag bag with everything except the shaker and the Tonic water to prepare a Sapphire Tom Collins at home. After we prepared our Sapphire Collins with the gears in front of us, everyone was thrilled to know that a cool lemon squeezer will be given to us. It is perfect for making drinks since you can put it on top of your glass and no pits will fall on the glass. Inside a luxurious pocket file, we found all the recipes discussed during the evening. Like I said, I will publish the recipes with photos next Wednesday.
We sat next to Carrie, Jennie and Eric of Zurbaines.com, Jenny Harrisson of Culinary Escapade. Amongst the attendees I met that night, I have a nice chat with the 2 guys behind Eat Well Montreal.
On a final note, I wish to compliment the organizing team. I am giving you my seal of approval when it comes to the set up, the activities, the swag bag and the overall party program. Putting an attention to details pays off. To be fair, I want to mention that it is not the first year that Bombay Sapphire with their agencies in Canada organizes this event. I am looking forward to next year’s event.
Update: See more photos of the evening on the dedicated album on my Fan page in Facebook.
MORE:
+ Bombay Sapphire
+ Le Local – get directions p (514) 397-7737
740 William Street, Montreal, QC, Canada, H3C 1P1
+ Simple et chic – a cookbook by Jean-Francois Marcotte $39.95 CAD at Amazon