LCBO Food & Drink Spring 2023

COCKTAILS Ladies’ Choice

What do women drink? Everything, from scotch to rosé. Forget “girly drinks,” say these makers, who share their journeys. We raise a glass to them with cocktails crafted in their honour.

BY CHRISTINE SISMONDO | PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROB FIOCCA

THE HANKY PANKY P. 114 Invented in London over

100 years ago by Ada “Coley” Coleman, the first woman head bartender at The Savoy Hotel’s American Bar, the Hanky Panky (gin, vermouth and Fernet Branca) should challenge any and all old ideas about what a girly drink is. Why? Because it’s sturdy, bitter and lean, as Mallory O’Meara points out in her recent book, Girly Drinks , which features an entire chapter on this legendary female bartender—and her most famous drink.

better than men at identifying all the distinct notes in, say, a complex whisky. So, we say it’s time to retire that antiquated term and just let people drink what they want—no matter their gender. There’s certainly no shortage of women in the wine and spirits industry, like the ones profiled here, who’ve been doing exactly that for a long time.

Everyone knows a “girly drink” when they see it. Maybe it’s pink, in a petite glass, or garnished with an umbrella, but, above all else, it’s easy drinking, sweet and delicious. What makes it “girly” though? There’s no research to suggest women are predisposed to sweeter tastes and, in fact, the science of taste has proven that women are actually

FOOD STYLING BY CHRISTOPHER ST. ONGE; PROP STYLING BY CATHERINE MACFADYEN

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