In the 18 years that Jay Jones has been a bartender, he’s seen firsthand how tastes have changed. When he got his start behind the wood at a Cactus Club Cafe in the mid 1990s, diners and barflies weren’t very adventurous when it came to ordering cocktails.

“We were still coming out of that everything-made-with-vodka phase,” he tells the Georgia Straight during an interview at the Blackbird Public House & Oyster Bar (905 Dunsmuir Street). “Cocktails tasted like sugar and got you drunk but didn’t really have that spirit personality.”

Jones is the executive bartender and brand ambassador for the Donnelly Group, which owns nearly 20 restaurants, pubs, and clubs in Vancouver. He spends most of his time at the year-old Blackbird managing its beverage program, while the Donnelly Group’s research and development chef, Alvin Pillay, oversees the pub’s food. For Jones—who worked at restaurants including West, Pourhouse, and MARKET by Jean-Georges prior to joining the Donnelly Group in 2013—bartending combines the inventiveness of being a chef and the hospitality of working as a server.

“You’re being creative and producing something, but you also have the ability to engage with your guests and it’s a lot of fun,” he explains. “Making drinks really well is actually just one small part of it. Bartending is about taking care of people, and if you’re a skilled cocktail maker, that can be a great tool to entertain your guests.”

Vancouver’s cocktail scene has come a long way from the days of orange- and cranberry-vodka drinks. Several of the Donnelly Group’s establishments, including the Granville Room and Clough Club, emphasize whisky-based beverages, while Killjoy offers a large assortment of gin. At Blackbird, Scotch is the focus.

“Scotch was always going to be a big identity for Blackbird,” Jones says. “I think that bourbon culture has really been the driving force of the success of cocktail culture in Vancouver, and so for us, Scotch was just a natural progression.”

When Blackbird opened, Jones was tasked with creating a signature cocktail for the restaurant.

“I decided to go with a Scotch that’s one of my favourites, but also a Scotch that crossed over a couple of styles,” he says. “Highland Park is the northernmost distillery in Scotland, with a very elegant house style, but it has a wonderful northern influence—a smokiness, ruggedness, and soul to it. With that, it becomes a malty, beautiful foundation for the drink flavour and gives a certain weight to it.”

Unexpectedly, the Blackbird cocktail is crisp and refreshing. It provides Scotch lovers with a lighter way to enjoy what’s normally considered a dark, wintry spirit. The drink also offers a gentle introduction to the potency and peatiness that Scotch is known for. Jones suggests enjoying the cocktail with raw oysters, which Pillay tops with a summery rhubarb-and-cucumber mignonette.

“A smoky whisky can go very, very well with oysters,” Jones explains. “It brings another component and complexity to something that is clean, crisp, and briny.”

Jay Jones's Blackbird Cocktail

Ingredients

1 oz (30 mL) Highland Park 12-year-old single-malt Scotch whisky
½ oz (15 mL) honey syrup (see recipe below)
½ oz (15 mL) lemon juice (from approximately ½ a lemon)
2 drops Bittered Sling Moondog bitters

Method

1. Combine all ingredients with a few cubes of ice in a cocktail shaker.
    
2. Shake quickly for about 10 seconds to chill without excessive dilution.
    
3. Strain into a stemmed glass.

Honey Syrup

Ingredients

1 part simple syrup (can be bought or made with 1 cup [250 mL] water and 1 cup [250 mL] sugar)
1 part honey

Method

1. To make simple syrup, bring the water to a rolling boil and stir in the sugar to dissolve.
    
2. Stir in honey. Allow mixture to cool completely before refrigerating in an airtight container.

Yield: 1 cocktail with leftover honey syrup. Syrup will keep refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Alvin Pillay's rhubarb-and-cucumber mignonette for raw oysters

Ingredients

2 thin stalks fresh rhubarb, finely diced
½ English cucumber, finely diced
1 shallot, finely diced
¼ tsp (1 mL) soy sauce
1 cup (250 mL) red wine vinegar
1½ tsp (7 mL) olive oil
1½ tsp (7 mL) honey

Method

1. In a medium-sized bowl, combine all ingredients and season with salt and pepper to taste.
    
2. Refrigerate for 1 hour before using.

Yield: 2 cups (500 mL) mignonette, enough for 24 oysters.

Recipe has not been tested by the Georgia Straight.