Straight, No Chaser: Kristi-Leigh Akister tells cocktail tales

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      Straight, No Chaser looks to Vancouver’s talented mixologists for stories from behind the stick. We find out how they create, what they love, where their favourite bar is, and what they grew up watching their parents drink.

      Who are you

      My name is Kristi-Leigh and I’m the bar manager at the Union.

      My parents mixed

      Although I grew up with a wet bar in our basement, my parents always favoured the simple pleasures. My father was a devout rye and Coke man while my mother enjoyed a stiff Gilbey’s lemon gin and grapefruit soda.

      An ice-cold pilsner beer never went amiss after a long day of work, and I was always keen to fetch them whichever they requested. Let’s just say I learned at a young age the art of eyeballing the two-finger pour.

      The creative process

      I am incredibly fortunate to work in a neighbourhood that has a myriad of fresh ingredients, so for me the creative process often starts with a stroll throughout Chinatown and checking out what the different markets have to offer.

      Sometimes I’ll start with one unique ingredient, and go from there. I carry around my copy of The Flavor Bible everywhere I go, and am constantly thumbing through it to glean a little insight on how different flavour profiles play with each other.

      I encourage my team to take risks when they’re creating their own libations, and it often results in some pretty special beverages.

      Best drink I ever had

      I’ve had the pleasure of imbibing a lot of extraordinary cocktails, but I would say the most memorable experience I had was discovering this little Japanese sushi restaurant in the tiny city of Akureyri in northern Iceland.

      I had spent the past week camping the country at the start of winter and we were keen to find a warm place to rest our heads and put some fire in our bellies.

      I have an affinity for great whisky and was delirious when I discovered that this little restaurant boasted the largest collection of Nikka whisky I had ever seen. I subsequently enjoyed a fair few drams that evening, and still remember every single moment of it.

      World’s best bar

      Employees Only, in NYC. That bar changed my life. I had been bartending for the better part of a decade when I walked into EO, but primarily at dive bars, pulling sticks and pouring whisky. I had never been exposed to the cocktail culture at that point, and I was told I should check it out while I was there.

      I feel that serendipity was at play when there were two seats at the bar available and I became instantly mesmerized by the dance those gentlemen weaved and the care and devotion they exhibited while creating each and every cocktail.

      It’s impossible not to get swept up in the moment there and when I stumbled out several hours later I thought to myself, “Damn. That looks fun. I bet I could do that.”

      Signature creation

      I’m going to have to go with the Wuyi sour on this one. It was born in harmony with one of my team members while we were discussing how to make an approachable Scotch sour while playing within the flavour profiles of Southeast Asia. She said passion fruit, I said Lapsang souchong, and a star was born.

      I’d love a cocktail with

      There are so many incredibly talented individuals in this city that inspire me daily, but I’d love a cocktail with Kaitlyn Stewart from Royal Dinette. She’s amazingly talented and is just slaying her drinks these days.

      Randy Gaudreau (Shebeen Whiskey House) is an unbelievable wealth of whisky knowledge and can create a flight of whiskies for both the timid and the adventurous.

      Kylie Bartlett from Odd Society Spirits works tirelessly to help other bartenders learn the process of creating great spirits and she shakes a mean cocktail when she’s behind the bar in the tasting room.

      Kristi-Leigh Akister shows Straight readers how she makes one of the Union's most popular cocktails, the Wuyi Sour.
      Amanda Siebert

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