This year we maxed at 2 events for Vancouver Cocktail week. This one was a very different experience from the first.

Disaronno was the featured spirit, and there were two guest bartenders whipping up our cocktails. Christina Viera is a bar tender from Bar Mordecai in Toronto and recent winner of the 2022 “Icon of the Year”. Jeff Van Horne is a bar tender from Dear Friend in Halifax.

This event was hosted at The Chickadee Room at Jukes. The room was super funky, though very small with only 10 or 12 tables plus some bar seating.

We had tried Jukes fried chicken one night around Christmas after a Christmas Cocktail event (so so). The chicken was delicious. We might have been influenced by the season, the snowfall, a cocktail or two, or the small plate of appetizers at the event. We wolfed that chicken down! We knew at least that food was going to be yummy!

We were escorted to our booth, which did require some adjustment in order to comfortably fit 4 adult, middle-aged+ humans.

Our first cocktail arrived moments later: a Fluffy Disaronno with Orange Juice. I have to say – it was delicious! It was a light cocktail that loosely resembled an Orange Julius, adapted for adults. If I could have had 2 of them, I would have! That is really saying something considering that orange juice and I have not had a good relationship for several years; I tend to give it a pass beyond a bit of orange peel in my Old Fashioned or a small splash in an occasional Mimosa.

This drink alone would be worth the purchase of a bottle of Disaronno, which is a an almond-flavoured amaretto liqeuer. The bar tender did tell us that fresh squeezed orange juice was a must, as was an extended whipping in a blender.

Moments after three out of four of us had polished off the first drink (I was the laggard), a second arrived. The cocktail itself was a refreshing blend of Whiskey, Aperol, Disaronno and lychee. I especially loved the pansy garnish!

At some point, between cocktails one and two, we had placed our brunch order. The options were few but that just made ordering easier for me. as I am always struggling to choose between a couple of options. Aaron, Raquel and I landed on the chicken and waffles, which I have never, ever had before. Rick opted for the banana-stuffed peanut butter drizzled waffles. Perhaps an ode to Elvis?

The servings were huge and I barely made it through half of my plate. The chicken was good… but the combo… not really my thing. Was it the pickled jalapenos that got in my way? Been there. Done that. No need to repeat.

And now, allow me to introduce you to the special guest, Scarlett Bobo. She was a runner up in Canada’s version of Ru Paul’s Drag Race. I have watched a few episodes as one of my fabulous friends is a huge fan.

Scarlett was fun and flamboyant – making risque conversation with all of the patrons, and performing briefly. We were able to leverage that into some entertaining tacky jokes about Republicans in drag. Not unexpected with 2 Americans at the table LOL.

Two more cocktails followed. The 3rd was not to my liking so I skipped it entirely, and although I recall enjoying the some of 4th – I could not tell you what it was… perhaps a sort of a Pina Colada?

Planning ahead next year will be a must and I think we will try to attend a few more Cocktail Week events. It was a fun interlude in our weekend. We may opt to visit the Chickadee Room at a future time. We will definitely find our way back to Published! So many cocktails… so little time. Now, back to my fizzy water.