One sip and I was hooked.
Let's call it sun-soaked zest in a glass. I don’t know if it was the arctic Montreal temperatures outside, or the nostalgic aromas, but I couldn’t get my nose out of my drink.
“I love this. And it tastes like something I can’t quite put my finger on,” I whispered to my dinner companion, Dalia Olivera from Resto Montreal. “Like an YSL cologne.”
We were seated at Molenne during the 13th edition of MTLàTABLE—an 18-day food odyssey featuring over 150 Montréal restaurants across the city offering three- or four-course set-price menus.
A few steps from Renzo, the city's sparkly new sandwich joint, and Leila (the newish southern Mediterranean-influenced spot everyone's talking about), Molenne is located in the heart of Montreal's Mile End neighbourhood. The name, in fact, comes from the French pronunciation of the words “Mile End”.
(It's no wonder Plateau-Mont-Royal and its Mile End enclave was ranked one of the coolest neighbourhoods in the world this year.)
Read more: 12 cocktails inspired by Montreal’s neighbourhoods
As we reached the finale of our Air Canada signature dinner—a five-course journey beginning with a killer seafood platter and ending with a Basque cheesecake featuring 2-year-aged Louis Cyr cheese—a stunning cocktail called Le Elias was placed in front of us.
And it smelled luxurious.
Nizar Baz, Molenne’s barman extraordinaire, creates a sensory experience where cocktail and dessert aim to complement one another through a balance of different textures.
“I know what it is,” Dalia whispered back as I took another sip. “It's Acqua di Parma.”
Popping my nose into the glass one more time, I nodded—visualizing Colonia Eau de Parfum by Acqua di Parma’s iconic clementine-colour packaging.
The epitome of pure Italian chic.
Back inside my glass, grape and fig notes mingled while gentian—paired with the tart edge of rhubarb lambic beer—brought structure and an earthy bitterness that cut through the richness of the dessert.
Last but not least, Le Elias was finished with an expressed orange leaf oil because: la dolce vita.
You know a cocktail is special when you can’t stop thinking about it the next day.
Or the day after that.
And when I stumbled upon an entire table of Acqua di Parma at L’espace Holt (Holt Renfrew’s exclusive pop-up shop located on the top floor) on my way to Marcus’s Night Bar later that week, I knew the universe was sending me a sign.
Colonia Eau de Parfum is having a moment, and so is Molenne.
How to make Molenne's Le Elias cocktail?
Recipe:
30 ml Samos Muscat — Greek fortified white wine
10 ml fig tincture
10 ml De Michellot — gentian liqueur
40 ml rhubarb lambic
4 drops saline solution
Garnish:
Lemon zest
Expressed orange leaf oil
Method:
Briefly mix the ingredients in an old fashioned glass, just enough to chill without diluting.
Serve over a large clear ice cube with a citrus zest. Finish with an expression of orange leaf oil.
For more information about Molenne, click here.
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