Peasant Cookery Restaurant, 283 Bannatyne Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba

Stopping in for cocktails at Peasant Cookery in Winnipeg provides a great opportunity to find some original ways to sample Manitoba–Canada’s–premiere whisky: Crown Royal.

Crown Royal blended whisky is the top selling Canadian whiskey in the United States. Blended from 50 special whiskies in a distillery just outside Winnipeg, Manitoba, at Gimli, the whiskey has a long tradition of being the “best” of the best. It was, as its name suggests, originally created in honour of the Royal family, in this case, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, way back  in 1939.

Those first cases were delivered to the royal train when the royal couple arrived in Manitoba. For more about the 1939 Royal Tour, see the television and radio clips from CBC radio at: http://archives.cbc.ca/society/monarchy/topics/2367/

Kaitlynd Landry, bartender at Peasant Cookery in Winnipeg, mixing cocktails with Crown Royal whiskey.

Peasant Cookery’s innovative young bartender, Kaitlynd Landry, spent three months developing their cocktail list after intensive training in the classroom and on-the-job.

The Cocktails

Like a wine tasting, I sampled three Crown Royal cocktails before choosing my favorite to order.

• The Manitoban — Crown Royal, Chambord, fresh beet juice, brown sugar simple syrup, and rhubarb bitters.
• Smoked Vanilla Manhattan — Crown Royal, Cinzano, smoked vanilla infused maple syrup, whiskey barrel aged bitters.
• Blue Divine — Crown Royal, fresh blueberries, lemon juice, simple syrup, and soda water.

I slotted The Manitoban, which reminded me of borscht (that I do love!) into third spot, and the strong, sweet whisky taste of the Smoked Vanilla Manhattan into second. Blue Divine, with its tart blueberry flavour, was easily my favourite.

Give these cocktails a try and let me know what you think!

Crown Royal Video

I like to stay in hotels that have history and character–so Winnipeg’s Ramada Marlborough was a great choice! The Marlborough is situated on the edge of The Exchange district, which is a 30 block area of downtown Winnipeg, located North of the famous corner of Portage and Main. While I’d driven through Winnipeg numerous times, I was astounded to discover this fascinating area.

Ramada Marlborough Hotel

Early development across the prairies relied on rail lines, so with 24 lines coming into Winnipeg by 1910 it’s easy to see how swift the growth would have been. Today this district is the location of 62 of Winnipeg’s 86 heritage structures.

I’ll be the first to admit that my favorite part of the hotel turned out to the Regal Beagle — the comfortable English-style pub. With its authentic dark woodwork and sculptured metal ceiling, it maintained much of the hotel’s original charm. Staff was friendly, so we learned lots about the area.

When supper time rolled around I didn’t feel like dressing for the elegant historical dining room, so inquired about their menu. It had a great selection, and the food arrived quickly. Before I tasted it I knew I’d made the right choice, as it smelled delicious. David and I both enjoyed our meals–and the prices were just as great as the taste.

Eagle Beagle

Saturday night we enjoyed the easy listening music of the duo, Guilty Pleasures — two young women with an entertaining style and good choice of music. I must admit the beer and hot wings added just the right touch as well!

Rated by AAA with a 3 diamond rating, the hotel rooms are all completely modern. They were small and cozy, in line with the era they’d been built in.

With older hotels I always wonder about the predictability of the heating systems since I’ve been alternatively baked and frozen, but the Marlborough renovations guaranteed perfect individual temperature control. We were able to dry out our damp snowmobile clothes and then cool the room down for a restful sleep.

Visit the Ramada Marlborough online at: http://www.themarlborough.ca/