🕒 3.5 min read

Bar Isabel , the OG that came before the long list of revelatory haunts by Overbudget Inc. - Bar Raval, El Rey, Pretty Ugly, et al. - has earned rave reviews and topped ‘Best Of’ and ‘It’ lists, ever since its debut back in March 2013. Alluring Spanish-influenced fare, enticing cocktails, and intimate space oozing old-world vibes are to blame for the never-ending accolades and worth-the-wait lineups.

Like all establishments by the award-winning fam, drinks get as much care and attention as the food. Isabel’s Barragana, for instance, boasting charred pineapple and jalapeño blanco tequila, Cointreau, lime, and sage, is electrifying. And there are Old Fashioneds and then there’s the Isabel Fashioned. The mesmerizing elixir of bourbon, Spanish brandy, transatlantic sugar, and bilingual bitters is sure to become your latest obsession.

Bar Manager George E. Fellows tells me, “It was actually one of the first drinks I made for the menu at Isabel, back when I started there in 2015. It replaced an earlier iteration of the same name, so was initially listed as the Isabel Fashioned 2.0, but we dropped that appendage some time ago.”

He says, “It was important to me that a drink that was clearly a staple of most people's cocktail knowledge, should be lightly twisted to properly reflect the nature of the restaurant, hence the Spanish-Canadian dual heritage of the ingredients.”

Whether you’re dining in or on the charming patio out front, it’s an absolute must. And now thanks to George, you can whip up a batch at home. Because just one won’t suffice. You’ll see.

Isabel Fashioned

Ingredients

1oz Buffalo Trace Bourbon
1oz Torres 10 Brandy
0.25oz Transatlantic Syrup *recipe below
4 dashes Bilingual Bitters (50:50 split Peychaud's : Dr Adam Elmegirab's Spanish Bitters) 

Method 

Build in large rocks glass with cubed ice, stir
Garnish with orange twist and an Oloroso sherry mist across the top from an atomiser spray bottle.

Transatlantic Syrup

Ingredients
1400g white sugar
700g water
360ml Oloroso sherry
180ml maple syrup

Note: Recipe can be scaled up or down accordingly.

Method

Add all ingredients to pan, heat and stir until incorporated and sugar dissolved, remove from heat.

Bar Isabel
797 College St.
416-532-2222

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For more cocktail recipes, visit Toronto Restaurants Ultimate Cocktail Guide. 

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