Uncorked Ontario

As summer swings into high gear, LCBO predicts mixed drinks made with simple, lighter ingredients, classic combinations and retro flavours will be this season’s favourites for uncomplicated ways to entertain at home or at the cottage.

During its summer promotion, Ready Set Summer, LCBO is featuring a diverse line-up of new products, including flavoured vodkas, retro-inspired one-pour cocktails, as well as low calorie and classic coolers. The promotion, which runs until July 17 in all 613 stores across Ontario, showcases cocktails and ready-to-drink products as host-friendly entertaining solutions.

“Because staying home is the new going out, our customers want to be ‘in the know’ when it comes to stylish, casual entertaining,” says Bob Downey, Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing, LCBO. “To make it easy for them we are showcasing the hottest trends in summer beverages, including new flavoured vodkas, classic mixed drinks like Jack Daniels and Cola, and cocktails made with retro flavours like root beer.”

LCBO is introducing five new flavoured vodkas available exclusively for summer – Burnett’s Sweet Tea, Hound Dog Sweet Tea Peach, Sweet Carolina Raspberry Sweet Tea, and retro-inspired Three Olives Bubble (a fusion of tootie fruity fruit flavours) and Three Olives Root Beer. In addition to these releases, new offerings such as Finlandia Grapefruit Fusion Vodka, Smirnoff Twist of White Grape and Absolut Berri Asai Vodka will be available year-round.

As consumers find themselves more pressed for time than ever, ready-to-drink products, such as cocktails-to-go, coolers and one-pour-cocktails, have become popular choices as hosts only have to “chill, pour, serve” when entertaining. This season’s products include blasts from the past, like Jack Daniels and Cola, Vex Electric Lemonade (blue Curacao and lime), Captain Morgan Long Island Iced Tea and Bacardi Classic Cocktail Strawberry Daiquiri. Retro flavours also make an appearance with Woody’s Sasparilla and Woody’s Refresher (cream soda-flavoured.)

And for the health and calorie conscious consumer, the trend is to mix spirits, like vodka, rum, whisky and gin with soda, resulting in a tasty drink that is approximately 65 calories. LCBO is also introducing a selection of low calorie ready-to-drink options (under 100 calories) including Smirnoff Ice Light, Mike’s Hard Lemonade Light and Woody’s 99 Orange.

Customers can discover how to create simple and refreshing mixed drinks in the Ready Set Summer Guide to Sensational Summer Drinks, available free in LCBO stores with the purchase of any spirit or ready-to-drink product while quantities last. This 30-page booklet features 24 simple summer drink recipes and information on new trends, one-pour cocktails and other ready-to-drink products.

LCBO will also be featuring these new recipes on its Cocktail Lounge, a permanent online destination for cocktail and mocktail recipes, bartending tips and entertaining ideas, at www.lcbo.com. The Cocktail Lounge provides an ever-expanding recipe database, timely event listings and product information.

Customers can also take part in various tasting events in LCBO stores across the province. See lcbo.com for details.

For more information about LCBO’s Ready Set Summer promotion, entertaining ideas and responsible hosting tips, call the toll-free LCBO Infoline at 1-800-ONT-LCBO (668-5226). In Toronto, call (416) 365-5900 or visit your nearest LCBO store. The TTY number for the deaf and hard of hearing is 416-864-6898 or 1-800-361-3291.

LCBO reminds consumers to please drink responsibly and to never consume alcohol when driving or boating. Also, bring a reusable bag when shopping at the LCBO and return empty beverage alcohol containers (large and small glass bottles, PET plastic, Tetra Paks, bag-in-box and cans) to The Beer Store for a full deposit refund.

Storage is absolutely key to the success of any wine collection. Anyone who enjoys collecting fine wines will want to look for the best available wine storage options. There are many different ways to properly store wine, but regardless of which wine storage solution is ultimately chosen it will critical to keep the storage conditions constant.

A constant temperature of constant 50-60 degrees Fahrenheit must be maintained within any wine storage space. The wine storage should be as far away from the main area of the house as possible, and there must also be plenty of ventilation in the selected area. The wine collection must not suffer too much vibration and any light sources should be kept to a minimum. Absolutely no sunlight should be permitted to reach the wine storage area.

Of course a wine cellar can be used for wine storage or a special cooler can be built. Wine racks are, predictably, a necessary part of any wine storage solution. Wine racks can be made of metal or wood, and the wine storage chosen is primarily a matter of personal taste. While both kinds of rack building material are attractive to look at, the metal racks tend to be more flamboyant and stylish while the wood racks are often considered more classic and traditional in style.

It may be preferable to choose racks in order to have them match the rest the chosen wine storage solution. These final choices will be influenced to a certain degree by whether or not the wine cellar is intended to be shown off to friends and colleagues. If it is, then the wine storage solutions will need to appear more coordinated.

Either way it’s not a bad idea to look into wine racks and other wine storage options that will all look good together. This helps to create a wine storage area that looks like it belongs to a professional wine collector. It’s not difficult to accomplish, but it can cost a bit of cash.

Temporary wine storage options are, customarily, a little simpler. Immediately prior to serving a wine it will probably need to be chilled, depending of course on what kind of wine it is. In order to store wine for chilling, look into cool wine storage solutions. Available in many department stores or wine stores, wine coolers are easy to find. Even the Internet is an excellent resource for finding these types of wine storage options.

Gary Killops