drink canoe: autumn elixirs

The sweeping city views atop TD Tower make Toronto look even better in fall — an opportune time to get cozy at our 54th-floor bar for an autumn-inspired cocktail. Five new creations grace our menu, each one evoking familiar fall flavours with a unique twist, spotlighting intriguing, high-quality ingredients and photo-worthy presentation. 

Made with the same obsessive consideration that our culinary team pays to every dish, cocktails complement our fall menu, celebrating the abundance of Canada’s seasonal harvest. While turning the classics on their head, Bar Manager Bishop Wierzbicki and team explore innovative infusions, enchanting emulsions and creative concoctions.

Join us in uncovering the complexities and creative process behind four Canoe Originals and one top-floor tipple as we introduce our latest autumnal libations.

Crafted using scratch-made caramel from The Caramel Kitchen, his mom’s small business in Sudbury, Ontario, Bar Manager Bishop Wierzbicki develops a cocktail using golden brown goodness as its chief sweetener. Playing on a classic fizz, his caramel apple version uses Calvados, an apple brandy from Normandy, and punchy bourbon to deliver a sweet and decadent sip. Forbes Wild Foods, a Canadian company providing hand-picked ingredients sustainably harvested from the Canadian wilderness, supplies spicebush berry (a small, red, holly-like berry) that is soaked in rum for two weeks before demerara cordial is added. The result is an amped-up allspice dram that adds layers of warm baking spice flavour. Shaken with egg white, heavy cream, and apple cider adjusted to match the acidity of lime, Bishop tops the creation with soda then garnishes it with dehydrated apple and nutmeg for an elevated yet comforting drink.

The brainchild of Eleni Bock, formerly of Ration, the Beverley Hotel’s zero-waste fine dining restaurant, this bright red cocktail champions seasonality, sustainability, and reuse. Using Kettle One vodka steeped in purple heirloom carrots and rosemary, Eleni’s version is a slight variation on the Paper Plane, a Toronto favourite. Both cocktails are liqueur-sweetened, but our fall-inspired feature uses ruby port, a sweet fortified wine, and Bénédictine, an herbal liqueur with notes of honey, together with lime and simple syrup. Simply garnished with a contrasting lime peel, curious sippers will love its refreshing vegetal notes, delicate sweetness, and overall balance.

Showcasing what can only be described as “fig on fig on fig”, bartender György Demendi developed this easy-drinking cocktail just in time for autumn’s crisp air. Blending fig-infused Johnnie Walker Black Label Scotch whisky, fig cordial, and a bar spoon of bergamotto liqueur (a zesty hybrid of orange and lemon), the satisfying iced tea-esque beverage is the perfect match for panoramic city views. Reminiscent of an Arnold Palmer (albeit boozy), black tea and lemon elevate this sweet and mellow concoction to Canoe-level heights. Garnished with a lemon wheel and dehydrated fig, it sings with the fresh flavours of fall.

We couldn’t pass up a chance to pumpkin spice-ify another classic, delivering an orange-hued beauty that’s almost too pretty to drink. To start, bourbon is fat-washed using an earthy pumpkin seed butter. Perfect for the colder seasons, fat-washing is a great way to add subtle flavour and incredible texture. The process uses a fat or oil — such as bacon fat, butter, or plant-based oils — infused into a chosen spirit. The liquid is then frozen, allowing the fat to separate and rise to the top. Later, the separated fat is finely strained through coffee filters, leaving the infused spirit to be used in any cocktail recipe. Shaken with Amaretto, lemon, egg white, and a housemade pumpkin spice cordial made using cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg, the comforting combination tempers the sweetness of a classic Amaretto sour, delivering a more balanced version with deep pumpkin notes. This cheeky nod to Chef Ron McKinlay’s playful pumpkin course on the Taste Canoe fall menu is finished with chocolate and Angostura bitters, which add a delicious aroma while painting a dainty design on top.

Our fifth and final autumn-inspired sip comes in the form of a ‘flip’, a thick and creamy style of cocktail that uses bourbon, port, simple syrup, and most notably, a full egg. Rarely seen on cocktail menus due to its labour-intensive nature, a flip must be shaken for minutes at a time to ensure it reaches its full rich and decadent potential (think: dense eggnog). You can sit back and watch this satisfying dessert substitute come to life at the hands of our talented mixologists — our version of dinner and a show. Inspired by the Toronto, a Manhattan-style cocktail using bitter Italian aperitivo Fernet, Bishop first dry-shakes a full egg, housemade salted caramel syrup, Fernet-Branca, tawny port, and a limited edition top shelf Lot No.40 port cask whisky for 30 seconds before adding ice and wet-shaking for another two to five minutes (talk about a workout!). Once the egg is fully emulsified, it is carefully poured for a frothy, truly one-of-a-kind nightcap worth waiting for.

If you’re craving the warmth of a wool scarf in cocktail form, our sky-high bar is a destination in its own right. Offering handcrafted cocktails and savoury bites with a uniquely Canadian twist from Monday to Friday, we warmly invite you to relax, unwind, and soak up the sights of downtown Toronto this fall. Whether you’re joining us for afternoon drinks or staying long past sunset, there’s no need for reservations — walk-ins are always welcome.