Cocktail of the Year
Prestigious Partners
Maison de Soma’s Somananas is a taste of the tropics rooted in the Laurentians, care of pineapple weed mixed with Rosemont whisky, Distillerie Mariana amaretto and Bourgoin Verjus.
We call it the North’s answer to a piña colada. At Maison de Soma’s Mont-Tremblant farmstead and restaurant, it’s called the Somananas. The name may be a portmanteau’d nod to pineapple in French, but the tropical fruit is nowhere to be found. That’s for the best: Pineapples don’t grow too well north of the 45th parallel, and the culinary team here favours ingredients grown on-site.
That’s where pineapple weed comes in. As one would imagine, the native herb’s taste is reminiscent of the sunny fruit, but with floral notes stemming from its closeness to camomile. Look closely from the dining room window, and you may spot the yellow buds poking out along the road and footpaths. “Walk by them, and you will be hit with the fragrance,” our server Janie tells us, making a wafting gesture with her hands.
The domed blooms are made into a syrup that is mixed and shaken with Maison de Soma’s housemade sweetgrass liqueur. Next follows Distillerie Mariana’s woodsy Avril amaretto, Rosemont’s bourbon-style whisky and Bourgoin’s plant-based verjus round. A mini marigold and cornflower bouquet rests on a raft of foam made with Noroi’s vegan emulsifier.
Unlike the piña colada’s mouthful of sun at high noon, a sip of the hay-toned lowball tastes like late summer golden hour. It’s clearer, brighter and hardier – and like everything in the North, subject to the change of seasons. But as Canadians know all too well, the best things in life are worth waiting for, and the best cocktail of the year is certainly one of them.
Prestigious Partners
