Sunny spirits: shake your summer

If there's a season to get into mixology, it's patio season. Whether fruity, herbal, bitter or caffeinated, cocktails are just the thing to truly express your personality. So, this is the time to stock your bar and be ready for surprise visits and late nights. These six sunny spirits, to be enjoyed over ice or shaken, are pretty much all you need.

Best of both worlds

If you've never heard of Cristalino tequila, you're not alone. But it's definitely a category worth exploring, both for the pleasure of tasting it and because it's a growing trend. Essentially, it's barrel-aged tequila that's then filtered to achieve a clear colour and remove the more pronounced characteristics of aging like astringency, while retaining the rich flavours, oakiness, and texture of aging. It's literally the best of both worlds. In the case of Dobel, the world's first-ever Cristalino tequila, you get a complex taste with notes of caramel, honey, and citrus. Yum.

Under the palm tree

A top-pick of several employees, including Alexandre from the SAQ Sélection Saint-Lambert who says: "A must-have in your cocktail bar, on ice or in cocktails, this tequila will never disappoint you if you're a coconut fan. Tastes exactly like coconut flakes." Swap in lieu of classic tequila in a frozen margarita to create a killer cocktail with a beachy flavour.

Rare and recommended

Born in Santiago de Cuba in 1872, Matusalem is one of the few rums made using the solera method, which repeatedly blends older and younger rums in French oak barrels, giving it unique flavours, complexity, and a velvety smoothness. We love it served neat for its notes of caramel, banana, wood, and vanilla. It also adds a nice complexity to cocktails. “Wow, I recommend it!” says Idalmis R. of the SAQ Mail Champlain.

A classic

The story goes that 1800 refers to the year tequila began to be aged in oak barrels, and then marketed as a more refined style suitable for tasting. Its aging gives it a pretty amber colour, but above all scents of fig, nutmeg and vanilla that bring complexity to its agave flavours.

Keep it chilled

Made from 100% blue agave, this tequila hasn't seen any wood and preserves all its flavour thanks to a special bottling process, even at freezing temperatures. In fact, the brand suggests keeping the bottle in the freezer to discover all its subtlety as it takes on a silky texture.

Tried and true

Made from 100% blue agave, this tequila hasn't seen any wood and preserves all its flavour thanks to a special bottling process, even at freezing temperatures. In fact, the brand suggests keeping the bottle in the freezer to discover all its subtlety as it takes on a silky texture.