Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/118161
profile: shawn soole He shakes, smashes, fizzes and swizzles — all in pursuit of drinkable art '' '' A fanatic for detail, Soole has peeled 30 pounds of Seville oranges, dried the peels, soaked them in brandy for a month, then sweetened them — for house-made Curacao. C lad in characteristic black shirt and pants, Shawn Soole holds court behind the blue-lit bar of Clive's Classic Lounge in Victoria, B.C. With his arm garters, silver cufflinks and pocket watch, the fast-talking, lanky, six-foot-five Aussie (pictured above) appears resolutely old-school, much like the lounge itself – an underwater-themed grotto with glittering vintage cocktail glasses, aquatichued Swarovski crystal lighting and mirrors inscribed with seaweed and bubbles. Soole is whipping up a Thin Man for me at the moment: J&B Rare Scotch, Orancio vermouth, Strega and house-made chamomile bitters. It's a Soole original, just one of countless cocktails this master of mixology has invented over the years and keeps stashed in a bulging recipe book. In fact, esoteric drinks are one of the trademarks that set the Chateau Victoria Hotel bar apart. No doubt its 46-cocktail menu, including 20 house creations, is a major reason why it was named one of four finalists for 2011's "World's Best Hotel Bar" award at Tales of the Cocktail, the world's premier cocktail festival. For as Soole puts it, "If you can find it somewhere else, you can't find it here." Victoria may seem like an odd place to (Victoria) istock, (bottom) Art of the Cocktail p22-27_Profile.indd 23 find one of the world's cutting-edge cocktail bars, but then one doesn't expect to find a larger-than-life character such as Soole here, either. Few Canadian barkeeps can match his resumé. A trained sommelier, "Executive Bar Back" for France's prestigious G'Vine Gin Connoisseur Program and inventor of a unique type of muddler – a cocktail tool for mashing fruits, herbs and spices – called a Viva! Stick, the 30-year-old Brisbane-born bartender has competed in more than 40 cocktail competitions. He is also on a first-name basis with many of the international stars of the mixology universe and has logged 14 accolade-filled years in the business, working in diverse settings ranging from upscale restaurants and wine and cocktail bars to five star-resorts and boutique beer cafés. Confident, intense and street savvy, Soole has a knack for sizing up a customer and quickly devising a drink to suit his or her tastes. And to that end, both he and his assistant, 25-year-old Nate Caudle, love to let their imaginations roam. One of Soole's off-the-cuff creations, a rum-based, grilledcheese-sandwich and tomato-soup-flavoured SHAWN SOOLE HAS SPENT THE LAST two years transforming a staid Victoria pub into a hip cocktail lovers' haunt that was nominated for 2011's prestigious "World's Best Hotel Bar" award. Soole's edge: his own unique creations plus a drink menu that reinvents, with a modern twist, old-fashioned cocktails from the early 19th century and Prohibition era. WESTWORLD >> FA L L 2 0 1 1 23 8/17/11 12:17:00 PM