Fall is in the air! Celebrate Oktoberfest with us with an open-air craft beer festival. We're welcoming some of our favourite breweries to town to show off their seasonal fall favourites.
You ticket includes 5 beer tokens to get you started and a souvenir Oktoberfest tasting glass to take home with you. Extra tokens will be available for purchase for $3 a piece.

​Event runs from 3pm to 6pm on Saturday, October 15th.
19+ event

Saltimboca is a style of meal that literally "jumps off the plate". This salty, lemony dish is a great end-of-summer meal, still light and easy to make, but full of big flavour. With Harvest season is full swing, this is one of the best times of year to use fresh seasonal vegetables with minimal interference and simple cooking techniques. 

This week's meal is paired with the Lawnmower Blonde Ale form Big Tide Brewing in Saint John. 

All our ingredients are sourced from the City Market. Depending on the day, you have access to produce, meat, seafood, fresh baked goods, and lots of condiments and accompaniments to your dishes. When you pick up your groceries, remember to stop in to Uncorked for a wine or beer recommendation. You can buy bottles of NB wine and Market Howlers of NB craft beer to-go!

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Cut and remove seeds from squash. Drizzle with olive oil, cumin, salt & pepper. Roast for 45 minutes, or until soft.
3. While squash is roasting, prepare the chicken. If using whole breasts, remove skin and bone. Slice chicken breast into 2-3 strips per breast. 
4. Slice prosciutto in half length-wise. Place a sprig of thyme on each chicken strip and wrap fairly ticghtly with your prosciutto.
5. Heat a cast iron skillet on medium and cook your chicken strips for 3-4 minutes per side. Remove and place on a plate to keep warm.
6. Add nob of butter and juice from one lemon into pan to create a pan sauce.
7. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil to cook your beans. Once boiling, allow beans to cook for 5-7 minutes. Strain and rinse in cool water to stop cooking.
8. Plate your meal with squash in centre, 2-3 chicken strips and a cluster of string beans. Drizzle with pan sauce and balsamic vinegar. Serve with a simple garden salad dressed with olive oil, lemon juice, balsamic, salt and pepper.

​

Directions : Pear Custard Pie
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease your baking dish.
1. Thinly slice 4-5 firm pears.
2. Mix the rest of your ingredients together either with a whisk or in a blender.
3. Pour custard mix over pear slices.
4. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until centre of pie is set and firm to the touch.
​5. Allow to cool slightly and sprinkle with icing sugar before serving. We added a scoop of ice cream :)

Earlier in the Spring I was thinking about coming out of isolation and lockdowns, and the seasonality of what’s available. I’ve always tried to follow the seasons when it comes to menu selection, and thought it might be fun to do the same in the cocktail world. The last year has disconnected us not just from our friends and family, but our normal seasonal activities like travel and sports making this Spring and Summer unique, at the very least.

The first City Market Social was the Rhuby Social, celebrating one of spring’s earliest harvests, Rhubarb. As a heritage vegetable, rhubarb finds itself in plenty of applications from pies to jellies, to cakes and sauces. The Rhuby Social was 12 hours from idea to glass, and was the only one that featured hand harvested heritage rhubarb transformed into a house syrup.

And did we ever harvest. First I took everything from our family property in Woodstock, then a call for backyard rhubarb in Saint John had you responding in the dozens, and finally Farmer Dave came through with a huge load of rhubarb from an old upick. Honestly, If anyone wants to come with me next year to help pick, that would be awesome.

Working our way through the calendar, we’ve had rhubarb, strawberry, raspberry, and now we are on blueberry. Summer is a great time in NB, especially for the abundance of wild fruits and fish. Wild blueberries are one of the province’s largest (by value) exports. The intense flavour, and antioxidant levels, of wild blueberries just can’t be matched with high bush blueberries from away.
​
Until August 28, enjoy one of four Blueberry Social cocktails at the Saint John City Market, and make sure to get your fill of wild NB blueberries while you can!
 
For more info about wild blueberry cultivation in NB check out this site https://nbwildblue.ca/

When Uncorked Tours opens in the Saint John City Market in May, guests can expect to be treated to a virtual tour of the province through guided, structured wine, beer and spirit flights. There will be weekly pairings to feature market vendors, as well as regular tap takeovers. Guests will be able to reserve daily tours and enjoy a pre- or post-tour market snack and beverage.

“We’re excited to bring a new experience to the historic city market,” says Gilliane Nadeau. “The Saint John City Market has been a key tour venue for the last 7 years and we are thrilled to invite our guests to experience the flavours and hospitality of Saint John from our new home base for daily tours.”

The driving force behind moving Uncorked back into a public space comes from the pairing up of sisters Gilliane and Nathalie Nadeau who have resided in Saint John for 8 years and 4 years respectively. “We knew that if we had the chance to do something together, we could make it great,” says Nathalie.
“We want to be a resource for locals and a waypoint for anyone spending time in Saint John. Whether interested in daily guided tours, a half pint of craft beer with lunch, or pointers on what to do in Saint John, Uncorked crew members are already excited to share in the visitor’s journey.”

Following the example of other recent taproom openings, Uncorked will not sell any food and instead invites guests to buy lunch from one of the market’s awesome food vendors and bring it in to eat while enjoying a local beer, wine or cocktail.

“Uncorked Tours will be a welcomed addition to the Saint John City Market,” says Andrew MacDonald, Assistant City Market Manager. “Aside from the great foods and finds the Market offers from over 35 full and part time merchants, it’s a popular social gathering place for locals and visitors. What better way to enhance that experience than with a taproom and tour operator.”

TL;DR
Happy New Year
​Start the year off right with a classic Caesar, everything you need to get your year going

Caesars have a special place in my drinking repertoire. They're not something I sought out, and even today I only drink them at specific times. Specifically, IMHO they are the BEST drink after an evening of imbibing, like so many of us did last night.

If you really want to impress your friends and family at brunch, offer up Oyster Caesar shots. Using large shot glasses (4oz if you can find them), shuck a fresh oyster into each shot glass, top with your premixed Caesar. They look cool, taste awesome, and go down way too easy. Enjoy!

This 12+1 Cocktail series was an absolute blast to film and present. We're going to take a little break in January, and be back with all kinds of awesome news in February. Thanks for following along, and as always, let us know what you thought of the cocktails you tried, and what other series you're interested in!

Ringing in a new decade requires something special. Champagne!
This French75 is a classic champagne cocktail with a sparkling sugar rim reminding you of the delicious bubbles in the glass. I was a little shy to make a cocktail out of champagne at first, but we went for it, and it was pretty good.

Short post today as we get ready for the festivities. Happy New Year everyone. I wish you all a happy, healthy, safe, and prosperous 2020!!

If you like this series, let us know by liking and sharing the videos on Facebook and YouTube, and leaving a comment. We'd love to hear from you.

I have been waiting anxiously for mulled wine day. While a toddy was the first hot cocktail I was introduced to, my favourite is probably mulled wine. The aromatics used in mulling just evoke a sense of the holidays with cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice filling the air. It takes a couple hours to make, and you don't want to rush it, since the longer you let the wine and spices simmer together, the better it will be. The simmering cooks off most of the alcohol in the wine, so we add that back in with a topper of Winegarden Estate brandy.

Whenever we go on long winter hikes, I like to bring a thermos of this along. It's also a great addition to a winter sleigh ride or bonfire. Your friends and family will be so excited when you pull this out of your daypack this winter.

Mulled wine has the longest history of the cocktails we've served this week. It was originally made by the Romans in the second century and carried through Europe on their conquests. In 1390 a recipe for mulled wine was recorded in the "Form of Cury" a medieval cookery book and is strikingly similar to today's recipe including cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg and cardamom among other spices.

Have you tried mulled wine before? I'm always interested in new spice blends and would love to learn how what recipe you use. If you like this series let us know by liking and sharing the videos, and leaving a comment.

When I think about hot, winter cocktails, the first that comes to mind is a hot toddy. I think it was the first hot cocktail I was introduced to, some time in university, miserable with a cold. Originally made with just a spirit and hot water, the hot toddy has evolved to include all different manner of spirits and additions like honey, sugar, male syrup, lemon juice, cayenne, and other herbs and spices.

Today's particular toddy is a tribute to a good friend of Eric's who passed away a few years ago. Scotty was a huge fan of Seagram's rye whisky, so in his honour, Eric created Scotty's Toddy, a close-to-classic toddy made from rye, hot water and lemon juice. 

What do you think of toddies? Do you have any favourite recipes? If you like this series, let us know by liking and sharing the videos and leaving a comment. We'd love to hear from you.

Oh Irish Cream. Like eggnog, it's one of the most decadent parts of the holiday season. This recipe has been passed down for generations through my Mom's family and includes eggs and heavy cream, although our version has been lightened by using lactose-free cereal cream in place of the full monty whipping cream.

I tried to find the history of Irish Cream, but it turns out it's a fairly new invention, coming from the 1970s! BUT, it was probably inspired by more traditional coffee cocktails topped with whipped cream which became popular in Vienna in the mid-1800s.  

This is a drink that my mom usually whips up one or two times a season. It is great in coffee, on its own, over ice, or over ice cream. Depending on the amount of whisky you add the ABV will come out to around 20%. Cheers!

What do you think of Irish Cream? Do you use any of your traditional family recipes? If you like this series, let us know by liking and sharing the videos, and leaving a comment. We'd love to hear from you.

This dessert cocktail was a surprise to me. All the best parts of a ice sundae topped with the sweet, spicy goodness that is Fireball cinnamon whisky. Fireball, for me, is the perfect example of a winter beverage. Every year we host a NYE snowshoe loppet which always includes a Fireball station to warm you up and get you to the end of the course.

You could also choose to top this with a brandy or even the new Chicken Bones liqueur from Moonshine Creek, if you were lucky enough to get a bottle! This would be great as an after-dinner treat, or even as part of a decadent brunch. The music pairing for this cocktail is, without a doubt, Peaches by Presidents of the United States.

Thanks for following along with us on this cocktail journey. We have 5 more days to spend with you and we can't wait to wish you a Happy New Year! Let us know what you would like to see in future series.