Lauren Mote

Originally from: Vancouver, Canada
Profession: Co-proprietor, Bittered Sling Bitters & Bar Manager
At: Vancouver

Mixologist, sommelier and “architect of potions, tonics and elixirs”, accomplished emcee, writer and cocktail judge and award-winning bar personality, Lauren Mote wears many hats, but she’s perhaps best known as the co-proprietor of Bittered Sling – a successful line of high-quality, small-batch cocktail and culinary bitters – and bar manager of the downtown Vancouver hotspot UVA Wine & Cocktail Bar.

With more than 14 years of expertise in the food and beverage industry, both in Toronto and on the West Coast, Mote has been a familiar and well-respected personality behind the bar at such renowned establishments as Le Sélect Bistro, Lumière, Goldfish Pacific Kitchen, Hawksworth Catering, Chow Restaurant and the Refinery.

Since she first started experimenting with and concocting bitters in 2008, Mote has developed and perfected more than 240 contemporary cocktail recipes featuring homemade and artisanal products, “tasting note” deconstruction and near-encyclopedic knowledge of spirits alchemy. It was in 2012 that Mote and partner Jonathan Chovancek pooled and poured their immeasurable talents into Bittered Sling.

Named the 2015 ‘Bartender of the Year’ by both the Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards and Diageo World Class Canada, Mote is a well-respected speaker, educator, mentor and industry advocate, whose reach extends well beyond the bar. She continues to shape the way enthusiasts both in Vancouver and around the globe view and consume cocktails through her avant-garde mixology, innovative training and consulting programs and mentorship of apprentice bartenders. Mote has dedicated herself to the development of novice bar talent through both the Cocktail Kitchen Series and Bittered Sling Bistro — Vancouver’s largest and longest-running series of cocktail competitions — as well as her past role as Associate Director and Bittered Sling’s current role as an Associate Brand of the Canadian Professional Bartenders Association (CPBA).

Since 2011, Mote has been an event partner and keynote speaker with Tales of the Cocktail, the world’s premier cocktail festival, in New Orleans, Vancouver and Argentina and has planned and executed ‘Bittered Sling on the Road’ events in Toronto, Mexico, New Orleans and Buenos Aires. She is one of 40 international spirits professionals currently serving on the Tales of the Cocktail Seminar Selection Committee, an International Judge for their Spirited Awards, and one of only three judges for Top Shelf 20, a community of elite bartenders across the country. In 2014, Mote was a keynote speaker at Sam Sullivan’s Public Salon and a judge at the BC Hospitality Foundation’s Dish & Dazzle Competition as well as at the inaugural Vancouver Calvados Cocktail Contest.

“Happy birthday Cherry Heering – it’s an absolute delight”

Lauren’s Ruby Tuesday

Glass: Collins or sling
Garnish: Bushy mint sprig
Method: Shake all but ginger beer with ice and strain into ice-filled glass. Top with ginger beer, swizzle gently and serve with a straw

• 1½ oz Tanqueray 10 Gin
• 1 oz Cherry Heering
• ¾ oz Lime juice
• ¾ oz Orange juice
• ½ oz Orgeat almond syrup
• 2 dash Bittered Sling Malagasy Chocolate Bitters
• Top with Gingerbeer

Lauren explains, “Oh, I’ve been making this one for years, and made a slight adjustment to the recipe to be a powerful contender for the Singapore Sling campaign. It doesn’t veer too far away from the original, and that was important to me. The name “Ruby Tuesday” comes from the Rolling Stones song, and a nod to the colour of the cocktail. The name is about “change”, and over the last 100 years, the Singapore Sling has remained unchanged in its classical design, but bartenders around the world are thoughtfully augmenting it to stand the test of time in their establishments, giving it some of their own personality, “ … who could hang a name on you? When you change with every new day…”. So cute.

AWARDS & ACCOLADES

Bartender of the Year, Diageo World Class Canada (2015)
Bartender of the Year, Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards (2015)
Seminar Selection Committee Member and International Judge, Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards (2015)
Concept & Event Consultant, 200th Anniversary Laphroaig Single Malt Whisky “Smoke & Mirrors” (2015)
Canadian Ambassador, Speed Rack Inc. (2015)
One of ’10 Vancouver women doing amazing things’, Vancity Buzz (2015)
Best Bartender (Downtown/Gastown/Yaletown), Westender Best of the City Awards (2015)
Judge, Molinari Sambuca Cocktail Competition (2015)
Judge, Tales of the Cocktail’s Seminar Selection Committee (2015, 2014, 2013)
Judge, Tales of the Cocktail’s Spirited Awards “International Categories” Committee (2015)
Event Partner, Tales of the Cocktail on Tour (2015, 2013, 2012, 2011)
Event Partner, Tales of the Cocktail, New Orleans (2015, 2014, 2013, 2012)
Judge, Dish n’ Dazzle Cocktail Competition, BC Hospitality Foundation (2014)
Keynote Speaker, Sam Sullivan’s Public Salon (2014)
Judge, Vancouver’s Inaugural Calvados Cocktail Contest (2014)
Judge, Top Shelf 20 Canada-wide (2013-2014)
Winner, Dish n’ Dazzle Cocktail Competition, BC Hospitality Foundation (2013)
Judge, Buffalo Trace Bourbon Cocktail Contest (2013)
Seminar Instructor, “A Forager’s Pharmacy”, Tales of the Cocktail, New Orleans (2012)
Seminar Instructor, “Traditional Chinese Apothecary Ingredients”, Tales of the Cocktail, New Orleans (2012)
Top 40 Foodies Under 40, Western Living Magazine (2011)
Winner, Angostura Aromatic Bitters National Challenge, Canada (2011)
Bartender of the Year, Westender Best of the City Awards (2010)
Winner, Sundance Films & US Bartender’s Guild Iconoclast Competition, Grey Goose Vodka, Canada (2010)
Winner, Maker’s Mark Cocktail Competition (2009)
Winner, Grand Marnier “The Next Classic” Cocktail Competition (2009)

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