Cocktail culture has taken hold in St. John’s, and the people aren’t wrong to have crowned Adelaide the go-to in town for the very best drinks. It validates the fact they won The Overcast’s “Best Cocktail in Town” competition with their signature drink, The El Camino: a blend of Sauza silver tequila, triple sec, cilantro, chilies, lime, agave, angostura bitters, and some kind of magic.

That magic, according to manager Gillian Ainsworth, is calculated mixology.  “We usually start with one ingredient we really want to use, and then just try a bunch of things to see what works to bring out the flavour of the ingredient we started with.” Her personal favourite at the bar is “The New Fashion,” a mix of Hornitas balck barrel tequila, chartreuse, and lime. But she adds “The Pimm’s Pina is selling like crazy too.”

Gillian has the benefit of having Keegan McGregor behind the bar with her. “Keegan and I are really good at critiquing each other, and I think it brought out the best in the list.” She’s referring to their all new cocktail menu, which is likely to change yet again in the future to keep things fresh.

“We put a lot of work in our cocktail program,” McGregor says. “It’s always great to see everyone is enjoying them.” His personal pick is the aforementioned El Camino, a creation of his own doing, “but they go down easily, too easily,” he says.

“Sometimes I’ll open up The Flavor Bible, or ask one of the cooks what ingredients might work best together, and then have fun making different versions of the cocktail until I’m happy with the result. We tried getting at least one of every popular base spirit on the new list, and created unique cocktails that everyone would enjoy.”

Adelaide's Keegan McGregor & Phan Nhu Long. Co-creators of the best cocktail in town, The El Camino. Photos by Joel Upshall for The Overcast

Adelaide’s Keegan McGregor & Phan Nhu Long. Co-creators of the best cocktail in town, The El Camino. Photos by Joel Upshall for The Overcast