On Thursday, February 3rd, WOMAN.ca traveled back to the sixties in style.

The LCBO hosted an elegant era inspired Cocktail party, aptly titled Classic Cocktails, in the heart of downtown Toronto. Guests arrived at the lavish venue, The Carlu, and were immediately transported back in time.

The crowd dazzled in their retro suits and little black dresses,  their attire mirroring the AMC television series Mad Men. In fact, the entire soiree was an homage to the hit show! To properly set the tone of glitz and glamour, Emmy award winning costume designer Janie Bryant (below, with me) was on hand to meet and greet, and looked stunning in a sleek red gown.  

In between posing for photos and taking questions one after the next about her Mad Men success, Janie spared a few moments to chat with us over (very strong) cocktails. 

"Designing with Mad Men is amazing, I love it, it’s so much fun," she told me, beaming. When asked how she thinks the show is influencing woman's fashion today, she said, "All you have to do is look around you, and you can see the influence of the show. For womens' wear, Mad Men is bringing it back to classic, elegant, and lady-like style."

Considering the ever growing adoration for Mad Men's Christina Hendricks, we couldn't agree more.

With the venue bubbling with energy (socialite Ainsley Kerr, fashion writer Anita Clarke, and thinkCONTRA blogger Amanda Cosco were among the guests), we enjoyed tasty drinks courtesy of the LCBO, every single one showcasing the LCBO's new classic cocktail selection. 

The drool-worthy drink list featured the “Rusty Nail,” a scotch-based cocktail with a  honey flavored liquor, and the Daiquiri, an “old-school classic daiquiri, the way Hemingway used to drink them,” or so the mixologist at the bar told us. “The classic daiquiri gives a really nice balance between sweet and sour with fresh lime juice, simple syrup and Appleton VX rum.”

Also on the menu was the “Old Fashioned” which is quite literally an old fashioned cocktail. Picture a smokey bar, a dapper middle-aged man sitting solo, hat tilted over one eye, sipping on something strong and masculine. This, my friends, is an Old Fashioned. And this drink, my friends, can knock even the most seasoned drinker to the floor. 

“The Old Fashioned epitomizes The Cocktail as we now know it,” we learned. “By definition, the original cocktail was spirit, water, sugar and bitters.”

The bartenders were not only friendly and accommodating when it came to our cocktail curiosity, but proved to be impressive showmen as well as they demonstrated spectacular bottle tossing tricks. As for food, in true '60s fashion platters of deviled eggs were served around the room. 

By the end of the night, we were mingled out, and settled into some comfy lounge chairs in the lobby with cups of coffee in hand.

All in all, the evening was glamorous, though if we could file one complaint it would be with whoever came up with the idea for the two drink tickets per guest upon arrival. Uh, that took a little bit of 'class' out of our classic cocktail.

Thank you, LCBO, for an evening of elegance and style!

Images Property of WOMAN.ca

Courtney Gilmour
		About the author:
		Courtney is a published writer, stand-up comic, and shameless Internet enthusiast. She holds a double bachelors degree in English Literature and Communication Media Studies, specializing in semiotic theory, however she doesn't get Shakespeare and has never won a game of Scrabble. Currently she lives in Toronto and works as a writer for WOMAN.CA.
	Read More >>