I love my city, but it does have just a tiny little rep for being a bit of a no-fun town. I think it dates back to the ’60s when all those earnest Birkenstock-shod hippies arrived here, saw the mountains and trees and beaches, decided they were good, then recoiled at the glitzy neon of the city’s clubs and caberets, tsk-tsk’d, and pulled the plug on all that electric fun stuff. Really, how else did we go from being the neon capital of the world to granola-ville in such a few short years?

Anyway. I digress. Probably because of far too many 20th Century Cocktails at Pourhouse earlier tonight. (As Christopher Hitchens liked to say of martinis before he himself got far too earnest, they’re like breasts — one is too few and three are far too many.)

The point is, as of today, those of us who might be seeking a martini after a show or a late night deadline are finally being treated like the grownups we actually are. City council has just approved uniform liquor hours for restaurants that would mean later last calls in 80 per cent of the city’s eateries. The new liquor licences,  which should go into effect in about two weeks, mean all Vancouver restaurants will be able to serve alcohol until 1 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 2 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays. True, about a fifth of restaurants will actually have to cut their hours back slightly, because of the mashup of bylaws, rules and regulations out there, but in general, this is a good thing for everyone.

I think we can all drink to that.

Dani and JT's winning drinks at Monday's Iron Mixologist in Vancouver.

Sure, judging cocktail competitions is fun, but it’s not without its drawbacks. Like, say, spending nearly four hours yesterday at the Giffard Iron Mixologist competition in Vancouver tasting drinks made with apricot brandy and sparkling wine. Delicious, but I’m still recovering from the sugar jitters.

More importantly, though, we have a pair of winners. Justin Tisdall, of Market by Jean-Georges, and Danielle Tatarin, of DB Bistro Moderne / Lumiere, are heading off to France next May to compete against the best in the world. Although there were several outstanding drinks — and, amazingly enough, no terrible ones — the mixology judges pointed out that JT and Dani had the whole package, great drinks, perfect timing, excellent technique and a solid confidence behind the bar. (The media judges just thought their drinks looked and tasted good.) Way to go, guys, and go beat those Russians this time!

Meanwhile, here are the winning recipes:

The Apricot Horizon
(Giffard 1st place cocktail by Justin Tisdall)

1 oz. Giffard Abricot du Roussillon
1/2 oz fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1/2 oz apricot bitters
1 oz white port apricot reduction
1/2 oz egg white
1 oz Charles Meunier sparkling wine

Place all ingredients in a cocktail shaker and shake vigorously. Strain into an antique wine glass. Optional: Garnished with thyme-skewered carbonated apricots. Serves 1.

Fleur de Roussillon Fizz
(Giffard 2nd place cocktail by Danielle Tatarin)

1 oz Giffard Abricot du Rousillon
1 oz rose-infused gin
1/4 oz maraschino liqueur
1 oz egg white
Charles Meunier sparkling wine
vanilla-infused chartreuse

Shake fist four ingredients together vigorously and strain into a champagne flute. Top with sparkling wine, then spark with vanilla-infused chartreuse. Optional: Garnish with burnt apricot sugar and candied rose petals. Serves 1.