Château Laurier introduces 1912, a new bar with a historic pedigree

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An out-of-the-way corner of the Fairmont Château Laurier that used to house a pop-up Christmas bar is now where you’ll find a new pub with a timeless style — and a selection of homegrown, private-label spirits by Dunrobin Distilleries.

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Inspired by the success of the holiday-themed Elf Pub in recent years, Geneviève Dumas, general manager of the landmark hotel, wanted to create something permanent and year-round reflecting the unique history of the 113-year-old castle, a designated national historic site in the heart of Canada’s capital.

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The pub 1912 was born, its name taken from the year the hotel opened, which was just a few years before Prohibition. In a salute to the clandestine bars of that era, the new room is described as a speakeasy.

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“We created something that people loved with the Elf Pub,” Dumas said, “but there are a lot of Christmas pop-ups now, which is amazing, but at some point we wanted to go back to the roots of the Château Laurier. It’s not as Christmassy, but it’s more authentic to the real spirit of Christmas back in 1912.”

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The new space is cozy and windowless, a stone fireplace set off by exposed brick, chocolate walls and leather furniture. On the walls is an array of framed photographs, paintings, newspaper articles and artifacts, including silver tea sets, brass candlesticks, hardcover books and uniforms once worn by hotel staff.

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To add to the historic charm, the bar serves drinks named after some of the characters of the era, including whiskey named after former prime minister Sir Wilfred Laurier, gin named after his wife, Lady Zoe, and a vodka named after the woman presumed to be Laurier’s mistress, Emilie.

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The December cocktail menu, for example, features Lady Zoe’s Mistletoe Martini, Emilie’s Sleigh Ride Espresso Martini and a twist on a classic with Sir Wilfrid’s Old Fashioned Noel.

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Other offerings at the bar include the Lion’s Roar whiskey, Dunrobin’s pear-wood finished whiskey, and two Seven Seals products, a peated double-wood finished whiskey, and one finished with amarone-infused wood.

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The 1912 family of private-label spirits is the result of a partnership between the Château and an Ottawa-area maker of artisanal alcohol, Dunrobin Distilleries. When the hotel’s request came in, it sounded too good to turn down, Dunrobin founder and president Adrian Spitzer said.

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“Absolutely we wanted to be part of this,” Spitzer said. “We put our team together and thought it through and just kept developing these (products and their) stories. The imaginations of everyone ran wild so quickly. It was a lot of fun.”