Au Pied de Cochon Gin Hits SAQ Stores Soon

— Mononcle and Matante, a line of artisanal gins from Au Pied de Cochon and craft distillery Okanagan Spirits, will arrive in select SAQ stores over the next week, and will be sold online as of Monday, March 21. "Gin has always been part of our traditions in Quebec. Our grandparents drank a lot of it at the sugar shack," Martin Picard recently remarked. "My mother likes gin and tonic. It's the first drink I tasted, and I remember loving it."

The SAQ describes the Mononcle gin as a classic juniper gin, with hints of spruce and orris. Matante, made with rhubarb, and lemon and orange zest, is fruitier. Sixteen Montreal SAQ outlets will carry both gins to start. In other Au Pied de Cochon news, a fifth season of Picard's Un chef à la cabane! has been confirmed by Télé-Québec, and will air next winter.

Photo courtesy RéZin Sélection

— Joe Beef sells a range of products too, of course, from beer to spices, and mustard to bacon. Now, just in time for Easter, the Little Burgundy restaurant is hawking its maple smoked suckling pigs. The hams are priced at $27/kg, and will be available for pickup at Le Vin Papillon for a limited time.

— Another Montreal band shot a music video inside Chinatown tiki bar Le Mal Nécessaire. Last time it was Stars; this time it's Syzzors.

— Here's a zany, must-see behind-the-scenes look at Montréal Plaza, the hit Plaza Saint-Hubert restaurant from Charles-Antoine Crête, Cheryl Johnson, and Sébastien Blanchette.