A Cocktail in a Hut on the Beach –
Stress Test at 1st of 29 Canadian National Parks
When you’re embarking on an adventure as epic as our cross-Canada tour, you’ve got to do some serious planning. Since Nate, Kyle and myself will essentially live out of a small trailer for our trip, we have to pack carefully and only bring what we need. Our meals, water usage, electricity, and media storage also require intentional budgeting. Our first stop, Pacific Rim National Park, gave us an opportunity to evaluate our gear and our plan. We called it our ‘stress test.’
According to Wikipedia, a stress test is
“a form of deliberately intense or thorough testing used to determine the stability of a given system or entity.”
Since the three of us will be together pretty much 24/7 for the next four months, our stress test also evaluated our relational dynamics. Thankfully, we can stand each other pretty well!
When we got to Pacific Rim, we learned that there bears and wolves had been sighted in the park earlier that same day. Kyle trembled for a bit (he might deny it, but I saw him shake).
The park itself spans over 500 square kilometers and three distinct regions: Long Beach, the Broken Group Islands, and the West Coast Trail. We camped at Green Point campground at Long Beach and filmed the creation of a bespoke cocktail in a driftwood cave.
A Cocktail on a Beach – “The Offering”
The cocktail, called “The Offering”, is the first of 10 bespoke cocktails that we’re creating for Davines (the organic hair care products company) throughout our trip. 
For this first cocktail, Davines wanted something that incorporated tobacco into the drink as a shout out to the historical tobacco industry of Virginia. They chose the name “The Offering” to pay homage to the native American tradition of the sacred offering of tobacco. This cocktail definitely presented a challenge. Working with tobacco in cocktails can be dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing. To keep the cocktail safe and flavorful, we decided to pull the flavor from the tobacco by infusing a small amount of it into honey.
Pacific Rim National Park Video Highlight Reel
“The Offering” Cocktail Recipe
-
- 2/3oz tobacco infused honey
- 2/3oz lemon juice
- 2oz dark rum
Top with soda, garnish with cinnamon stick & lemon swath
Location
Green Point campground in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve is located on the west coast of Vancouver Island in beautiful British Columbia, Canada in between the towns of Tofino and Ucluelet. It has 94 campsites suitable for both tents and small trailers.
Facilities
- Water
- Food Storage
- RV Hookups
- Washrooms
- Showers
- Electricity
- Firewood for sale
Wildlife
- Black Bears
- Cougars
- Wolves
- Martens
- Minks
- Black Tailed Dear
- Racoon
Marine Wildlife
- Seals
- Porpoises
- Sea Lions
- Whales
Highlights
Surfing and storm watching at Long Beach
Cost of Camping
$43.30 – 3 people for 1 night
$20.00 – 3 bundles of wood
Total Cost of Camping 1 Night in Pacific Rim National Park: $63.30
Recommended Bars / Restaurants Nearby
In Tofino: Wolf in the Fog, RedCan Gourmet Restaurant, Ice House Oyster Bar, Sea Monster Noodle Bar, Wildside Grill
In Ucluelet: Floathouse Patio & Grill
