Le Seltzer Lightens Up an Italian Favourite With Montreal Chef Danny Smiles

Seltzer is having a moment in Montreal, North America, and beyond.

Montreal’s Le Seltzer has been at the forefront of the trend since launching in May 2021 and has a selection of classic and creative flavours: Ginger, Black Cherry, Orange Vanilla, Yuzu Blossom and Pomelo, and Mangosteen, for example.

It produces its wares in Montreal’s Parc-Extension, close to Little Italy, a neighbourhood peppered with Italian restaurants, buzzing cafés, and bocce courts. So its latest flavour should come as no surprise: Amaro.

“It’s a tribute to Italian bitters and aperitivo culture,” says Noah Bick, who founded Le Seltzer with his brother and now runs it with operations manager Eric Lamoureux. Lamoureux notes Amaro’s “unique and robust combination of herbaceous bitterness, orange zest, and quinine,” and the tiny bottles of bitters beloved by locals.

Another vital member of Amaro’s creation: Danny Smiles, Top Chef Canada alum and the man behind spots like Double’s Late Night and, most recently, Le Violon, which opened to great acclaim in the space that formerly housed Maison Publique.

“It was great timing,” Bick says of the opening, noting that Smiles was already familiar with Le Seltzer. The can design was inspired by Smiles’s favourite soccer club, AS Roma.

The collaboration is the brand’s second. Its first was Mangosteen, made with another lauded local chef, Jessie Mulder, who helms award-winning Thai restaurants Pichai and Pumpui (the latter a short walk from Le Seltzer’s brewing headquarters).

Bick says collaborations with the community have been the plan since Day One, such as sponsoring charity events, hosting pop-ups and providing refreshments at festivals such as POP Montreal. “Community is just something we believe in, plus it helps set us apart from the faceless corporations selling seltzer and sparkling water.”

Bick is also quick to note that, while Le Seltzer is doing the first or only version of some flavours, it is part of a burgeoning niche soda scene that also includes Zamalek hibiscus-based sodas and Fin canned mocktails.

There is an increasing number of people looking for non-alcoholic drinks to have with dinner, at shows, or on picnics in Montreal parks. Bick observes a growing market of the sober-curious, people who want to drink a little less, in general or on occasion. He says he enjoys having options beyond sugary sodas.

Bick also notes that Le Seltzers can make good mixers. For Amaro, he suggests a smooth vodka that won’t compete with the flavour. One can also imagine it in a paper plane cocktail or even a lightened take on a negroni.

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