The sky鈥檚 the limit when it comes to whiskey at one new restaurant in 性视界传媒.

While aiming to redefine luxury dining in the 性视界传媒 Central neighbourhood, has reached new heights with its collection of the distilled spirit.

鈥淲e have around 1,200 different labels, probably the largest whiskey collection in North America for a restaurant 鈥� I鈥檝e never seen bigger,鈥� said Richard Goodine, a manager of the restaurant/bar.

鈥淎ll the walls of bottles here don鈥檛 represent even half of the collection. We鈥檝e got a whole room downstairs stocked with shelves and shelves, an impressive collection.鈥�

Located in the former brew-pub building on the north side of Central City Shopping Centre, Skye Avenue borrowed its name from Scotland鈥檚 Isle of Skye, home to world-class whiskeys.

Completely renovated and ready for business since last November, with 350 seats inside and out, the restaurant is owned by , CEO of the CCI Group of Companies.

The place isn鈥檛 quite casual, nor formal or stuffy.

鈥淲e think we have something unique here,鈥� said Goodine, who has operated some notable Vancouver restaurants for years, and lives on the west side of that city.

鈥淣ow I spend a lot of time finding out what鈥檚 going on around here, and there鈥檚 a lot, with the hotel there (Civic) and towers,鈥� Goodine said. 鈥淭his is going to be a happening place, an exciting market. I find it really invigorating how ready we are to set the tone in this neighbourhood when it comes to restaurants.鈥�

While bottles of whiskey dominate the lounge, Skye Avenue鈥檚 food also impresses with emphasis on what Goodine calls modern Canadian cuisine with a tag line, 鈥渃ommitted to the craft.鈥�

Originally from Italy, executive chef Valerio Pescetelli built a diverse menu featuring a cooked-to-order Chef鈥檚 Burger that鈥檚 become a house favourite 鈥� one that required approvals from local health authorities.

鈥淧ersonally, it鈥檚 a burger that I would just do at home when I鈥檓 inviting guests,鈥� explained Pescetelli, who leads a kitchen staff of 32 at Skye Avenue. 鈥淭his is at that level of simplicity, but in a restaurant, I wanted to do something that first, you can ask for any temperature you want, which is something that I used to experience back in London, in Europe, very common.

鈥淗ere, it鈥檚 a very grey area,鈥� he continued, 鈥渟o I went to Fraser Health, and they said to build a full protocol that had to be approved, a lot of back and forth. So OK, let鈥檚 do it, and I created an entire protocol of sterilization, the way we cut the beef, never frozen, it comes fresh, organic. I use the shoulder from Prairie Ranch, in Alberta. We grind it twice, a specific way where we redistribute the fat equally, then we make the patties, eight ounces per patty, treated just like a steak on the grill.鈥�

The mouthwatering burger is served on a brioche bun with truffle aioli and melted fontina cheese 鈥� 鈥渂ut no lettuce and tomato, which I call contaminators,鈥� the chef said with a smile. 鈥淰ery simple, and it comes with two types of onions reduced in red wine.鈥�

Pescetelli is a medium-rare kind of guy, as are most of the Skye Avenue diners so far. 鈥淎nd if you鈥檙e not convinced about the red of the meat, the blood, maybe medium is more what you want to eat,鈥� he added.

Back to the whiskeys now.

Goodine said the opening of Skye Avenue involved the 鈥渟ynergy鈥� of the ownership group obtaining a large whiskey collection.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 a key part of it,鈥� he said, 鈥渁nd when you鈥檙e talking about whiskey, you鈥檝e got Ireland, Scotland, the southern U.S. with bourbon, Japan, and then sometimes we forget that Canadian whiskey is part of that equation. It opens up a real palate for us, of all these different areas where we can draw inspiration from, from a cuisine perspective.鈥�

Whiskey Wednesdays started recently, and other theme-night ideas are cooking at Skye Avenue, which includes a private dining room for tastings, meals and special events. .