The Alchemist Magazine BC | B.C. Distilleries

Exploring Ontario: Niagara’s Unofficial Whisky Trail

October 2, 2025 No Comments

Five distilleries, one weekend, and a new way to taste Niagara.

The Kent Motel is a retro-modern boutique hotel. Reece Sims photo

When most people think of Niagara, they picture cascading waterfalls, winding vineyards, and endless glasses of Chardonnay. But if you know where to look, you’ll find another story pouring quietly in the background: whisky. Niagara is home to five whisky-producing distilleries, each offering a glimpse into how the region is reshaping Canadian whisky culture. And the best part? They’re all within about an hour of each other, making for the perfect sipping trail.

Home Bar, Recipes

Jade Ghost

September 26, 2025 No Comments

This refreshing and fruity cocktail will make the Margarita lovers happy.

Home Bar, Recipes

Kyoto Collins

September 25, 2025 No Comments

This refreshing long drink uses a soda made with fragrant white tea. White teas are harvested from the youngest, most tender buds and leaves of the tea plant, and very lightly processed, resulting in a delicate, often floral flavour.

Home Bar, Recipes

Idol Meets Impostor

September 24, 2025 No Comments

This twist on a classic Old Fashioned gets an appealing smoky note from the ice cube made with Lapsang Souchong, a Chinese black tea whose leaves are dried over burning pinewood for a rich, bold and earthy flavour with subtle bonfire notes.

Home Bar

Tea time

September 23, 2025 No Comments

Discover a world of flavour in a cuppa

Tea is a classic component of mixed drinks, especially punches, and has almost infinite uses in cocktails. Matthew Benevoli photo

Tea is one of the world’s most common beverages—second only to water in terms of the amount consumed—yet it’s often overlooked as a cocktail ingredient. And that’s too bad, because it’s far more versatile, accessible and fun to experiment with than you may think.

With a wide range of black, green, white and herbal teas available, you can find almost any flavour profile you’re looking for, from a fruity herbal tea ideal for a fizzy and refreshing highball to a bitter, dry and tannic over-steeped green tea that makes a substitute for dry vermouth in a Martini. Looking for something more exotic? Enter Lapsang Souchong. Often referred to as “the scotch of teas,” its leaves have been dried above a pinewood fire, giving it savoury and smoky characteristics akin to Islay-made whisky.

Toronto Cocktail Festival

Toronto Cocktail Festival 2025: The city’s can’t-miss cocktail event is coming this fall

September 20, 2025 No Comments

Looking for the best events in Toronto this October? Mark your calendar for the first-ever Toronto Cocktail Festival, happening October 22–26, 2025.

Toronto is about to raise its glass in a whole new way. From October 22 to 26, 2025, the first annual Toronto Cocktail Festival will take over the city with a week of spirited seminars, tastings, and experiences that highlight the artistry, innovation, and community behind the city’s cocktail culture. Tickets are now on sale, with more programming to be announced in the weeks ahead.

Presented by The Alchemist magazine, this five-day city-wide celebration of cocktails, culture and culinary creativity unites Toronto’s top bartenders, chefs, and visiting talent from the global bar scene.

One week. Ten bars. Italy in every glass.

September 19, 2025 No Comments

iStock / Getty Images Plus / Maurese photo

Toronto, get ready—Italy is taking over your cocktail scene. From October 6 to 12, 2025, the first-ever Italian Cocktail Revolution, presented by the Italian Trade Agency Toronto, is shaking up the city with an entire week dedicated to Italy’s world-class spirits and timeless drinking culture.

Last Call

Great World Bars We Love: Handshake Speakeasy

September 12, 2025 No Comments

Vibrant flavours sing in the Mexi-Thai. Viranlly Liemena photo

Behind an unassuming black door marked “13” in Colonia Juarez, Mexico City, lies the best bar in the world: Handshake Speakeasy. Since opening in 2019, the bar has evolved from its original Polanco roots into a world-class destination, complete with a newly expanded basement space that complements its upstairs Art Deco-inspired lounge. They also swiped the title of No. 1 on the lists of World’s 50 Best Bars and North America’s 50 Best Bars (twice now), amid numerous other prestigious global awards.

Have Glass Will Travel

Where to drink in Tofino right now

September 5, 2025 No Comments

Tofino’s cocktail scene might be small, but that doesn’t mean it’s lacking.

The Wickaninnish Inn’s On The Rocks Bar features classic cocktails done right, paired with stunning views of Chesterman Beach. Jeremy Koreski photo

This beloved Vancouver Island surfing town is known for its food, and for good reason: dining here is fresh, inventive, and fun. The drinks at these establishments, however, are equally worthy of praise. Here are five places in Tofino to grab an expertly-crafted cocktail.

Tasting Panel

Canada in a glass

August 29, 2025 No Comments

Bye-bye bourbon. It’s Canadian whisky’s time to shine in these modern cocktails

Cocktails such as Lost Highway (above), created by Griffin Cox, bar manager at Bernie’s Supper Club & Cinema in Kelowna, use Canadian whisky in place American bourbon. Photo courtesy of Bernie’s Supper Club

For decades, Canadian whisky has played the quiet backbone in everything from Manhattans to whisky sours. But now, a new wave of bartenders is reclaiming it—not just as a versatile base spirit, but as a way to express local terroir, seasonality and storytelling in the glass. Whether it’s smoky and coastal, floral and bright, or tropical and spiced, Canadian whisky is proving that it can do more than blend in: It can take the lead.

We sat down with seven bartenders from across Canada to find out which whiskies they’re reaching for and the signature cocktails they’re crafting to showcase them.