The Alchemist Magazine BC | B.C. Distilleries

Bring your beach bucket

June 21, 2021 No Comments

We couldn’t love this more. Beetbox, the plant-based casual eatery in the West End, has introduced a new “Beet the Heat” slushie bucket that is just what we want for all our backyard gatherings this summer. The four-litre bucket is filled with a cantaloupe-apple slushie mix, ladle, four cups and garnishes ($29). Plus you can add on 375 mL mickeys of Cazadores Tequila Reposado ($20) or Bombay Sapphire gin ($17) or a 200 mL bottle of St-Germain elderflower liqueur ($17). Slushies are also available by the glass (16 oz) for $5, with mini 50 mL bottles of vodka or gin available as add-ons for $5 each.

Patrón, perfected

June 18, 2021 No Comments

Competition is a celebration of tequila

Cocktail competitions are not just about the winning drinks. They are about community, creativity and exploration, discovering new flavours and learning new techniques. Only a handful worldwide truly raise the bar for the industry. Among those, there is Patrón Perfectionists, the world’s premier tequila competition.

After the challenges of the past year, Patrón felt it was important to make the competition as inclusive as possible. So it has opened the competition to all bartenders across Canada, regardless of where (or if) they are working.

Recipes, Sponsored

It Takes a Valley

June 17, 2021 No Comments

Jared Schmidt’s Patrón Perfectionists competition-winning cocktail is inspired by the Okanagan Valley.

• 1.5 oz Patrón Silver

• 0.5 oz B.C. apple-infused Bénédictine (see note)

• 0.25 oz 1:1 simple syrup

• 1 oz B.C. organic white verjus

• 0.75 oz dry B.C. apple cider

• Garnish: grapefruit peel

The Alchemist

Pandemic possibilities

June 16, 2021 No Comments

How B.C.’s government and hospitality industry embraced the new reality—and each other’s interests

…You better start swimmin’ or you’ll sink like a stone
For the times they are a -changin’ —Bob Dylan.

If Covid-19 has yielded one major positive, it’s the way in which government and the hospitality industry now interact.

It’s improved. Considerably.

Bar Bites

Cocktails to go wherever you do

June 14, 2021 No Comments

The first pandemic summer introduced the “walk-tail” and propelled the already booming RTD market to new heights. This summer promises to offer even more exciting portable pops to go. Here are three new products to toss in your backpack.

Vancouver Cocktail Week

Mark your calendars for Vancouver Cocktail Week 2022

June 12, 2021 No Comments

Don’t you think it’s time to have some fun? We sure do! And that’s why we’re hard at work planning the first ever Vancouver Cocktail Week, presented by The Alchemist magazine, to be held March 6 through 9, 2022.

The festivities will kick off with the Punch Brunch, a reprise of the successful event held in January 2020 at Botanist at the Fairmont Pacific Rim. It featured a gourmet five-course brunch created by chef Hector Laguna and paired with cocktails crafted by five of Vancouver’s top bartenders: Sean McGuigan, Sabrine Dhaliwal, Katie Ingram, Jeff Savage, and Amber Bruce.

Bar Bites

Sip and support the BCHF

June 11, 2021 No Comments

Even before the pandemic devastated bars, restaurants and the people who work in them, the BC Hospitality Foundation was there to help with scholarships and financial aid for those dealing with medical issues.

Now the BCHF has partnered with Univins and Spirits on a fundraiser that will quench both thirsts and financial needs.

Recipes

Strawberry Youth

June 10, 2021 No Comments

This fresh, floral and delightfully fizzy patio sipper was created by Grant Sceney, creative beverage director at the Fairmont Pacific Rim. Its name refers to a line in the Jeffree Star song Beauty Killer: “I got a sweet tooth and strawberry youth.”

• 3 strawberries, divided

• 1 oz Botanist Gin

• 0.75 oz Youth Cordial (see recipe below)

• 0.75 oz lemon juice

• 2.5 oz Champagne or other sparkling wine

The Alchemist

The Alchemist Spring/Summer 2021

June 9, 2021 No Comments

Photo courtesy of the
Fairmont Pacific Rim

After months and months of being cooped up at home, there’s one thing we know for sure: We’re going to be spending a lot more time outside this summer.

So in the Spring/Summer 2021 issue of the Alchemist, we celebrate the patio.

Summer of spritz

June 8, 2021 No Comments

Aperol is the bright, bittersweet taste of the season

The vibrant orange hue of an Aperol Spritz is as cheerful as a sunny day, its refreshing flavour as uplifting as happy hour itself.

The spritz combines effervescent Prosecco with bittersweet Aperol, an aperitif that is low in alcohol (only 11% ABV), but high in flavour. A subtler version of its cousin Campari, Aperol’s flavour derives from gentian, rhubarb, cinchona and other botanicals that whet the appetite and quench the thirst.