The Alchemist Magazine BC | B.C. Distilleries

Vancouver’s dearly departed haunted house-themed bar resurrected in North Van for Halloween

October 7, 2024 No Comments

The spirits have been scheming at the craft distillery

North Van’s Sons of Vancouver distillery has resurrected the short-lived Dark Manor Inn, the haunted house-themed bar that closed in 2019, for its 2024 Halloween celebrations. Photo courtesy of Sons of Vancouver

It’s alive! For the duration of spooky season, Vancouver’s dearly departed haunted house-themed cocktail bar has been resurrected as a pop-up experience at a popular craft distillery.

Sons of Vancouver has brought back The Dark Manor Inn, the quirky and short-lived cocktail bar that never made it to its first Halloween, by way of decor and inspired sips taken right from the late watering hole, which closed in the summer of 2019. (The Dark Manor, which was tied to Vancouver’s popular Shameful Tiki Room, ran out of a Fraser Street address that next became the Michelin Guide-endorsed Say Mercy! restaurant.)

Last Call

Great world bars we love: The Alice at The Randolph Hotel

September 20, 2024 No Comments

At The Alice, there are delightful surprises around every corner. Photo courtesy Graduate Hotels

Touches of Wonderland can be found throughout Oxford. The centuries-old city has long been home to some of the world’s top minds, yet it also fully embraces the playful madness of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. The book’s author, Lewis Carroll (born Charles Lutwidge Dodgson), was a mathematician at Oxford University and touches of the city and its people made their way into his work. Now, nearly 130 years after Alice was first published, the city pays back that love in kind by incorporating Carroll’s work into its culture.

A good cocktail bar should feel like stepping through the looking glass and that’s exactly you will experience at The Alice, located inside the historic Randolph Hotel, a building as old as the story itself.

Home Bar

Piña Colada Punch (with a barrel-aged variation)

September 13, 2024 No Comments

In the clarified milk punch below, the lime juice and bitters create deeper layers of flavour, complementing the pineapple and rum. Note that you can adjust the recipe to your own taste; just make sure to preserve the ratio of 4:1 punch to whole milk.

Home Bar

Sip clearly now

September 13, 2024 No Comments

With clarified cocktails, both the process and the result are a little bit magical

The process of clarifying this Piña Colada Punch creates both smooth texture and visual intrigue. Matthew Benevoli photos

Clarifying cocktails may seem like a modern technique, but it actually dates to 1700s England, when milk punches were batched in large quantities in advance of parties.

Have Glass Will Travel

Where to Drink in Hong Kong Right Now

September 7, 2024 No Comments

The Aubrey, named number 10 in Asia’s Best Bars 2024, has expansive 25th-floor views of the harbour. Photo courtesy of Hong Kong Tourist Board

Asia is one of the world’s hottest bar scenes, and Hong Kong is one of its hotspots — and home to the recently named number 1 in Asia’s Best Bars 2024. If you’re lucky enough to be staying at a hotel in the waterside Central ’hood, here’s what an epic cocktail crawl up the city’s escalators, stairs and levels might look like.

The Alchemist

Martinis and masterclasses

September 3, 2024 No Comments

At TOCC, industry insiders get a taste of top trends

Toronto Cocktail Conference took place at The Drake Hotel August 12 and 13, 2024. Ashley Senja photo

Toronto Cocktail Conference (TOCC) powered through its fifth edition in August, drawing bartenders to Toronto’s The Drake Hotel from far-flung places to exchange ideas, build community and to drink in plenty of education and tasting (including the world’s best Martini!).

Features

Spirits in da house

August 30, 2024 No Comments

How the rotovap is creating a flavour revolution

A rotovap is used to separate out compounds to create flavour-packed extracts from raw ingredients. iStock/Getty Images Plus/ surasak petchang photo

The first cocktail I had the pleasure of trying in the recently revamped Library Bar at Toronto’s Fairmont Royal York was the Sacred Beast, a spirit-forward lowball made with bourbon, mezcal, verjus, lapsang souchong tea and habanero.

Before you get to sip, though, the drink puts on a little show. Atop the glass is a slate coaster that entirely covers the cocktail and supports a small nest of steel wool that the bartender ignites to create a “cinnamon explosion”—sparks sprinting through the threads to create a mini-pyrotechnic display and a puff of baking spice smoke.

The Alchemist

Local lawyers open distillery in Richmond

August 22, 2024 No Comments

Lawyer Kyla Lee’s Nookum gin honours her Métis heritage

A new vodka and gin distillery opens in Richmond. Deep Blue Distilleries photo

A new vodka and gin distillery has opened right next to a law firm in Richmond, and it’s no coincidence.

Tasting Panel

’Tini talks

August 22, 2024 No Comments

The best gin for Martinis, according to the experts

iStock/Getty Images Plus/ Mustafa Bugra Celik photo

Was it bartender Jerry Thomas, at San Francisco’s Occidental Hotel in the 1860s or was it Tartini di Taggia at New York’s Knickerbocker Hotel in 1911 who invented the Martini? And is it a 5:1 ratio of gin to dry vermouth or equal parts that is the correct recipe these days?

While it seems that the Martini’s origins and recipe are, well, mixed, few cocktails rival the Martini in its ability to showcase the intricate nuances of a spirit, with each ingredient playing a crucial role in crafting the perfect sip. From the classic dry Martini, with its clean, bracing profile, to innovative twists incorporating a spectrum of botanicals and garnishes, gin Martinis provide a platform for both convention and creativity.

We recently chatted with our panel of industry experts to see what gin they’re currently drinking and their preferred Martini specs. The tasting panel for this edition features Evelyn Chick, Chantelle Gabino and Dash Tume from Toronto, Ontario, and Soren Schepkowski, Zoe Bates and Robyn Gray, from Vancouver, B.C.

Recipes

Gin Martinez

August 21, 2024 No Comments

Recipe by Robyn Gray (@robynagray)

• 1.5 oz Copperpenny 005 Social Project Gin
• 1.5 oz Cinzano Rosso Vermouth
• 0.25 oz Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
• 3 dashes Angostura Orange Bitters
• Garnish: orange twist