The Alchemist Magazine BC | B.C. Distilleries

Canada’s winningest whiskies

January 16, 2026 No Comments

J.P. Wiser’s 24 Year Old takes top prize at the 16^th annual Canadian Whisky Awards

Photo courtesy of Canadian Whisky Awards

Davin de Kergommeaux founded the Canadian Whisky Awards in 2010 to boost the awareness and quality of our homegrown spirit, announcing the winners each January during the annual Victoria Whisky Festival.

Sixteen years later, as he prepares to hand the awards over to a new generation of whisky lovers, he describes the state of Canadian whisky as “diverse and robust,” and says: “Canadian distillers are doing stuff that was unheard of even 16 years ago. What we have is something really exciting and really Canadian.”

Features

Peat & pot stills

January 16, 2026 No Comments

Think you know Irish whiskey? Diverse styles and new distilleries are defying the stereotypes

Cork’s Shelbourne Bar is a must for whiskey lovers,
with a menu that offers more than 500 options, all from Ireland. Photos courtesy of Shelbourne Bar

Ireland’s southern “second city” of Cork has many things going for it, including an easy walkability, a perhaps surprisingly impressive culinary scene and more than a brewery or two of note. For anyone with an interest in Irish whiskey, however, without question its top attraction is the Shelbourne Bar.

Features

Dirty sodas, clean profits

January 9, 2026 No Comments

Life is sweet these days for a Kelowna-based syrup maker

At the Simps Modern Beverage shop in Kelowna, customers can find more than 70 syrups and other products—and they can craft their own dirty sodas just for fun, too. Photo courtesy of Simps Modern Beverage

The day I stop by Simps Modern Beverage, located in an industrial part of Kelowna, everything is in cheerful chaos. Customers mill around the tiny shop, which is in the process of a makeover; behind the scenes, a small team is furiously packing boxes, answering calls, taking deliveries and sending even more of them out the door, everyone apparently doing at least three things at once.

Recipes

How to make a dirty soda

January 8, 2026 No Comments

iStock / Getty Images Plus / MurzikNata photo

Making a dirty soda is less about following a recipe than it is about assembling the soda, syrup, cream (or creamer) and other add-ins to your own taste. But this is a good place to start. And if you do feel like breaking the rules and adding a shot of vodka or other spirits, we promise not to tell.

Home Bar

Hot buttered rum

December 19, 2025 No Comments

The perfect sipper for sweater weather

Hot toddies and hot buttered rum are the warming drinks we crave in cool weather—and easier to make than you might think. Matthew Benevoli photo

As the weather shifts from warm to cold and dewy mornings turn frosty, we all look for ways to stay warm and cozy. Sometimes we grab a sweater or fuzzy blanket, but this year why not try hot buttered rum?

I normally gravitate towards drinks in my comfort zone, like a hot toddy, mulled wine or hot apple cider; however, it’s fun to branch out, venture into new territory and explore other options. Often associated with the winter holidays, hot buttered rum can easily be enjoyed throughout the year. Its blend of baking spices, brown sugar, vanilla, hot water, rum and (you guessed it) butter creates a rich, velvety and whimsical cocktail to warm you to the core and bring a smile to your face.

Recipes

Hot Buttered Rum

December 18, 2025 No Comments

Note: Feel free to experiment with white, gold or spiced rum, and to tweak the overall recipe to taste.

Recipes

Hot Toddy

December 17, 2025 No Comments

According to cocktail historian David Wondrich: “The hot toddy was the original way single-malt scotches were consumed as they were considered to be ‘lesser quality’ whisky in contrast to the art of blended scotch.”

Features

Storied drinks

December 12, 2025 No Comments

Narrative-driven cocktail menus don’t just list drinks, they tell a story of place

At Vancouver’s Prophecy Bar, the menu includes cocktails like the Souvenir, which comes with a personal story that has universal relevance. Maggie Lam photo

This summer at Cry Baby Gallery, a cocktail bar hidden behind a small art gallery in Toronto’s Little Portugal, the menu took a new direction—from minimalism to maximalism.

Once a sparse and straightforward list with a dozen cocktails, the menu at Cry Baby is now a 22-page nostalgia trip rooted in analog-era Toronto. It borrows its format from the Yellow Pages, an artifact that is described on the menu as sort of a pre-digital influencer. Each drink is tied to a fictional business of days gone by—psychics, martial arts studios, modelling agencies and others—to build out an imagined community and history.

News

Alchemy in a Bottle: Copperpenny Distilling Co. Sweeps Global Gin Awards

December 9, 2025 No Comments

The North Vancouver craft distillery earned three prestigious medals for its rare Lost Horizon Rare Tea Gin and the soon-to-be-released Ember BC Pine Smoked Gin at a blind tasting competition in London.

Photo courtesy of Copperpenny Distilling

North Vancouver’s vibrant craft spirits scene just received a major gold infusion. Copperpenny Distilling Co. has achieved a remarkable feat by winning an unprecedented triple gold at The Spirits Business Global Gin Masters 2025 in London, England. This prestigious blind-tasting competition, viewed as one of the world’s most highly regarded, recognized the distillery’s deep commitment to innovative, world-class spirits.

At the bar

Spirits, spice and everything nice

December 8, 2025 No Comments

At the Indian-French fusion Peya, Chris Enns mixes up an irresistible cocktail

At Peya, influences from France and India flavour both the food and cocktails like this Curry Gibson, garnished with a masala-inflused pearl onion. Roxanne Mailloux photo

On an unassuming corner of East Hastings Street near Victoria Drive sits one of Vancouver’s most exciting and underrated cocktail lists.

It’s here, at the Indian-French restaurant Peya, that award-winning bartender Chris Enns works his singular magic. Peya, which debuted in the base of a brand-new East Vancouver housing development, has been quietly and humbly serving the neighbourhood since it first opened its doors in March. But Vancouverites from other neighbourhoods should take note: This cocktail menu is worth a pilgrimage.

J.P. Wiser’s 24 Year Old takes top prize at the 16th annual Canadian Whisky Awards

Think you know Irish whiskey? Diverse styles and new distilleries are defying the stereotypes

Life is sweet these days for a Kelowna-based syrup maker

The perfect sipper for sweater weather

Note: Feel free to experiment with white, gold or spiced rum, and to tweak the overall recipe to taste.

According to cocktail historian David Wondrich: “The hot toddy was the original way single-malt scotches were consumed as they were considered to be ‘lesser quality’ whisky in contrast to the art of blended scotch.”

Narrative-driven cocktail menus don’t just list drinks, they tell a story of place

The North Vancouver craft distillery earned three prestigious medals for its rare Lost Horizon Rare Tea Gin and the soon-to-be-released Ember BC Pine Smoked Gin at a blind tasting competition in London.

At the Indian-French fusion Peya, Chris Enns mixes up an irresistible cocktail

J.P. Wiser’s 24 Year Old takes top prize at the 16^th annual Canadian Whisky Awards