Flying Home
It’s Toronto’s time
World Class Cocktail Festival set to shake up the city—and the country—this September
The World Class Cocktail Festival, to be held August 16 to October 3 across Canada, promises to be one of the biggest and best parties this country has ever seen.
“Our ambition is to give the World Class Global Final a Canadian feel even though it will be centred in Toronto,” says Michael Armistead, who oversees the World Class Canada Bartending Competition as National Onpremise, Reserve and Sponsorship Manager at Diageo Canada.
Bar Gobo’s vinyl vibe
The Chinatown wine bar rebrands as a hi-fi joint, and we are so there for it
For Paul McCloskey, running what might be Vancouver’s first dedicated vinyl-only hi-fi wine bar is something of a full-circle moment.
Toronto Cocktail Festival set to shake up the Six
The Alchemist magazine team has had so much fun hosting Vancouver Cocktail Week, we’re bringing the good times to Toronto. This fall, we’re launching the first annual Toronto Cocktail Festival, to be held October 22 to 26, 2025.
Cocktails to go, go, go
Summertime means camping and picnics and lounging in the back yard—or the back country. Now you can bring your favourite cocktails with you, thanks to the folks at Yeti.
B.C. summer distillery guide
Enjoy summer with these Canadian-distilled spirits
Copper Spirit Distillery
Verity Rye Spirit
40% ABV, $55 (750 ml)
Our unaged rye spirit is an aromatic and flavourful expression made with 100% organic B.C. rye grain. A perfect gift for the curious spirits collector.
World’s Best Grain Spirit (2024)
“Cleanly distilled with a fine grain character that is both complex and enticing. Berries with a touch of stone fruit join on the palate, along with a little amaretto nuttiness. A lovely, balanced digestif.”
Available at our distillery, select private liquor stores, and at copperspirit.ca
Aw, shucks for this umami moment
Umami, the savoury so-called fifth taste after sweet, sour, salty and bitter, is having a moment in the world of drink. Think Dirty Martinis, whisky made with mushrooms, gin with savoury herbs and olives, or cocktails shaken with miso, saline or soy sauce.
Now distillers are turning to the sea for what might be our favourite umami-rich ingredient yet: the oyster.
Ontario summer distillery guide
Taste these Canadian-distilled spirits and explore distilleries around the province this summer
John Sleeman & Sons
Rye Whisky
40% ABV, $44.95 (750 ml)
Our Rye Whisky is a masterfully crafted blended spirit that highlights the characteristics of classic Canadian rye. Comprised of corn whisky aged in mature American oak as well as rye whisky aged in first fill American oak, this blend also features Rye Whisky matured in new Canadian oak, which lends to a layered sipping experience rich in character from start to finish.
Available in the LCBO, Manitoba, select stores in B.C., and for delivery online any time at johnsleemanandsons.com
Spritz up your summer
Summertime and the living is lazy, or at least it should be. So when it comes to our favourite cocktails of the season, we not only crave something light and thirst-quenching, we also want it to take as little effort as possible, but maybe just a bit more effort than cracking open an RTD.
Enter the spritz. The Aperol spritz has been ubiquitous for more years than we like to count; last year, summer was all about the Hugo spritz, which is made with elderflower liqueur rather than Aperol.
Behind the curtain
Cry Baby Gallery is a locals hangout that really is all about the art of the cocktail
“Locals only” is a phrase invented specifically for places like Toronto’s Cry Baby Gallery. An urban hangout that embodies the metropolitan culture of its city, just far enough from the hustle and bustle that the average tourist is likely not to venture. Here’s a place that has grown from the streets up, like a flower through a crack in the sidewalk. Passersby might think Cry Baby is no more than an art gallery, but tucked behind a curtain in the gallery’s far left is a gritty, dim, yet warmly lit cocktail den with exposed brick and a bar-top long enough to accommodate a sizable chunk of Toronto’s drinking population.