Sure, you could enjoy cocktails alone in your back yard. Or you could join the crowds having fun at these great events here at home and abroad over the next few months.

Deighton Cup

Don your fancy chapeaux and hoist your glasses! The ponies hit the track once again on July 21 for the 10th annual Deighton Cup at Hastings Racecourse. Some 5,000 people gather at the track to gamble on the ponies while enjoying swish fashion, buckets of bubbly, fine cigars, gourmet cuisine and, of course, cocktails. The event includes an annual mixology competition, plus sweet summer sippers to enjoy trackside. deightoncup.com

Tales of the Cocktail

The world’s premier cocktail festival takes place in New Orleans July 17 to 22, with the coveted Spirited Awards announced on July 21. Expect seminars, tastings, networking opportunities, special events and, of course, plenty of cocktails. This is the world’s biggest and most important gathering of bartenders, distillers, brand reps and other spirits industry professionals, who meet annually in this great cocktail city to exchange new ideas, products and techniques. Will you be joining them? talesofthecocktail.org

Art of the Cocktail

The Alchemist is pleased to sponsor Western Canada’s most important cocktail festival Oct. 13 in beautiful downtown Victoria. Some 900 attendees will gather at the Grand Tasting to sip and sample cocktails and products from 40 exhibitors pouring more than 60 spirits. Plus there will be masterclasses, guided tastings, and more fun than you can shake a cobbler at. Note that this is a fundraiser for the Victoria Film Festival, as well as an opportunity to learn from the pros and enjoy the vibrant cocktail scene of B.C.’s capital city. artofthecocktail.ca

Toronto Cocktail Week

Get your kicks in the Six this fall: Toronto Cocktail Week is back! After a five-year hiatus, the six-day festival of all things boozy returns Oct. 16 to 21, bringing together bars, brands and bartenders—as well as consumers, of course—to celebrate the city’s evolving cocktail scene. Now owned by St. Joseph Media, the latest incarnation of TCW will be shaking things up with a neighbourhood-focused bar guide, themed gala events, guided tours and a downtown TCW18 headquarters programmed with seminars and a nightly pop-up bar hosted by guest bartenders from across Canada. torontococktailweek.ca