Canada's only magazine dedicated to distillers, spirits and cocktail culture.
If you love local spirits, mark your calendar for the most important event of the year: the sixth annual BC Distilled festival, which will be held April 6 at Vancouver’s Croatian Cultural Centre.
The wood wowed them. It seems the judges at the ninth annual Canadian Whisky Awards were impressed by what a little extra barrel-aging can accomplish, naming Bearface Triple Oak Best New Whisky, and awarding it a gold medal for excellence as well.
• 1.5 oz aged rum such as Mount Gay Eclipse
• 0.5 oz Cointreau
• 1.5 oz orgeat
• 1 oz lime juice
Since the beginning of January, Canada’s bartenders have been perfecting their recipes, practising their techniques and preparing for their moment in the spotlight at the Diageo World Class Canada cocktail competition.
On March 1, 13 bartenders from Eastern Canada and 13 from the West made it through to the Regional Finals, which will be held in Toronto and Calgary in late March. From there, five winners from East and West will go on to the National Final in June. The winner of that event will compete in the global final of the world’s biggest, most prestigious bartending competition, which will be held in Glasgow at the end of September.
The 11th edition of B.C.’s only magazine dedicated to cocktail and spirits culture brightens the season with a taste of the tropics.
For the second year in a row, a small-batch spirit from British Columbia is the Canadian Artisan Spirit of the Year. Last year, it was Sheringham Distillery’s Akvavit. This year Monashee Spirits Ethos Gin from Revelstoke was not only the best-in-class Canadian gin, but scored highest of any entry in the entire competition.
• 2 oz Monashee Spirits Ethos Gin infused with Butterfly Pea flowers (color changing gin)
• 0.5 oz Maraschino Cherry Liqueur
• 0.25 oz Lavender Simple Syrup
• 0.25 oz Fresh Lemon juice
There was ice and fire, CO2 and NO2, test tubes and copper tubing and all sorts of mysterious gadgets. Most of all, there was great food and drink in support of an even greater cause.
The city’s top bartenders gathered in February at Telus World of Science for the fourth annual Science of Cocktails event, where they demonstrated the myriad ways science contributes to cocktail culture.
Heading to the Diageo Reserve World Class Canada 2019 regional final competitions at the end of March are the following bartenders:
While Sheringham Distillery’s new Red Fife Whisky is winning prizes in Canada, its original Seaside Gin is picking them up across the pond. The seaweed-infused spirit just took home the prize for Best Contemporary Gin at the World Gin Awards in London, UK.