The Alchemist Magazine BC | B.C. Distilleries

It’s Toronto’s time

July 7, 2025 No Comments

World Class Cocktail Festival set to shake up the city—and the country—this September

Kate Chernoff (centre) accepts the trophy for World Class Canada 2025 Bartender of the Year, surrounded by previous winners. Photos courtesy of World Class Canada

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.

At the bar

Bar Gobo’s vinyl vibe

July 4, 2025 No Comments

The Chinatown wine bar rebrands as a hi-fi joint, and we are so there for it

At Bar Gobo, chef Ralph Cavallo’s menu features Filipino-inspired bites like these butsi with chicken liver and guava jam. Hakan Burcuoglu photo

For Paul McCloskey, running what might be Vancouver’s first dedicated vinyl-only hi-fi wine bar is something of a full-circle moment.

Bar Bites

Toronto Cocktail Festival set to shake up the Six

July 3, 2025 No Comments

TCF promises to be a destination event for cocktail lovers. Living Room Creative photo

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.

Bar Bites

Cocktails to go, go, go

June 30, 2025 No Comments

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

June 27, 2025 No Comments

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

Bar Bites

Aw, shucks for this umami moment

June 23, 2025 No Comments

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

June 20, 2025 No Comments

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

Bar Bites

Spritz up your summer

June 16, 2025 No Comments

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.

At the bar

Behind the curtain

June 13, 2025 No Comments

Cry Baby Gallery is a locals hangout that really is all about the art of the cocktail

At Cry Baby Gallery, the Zombie returns from near-death with an elevated twist. Rick O’Brien photo

“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.

The Alchemist

B.C. craft distillers seize the moment

June 9, 2025 No Comments

In April, B.C.’s craft distillers launched a petition on change.org to get the province’s craft sprits into government liquor stores, with a plea to: “Join the movement to demand fairness, fuel B.C.’s economy, and give authentic local spirits the respect they deserve. Raise your voice, raise your elbows, and let’s make some noise!”