The Alchemist Magazine BC | B.C. Distilleries

BC Distilled and Artisan Distilleries Partner for PADS Fundraiser

May 13, 2021 No Comments

Proceeds from special bottles to benefit Pacific Assistance Dogs Society

Pacific Assistance Dogs Society (PADS) breeds, raises and trains fully certified assistance dogs for individuals with mobility and hearing disabilities and PTSD. Photo courtesy of PADS

BC Distilled—Canada’s largest spirits festival devoted exclusively to local artisan distilleries—remains on hiatus until 2022. But in the meantime, its organizers have partnered with five of the province’s top artisan distilleries to benefit a cause that has long been dear to their hearts.

Beginning Saturday, May 15, and for one month only, five limited-edition spirits will be made available exclusively from each participating distillery. $45 from each bottle sale will go directly to Pacific Assistance Dogs Society (PADS), which breeds, raises and trains fully certified assistance dogs for individuals with mobility and hearing disabilities and PTSD.

The Alchemist

Breaking Bread goes behind the plexi

May 8, 2021 No Comments

St. Lawrence #3 by Luis Valdizon. Photo courtesy of Breaking Bread Now

The hospitality industry has been among the hardest hit by the pandemic. Now a new initiative is aiming to help those who’ve experienced employment setbacks due to COVID-19. Call it a photo finish to a brutal year.

The food service industry support hub Breaking Bread, in collaboration with restaurateur Brad Roark (Nook, Oddfish) has launched a photography fundraiser called “Beyond the Plexi” that will raise funds to directly help hospitality works whose careers have been affected by COVID-19.

Four local photographers (Wade Comer (@wadecomerphoto), Miranda Hudson (@hudsonny), William Luk (@mayowill) and Luis Valdizon (@whentheyfindus)) donated their time and skill to shoot images behind the scenes at 33 local restaurants.

Dynasty Seafood Restaurant by William Luk. Photo Courtesy of Breaking Bread Now

The limited-edition prints from those shoots are available for purchase at $200 apiece, with funds raised going to two scholarships, one via the BC Hospitality Foundation and the other through the Chinese Restaurant Awards scholarship at Vancouver Community College. The Chinese Restaurant Awards will also contribute $10 for every print sold from the collection of photos taken at Chinese and Taiwanese restaurants.

These beautiful images capture some of our favourite restaurants at this historic moment in time, and help those who need it most, too.

Prints are available to purchase until May 31 at breakingbreadnow.com/behind-the-plexi.

Recipes

Sangue di tigre

March 12, 2021 No Comments

Recipe courtesy of bartender Daniel Dominguez, bar manager at Sopra Sotto.

• 1 oz Siete Misterios mezcal (Doba Yej)
• 1 oz Aperol
• 0.75 oz lime juice
• 0.25 oz simple syrup
• Ginger beer
• Dash of crème de cassis

The Alchemist

If the spirit moves you

March 5, 2021 No Comments

Celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8 by buying or drinking a woman-made spirit, such as these global brands that have women master blenders, distillers and more.

At Ron Zapaca in Guatemala, master blender Lorena Vasquez is credited for pioneering the a “solera” aging method in rum. Photo courtesy of Ron Zacapa

American whisky

Down in Tullahoma, Tennessee, master distiller Nicole Austin is shaking up the nearly 150-year-old George Dickel whiskey brand. One state north in Kentucky, although legendary Michter’s master distiller Pamela Heilmann retired in 2019, she passed the torch to master of maturation Andrea Wilson. At Woodford Reserve, Elizabeth McCall is the assistant master distiller, at Old Forester Jackie Zykan is master taster and Eboni Major is the master blender at Bulleit.

Last Call

Great world bars we love: The Aviary, Chicago

March 5, 2021 No Comments

The Aviary’s cocktail kitchen. Joanne Sasvari photo

From the outside, it doesn’t look like much. An awning over a discreet door in a West Loop industrial neighbourhood is the only sign that some of the world’s most exciting cocktails await. But step inside The Aviary, and it’s all subtle opulence, not that you can really tell because it’s so moodily lit.

Besides, your eyes are mesmerized by the team of mixologists hard at work behind the barred windows of the cocktail kitchen, as if captured in a sort of gilded cage.

Classics, Home Bar

5 drinks every home bartender should know how to make

February 26, 2021 No Comments

Our editor’s essential cocktails

An Old Fashioned is a classic cocktail every home bartender should know how to make. Getty images photo

Now that we’re all spending so much more time at home, this is a good opportunity to brush up on our home-bartending skills. That means learning at least a few recipes to serve to the people in your bubble and, eventually, all the many friends you’re making on Zoom.

The most important drink you should know how to make is the one you like best. That’s also the best advice for stocking your liquor cabinet, though for your sake I hope it’s something simple, like a highball, rather than, say, a Ramos Gin Fizz, which requires egg whites, orange blossom water and a seltzer bottle, among other things.

After that, it’s best to start with classics. They are, after all, classics for a reason—they taste good, and they work—but they are also a good place to start experimenting if you want to get creative. Here are five drinks every home bartender should have in their repertoire.

Classics, Recipes

Champagne cocktail

February 25, 2021 No Comments

One of the world’s oldest cocktails, this dates back to the mid-1800s. This recipe is part of The Alchemist‘s series of cocktails you should know.

• 1 sugar cube, preferably cane and brown
• 1 to 2 dashes Angostura bitters
• Splash of Cognac
• 3 oz Champagne or sparkling wine
• Garnish: lemon zest (optional)

Classics, Recipes

Bicicletta

February 24, 2021 No Comments

A classic Bicicletta. Getty Images photo

The way the story goes, this mid-20th-century drink was named for the elderly Italian men who swerved all over the road while cycling home after drinking in the local café. This recipe is part of The Alchemist‘s series of cocktails you should know.

• 2 oz Campari
• 1.5 to 2 oz dry white wine, preferably Italian
• Soda water
• Garnish: citrus slice (optional)

Classics, Recipes

Gibson

February 19, 2021 No Comments

This savoury take on the Martini dates back to late 1800s San Francisco. This recipe is part of The Alchemist‘s series of cocktails you should know.

• 2.5 oz gin or vodka
• 0.5 oz dry vermouth
• Garnish: 2 cocktail onions, skewered

Classics, Recipes

Margarita

February 18, 2021 No Comments

“Margarita” is Spanish for “daisy,” and this is likely a tequila-based 1930s variation on the even older drink of that name. This recipe is part of The Alchemist‘s series of cocktails you should know.

• 2 oz blanco tequila
• 1 oz orange liqueur such as Cointreau
• 1 oz freshly squeezed lime juice
• Garnish: Salted rim, optional lime wedge