Coast-to-coast cocktails for Canada Day

Vancouver mixologists are blending the best of our national ingredients for party drinks this July 1

A Mari Usque Ad Mare, created by L’Abattoir’s Katie Ingram for Canada 150. Amy Ho Photo

A long weekend of fireworks and barbecues, sparklers and fluttering Maple Leaf flags stretches ahead of us. Happy 150th birthday, Canada! Now, let’s celebrate.

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Fire up the fizz for patio season

These soda-charged sours are what you should be drinking this summer

A fizz made with ginger beer instead of soda water, at Le Logis in the Cognac region of France. Joanne Sasvari photo

Some of Europe’s most talented bartenders are lounging around the swimming pool at Le Logis, the 16th-century chateau in France’s Cognac region that Grey Goose calls home.

It is hot – the mercury hovering around 30 C – and humid, with thunderstorms threatening to break later on.

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Why bourbon’s hot this summer

Matt Jones, Beam Suntory whiskey ambassador and bourbon specialist. Beam Suntory photo

Mark your calendars for June 14, National Bourbon Day. Not that we need a special day to enjoy the rich, sweet taste of this all-American whiskey, but hey, any excuse will do just fine.

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Canada’s new cocktail queen

Diageo World Class winner Kaitlyn Stewart brings her cool consistency to the global stage

Kaitlyn Stewart, bar manager at Vancouver’s Royal Dinette, is the 2017 winner of Diageo’s World Class Canada.
Fred Fung/Royal Dinette photo

If there were any lingering doubts that Vancouver has become a world-class cocktail city, Kaitlyn Stewart has just laid them to rest.

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Slush fun with frozen cocktails

The Wildebeest Slurpee. Contributed photo

Who hasn’t wasted a hot summer afternoon knocking back frozen margaritas on a sunny patio somewhere? It’s almost a rite of passage. But it isn’t, generally speaking, a quality drinking experience.

Or at least it didn’t used to be.

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All hail the Empress’ new reign

Victoria’s grande dame gets a makeover with a sexy new bar and a truly royal namesake gin

The new Q Bar at the Fairmont Hotel Empress in Victoria, BC. Fairmont Hotel Empress photo

The gin is sky blue – that’s right, blue – and it has a delicate floral aroma. Add a little tonic water, though, and it magically turns a beautiful royal purple.

“It’s spectacular, isn’t it? It goes from that nice blue, then you pour the tonic in there, it swirls around, and you get that nice pink colour,” says Peter Hunt, president of Victoria Distillers. “It’s certainly something fun for bartenders and mixologists to play with.”

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You go, girl

Sexual harassment, Speed Rack and the realities of being a woman bartender

Ada Coleman, head bartender of The American Bar at the Savoy in London from 1903 to 1926. Contributed photo

You’ve come a long way, baby – or have you?

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Botanist stirs things up

With its own cocktail lab, this new bar is set to launch an era of innovation in Vancouver

Creative beverage director Grant Sceney with a Vancouver #2. Dan Toulgoet photo

Bored with the same old watering holes? Well, you’re in luck, because Botanist is getting ready to shake up Vancouver’s cocktail scene.

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