| The Alchemist

Pip-pip for Pimm’s

April 30, 2018 No Comments

The traditional British cocktail to serve at your next garden party or royal wedding do

The first time I had Pimm’s Cup, I was in the Costwolds, visiting friends of friends, and I was baffled. Why, I wondered, were these nice strangers handing me what appeared to be a glass filled with fruit salad and cola?

Little did I know that Pimm’s is a grand British tradition like double decker buses, cream teas and cricket whites. And as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle head to the altar on May 19 for the first of this year’s two royal weddings (the other is Princess Eugenie’s nuptials on Oct. 12), it seemed like a good time to revisit this classic English cocktail.

Features

Order up

April 17, 2018 No Comments

How to get the right drink in a bar

At Coquille Fine Seafood, Shaun Layton has created a light, bright, classic-based bar list. Order accordingly. Dan Toulgoet photo

You’re thirsty. There’s a bar full of things to drink. You’d think nothing would be simpler than quenching your thirst, right? Not so fast.

We’ve all had those disappointing cocktails that left us wondering what went wrong. That’s because there’s an art to ordering a drink, a good drink at least, and it’s both simple and complex.

On the Town

A fitting formula

February 19, 2018 No Comments

Science of Cocktails shakes things up at Science World

The Clough Club’s Andrea Civettini won the cocktail competition at Science of Cocktails at Science World on Feb. 8, 2018. Science of Cocktails photo.

A sign outside the Science of Cocktails at Science World on Feb. 8, 2018. Joanne Sasvari photo.

Bartender and Diageo World Class Canada 2014 winner Grant Sceney at the VIP Lounge at Science of Cocktails 2018. Joanne Sasvari photo.

Bartender J-S Dupuis at Science of Cocktails 2018. Joanne Sasvari photo.

Bartender Kevin Brownlee at Science of Cocktails 2018. Joanne Sasvari photo.

Bartender Colin MacDougall at Science of Cocktails 2018. Joanne Sasvari photo.

With a puff of dry ice, the 2018 edition of Science of Cocktails has proven once again that physics, chemistry and thermodynamics are as important in your glass as the spirits and bitters.

Bartenders from all over Vancouver, as well as Calgary, Toronto, Halifax and Las Vegas, headed over to Science World last week to put their skills to the acid test.

The Alchemist

Canada’s best artisan spirits announced

February 6, 2018 No Comments

Sheringham Akvavit named Canadian Artisan Spirit of the Year

B.C., which is home to almost 45 per cent of Canada’s artisan distilleries, took home the greatest number of awards, including the Artisan Spirit of the Year: Sheringham Distillery Akvavit. Lucy-Kate Armstrong photo

One hundred and seventy-five. That’s a lot of spirits to taste, especially when they range from akvavit to amaro to apple brandy.

But throughout December 2017, that just what I and seven other spirits experts from coast to coast did, sniffing, swirling, sipping and occasionally spitting, as we judged the inaugural Canadian Artisan Spirits Awards.

Features

Smooth Operator

January 29, 2018 No Comments

The Sidecar cocktail is a sophisticated, classy concoction, so why is it so often overlooked?

Ritz Paris bartender Frank Meier may have invented the Sidecar in 1923. Ritz Paris photo.

The Sidecar is one of the great Prohibition-era classics, a boozy-but-vibrant three-ingredient cocktail that fulfills our desire for both the depth of brown spirits and the bright acidity of citrus. It should be a rock star among cocktails, yet where Old Fashioneds, tiki drinks and even the horrible Gimlet have made their comebacks, the Sidecar has somehow eluded its just recognition amid the modern cocktail revival.

It’s time for that to change.

The Alchemist

A kinder, gentler cocktail culture

January 23, 2018 No Comments

Legendary bartender Jim Meehan, author of *Meehan’s Bartender Manual*. Contributed photo.

Legendary bartender Jim Meehan envisions a future where humanity is as important as the craft.

It’s not about the fancy glassware, or the high-tech centrifuge, or the exotic, impossible-to-source-spirit, not any more. It’s all about the people.

“Now that it’s no longer an arms race to assemble the cocktail, the other things matter more,” says Jim Meehan.

The Alchemist

Whisky raid leaves shelves empty, bar owners stunned

January 22, 2018 No Comments

Provincial liquor inspectors remove bottles of whisky from Fets Whisky Kitchen in Vancouver. Fets Whisky Kitchen photo.

It’s the story that everyone in the BC booze industry is buzzing about: On Jan. 18, the provincial government conducted four simultaneous Prohibition-style raids on establishments in Victoria, Nanaimo and Vancouver and confiscated tens of thousands of dollars worth of liquor.

Their target? Bottles of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society’s unique (and expensive) whiskies.

Their reasoning? Although the bottles were shipped to B.C. under proper channels and all appropriate taxes paid, the licensees bought them through private retailers instead of government stores, which is not allowed.

The Alchemist

From vermouth to high volume: Cocktail trends for 2018

December 29, 2017 No Comments

Some of Vancouver’s top bartenders give their thoughts on what’ll be hot next year

Glass straws will be seen more widely as bars strive toward more sustainable practices. The Last Straw Co. photo

Raise your glass to the end of 2017, a year that brought us one disaster after another, from raging wildfires to the near-daily perp walk of sexual predators. Between all that and the inescapability of frosé, it’s a year we’re mostly happy to forget.

And so we look forward to 2018. We checked in with some of the city’s top bartenders to discover what’s shaking for the New Year.

Home Bar, The Alchemist

The secret ingredient to a knockout party punch

December 15, 2017 No Comments

When life gives you lemons, add finesse to your festive fizz with oleo saccharum

All you need to make oleo saccharum, the secret ingredient that will take Champagne punch and other cocktails from merely good to simply extraordinary. Photo: Joanne Sasvari

The holiday season cries out for festive bubbles, for brunch-time mimosas and kir royales, for corks flying at midnight, for French 75s and Champagne cocktails just about any time.

But of all the bubbly concoctions, there is no more festive fizz than a grand Champagne punch.

Home Bar, Recipes, The Alchemist

Holiday Champagne Punch

December 14, 2017 No Comments

This festive elixir will happily serve a crowd. Just remember the golden rule of punch: The party isn’t over until the bowl is empty.

2 cups (500 mL) brandy
16 dashes Angostura bitters
½ to ¾ cup (125 to 180 mL) oleo saccharum (see method below)
2 bottles sparkling wine such as cava or Champagne