Just when you thought bitters companies had created every flavour imaginable for your cocktail-drinking enjoyment, The Japanese Bitters comes along to wake up your palate with something completely new.
A taste of Japan
The glassware we’ve been waiting for
Here at The Alchemist, we have a bit of a glassware problem. I mean, who can resist a cute coupe or an elegant Nick & Nora or a perfectly cut rocks glass? Not us.
Boozy books for exploring the world
We’re not travelling very far these days, so let these new cocktail books take you on a global adventure this winter
Spirits of Latin America: A Celebration of Culture & Cocktails, with 100 Recipes from Leyenda & Beyond, by Ivy Mix (Potter/Ten Speed/Harmony/Rodale, $33.99)
In this beautifully photographed book, the multi-award-winning co-founder of Speed Rack takes our palates on a spicy journey through Mexico, the Caribbean, Chile, Peru and Bolivia, with a stop at her own Brooklyn bar, Leyenda.
Spirits of the season
Sip, celebrate, share and make merry this winter
Cocktail collab at Botanist
Botanist Bar in the Fairmont Pacific Rim has a holiday gift for cocktail lovers: an avant garde, off-menu cocktail and food pairing experience that celebrates the flavours of the Pacific Northwest.
It’s a collaboration between head bartender Jeff Savage, Canada’s Bartender of the Year 2020, and executive chef Hector Laguna. Together, this talented team will take guests on a wild flavour journey. “This one is very specific to what I love about the Pacific Northwest; it’s five savoury courses and one dessert course,” says Savage. “My cocktails are a love letter to Canada—
a love letter to the beautiful nature around us.”
Sugar and spice and all things tiki
Now you can make tropical cocktails at home almost as good as the ones at The Shameful Tiki Room, which was recently named the 2020 Nightclub & Bar Awards’ Best Tiki Bar in North America.
Pantone Colour of 2020 distilled into a true blue cocktail
Each year, the experts at the Pantone Color Institute pick a hue that they believe will best represent the year ahead; for 2020, the Colour of the Year is PANTONE 19-4052 Classic Blue, a deep blue that is at once classic, comforting and contemporary, evocative of both the dusk sky and the deep sea.
Distillery guide captures Canada’s spirited revolution
Another day, it seems another distillery opens in Canada. But that didn’t stop Davin de Kergommeaux, the award-winning author of Canadian Whisky, from trying to capture them all in a new book. Consider it barley- and juniper-scented lightning in a bottle.
JOEY’s Jungle Bird
In this updated tropical classic, Campari is swapped out for subtler Aperol.
• 1.5 oz Appleton Estate Signature Blend rum (formerly Appleton Estate V/X)
• 0.5 oz Aperol
• 0.5 oz lime juice
• 1.5 oz pineapple juice
• 0.5 oz cane or simple syrup
• Garnish: Fresh lime wheel
Drink like a critic with this new tour
If you’re going to Dine Like A Critic, you’d better drink like one, too.
Alexandra Gill is perhaps best known as the long-time Vancouver restaurant critic for The Globe and Mail, but she is also the new editor of Canada’s Best Bars. So it’s no surprise that she has put cocktail pairings on the menu of her new luxury food tour company.
Cosy up with a good read
Whether you’re looking for a new recipe or a great gift, these boozy books have you covered
Canadian Spirits: The Essential Cross-country Guide to Distilleries, Their Spirits and Where to Imbibe Them by Stephen Beaumont and Christine Sismondo (Nimbus Publishing, $29.95)
Two of Canada’s top spirits writers have compiled a comprehensive guide to the assortment of hooch produced from coast to coast to coast in this country. This is the essential book about the industry’s history and its future, covering more than 160 producers ranging from the behemoth Hiram-Walker in Windsor, Ontario, to Vancouver’s tiny Odd Society Spirits. Available October 31.