Canada's only magazine dedicated to distillers, spirits and cocktail culture.
I spent 25 years in the hospitality business and during this time, I had the opportunity to taste thousands of wines from many different countries. Tasting so many styles and varieties allowed me to decipher nuances of quality in every type of wine. It was those years of tasting experience that worked in my favour when I was introduced to Japanese whisky for the very first time.
As Canadians, we don’t like to boast, but even so, Michael Armistead can’t help but be a little bit pleased.
A Canadian bartender, Keegan McGregor of Halifax’s Highwaymen Restaurant & Bar, has just won the World Class Global Bartender of the Year 2024 competition in Shanghai. That’s the fourth time Canada has won the planet’s biggest and most prestigious cocktail competition since this country started competing in 2013.
25% ABV, $39 (375 ml)
Visit our family-owned craft distillery tasting room in Penticton on the beautiful Naramata Bench. Get to know our locally inspired liqueurs, spirits, Genie Gin, and Lady of the Cask. Our Cherry Liqueur got the Best in Class award at the Canadian Artisan Spirit Competition 2024. South Okanagan sun-ripened cherries, distilled, and infused with Sour Cherries. Your easy summer treat for desserts or cocktails. Available at mapleleafspirits.ca.
On September 29, amid confetti and cheers, Toronto’s Jacob Martin became the World Class Global Bartender 2023, the third time a bartender from Canada—or any country—has won the world’s biggest, most prestigious cocktail competition. It’s an extraordinary accomplishment, and a fitting finale to Canada’s 10th year of competing in the event.
When B.C.-based importers Enoteca Bacco first approached the Nikka Whisky Distilling Co. to participate in Vancouver Cocktail Week, it was an immediate and enthusiastic “yes.”
“We wanted to create a unique experience … and add excitement for the people of Vancouver,” says Naomi Kamiyama, the global marketing and sales department representative for Nikka Whisky. “The first thing that came to mind was to bring one of our favourite bars, Bar Trench, to Vancouver. We also knew that The Keefer Bar is one of the most amazing bars in the world, and if these two fantastic bars could collaborate, their chemistry would deliver something memorable.”
At Raincity Distillery, founders Alex Mumm and Johnny Xu are bringing new, award-winning spirits to the mountain community of Squamish. Spirits flavoured with the delicate notes of tea and spring flowers, emboldened by the aromas of smoke and oak, and underpinned by the crystal clear taste of glacial water.
Mumm is the distiller, with Iron Buddha Gin his baby—a first-of-its-kind Chinese oolong-tea-infused gin. Xu is head of sales, with eyes on producing his beloved baijiu.
At Raincity, they make quality craft spirits, mostly gin, from scratch. They also have whisky aging in barrels; the first batch is expected to be ready in two to three years. Unlike many small producers who buy their neutral grain spirit from larger corporations, Raincity makes their own base in house from B.C. winter wheat following a triple distillation and two-week long proofing process. “We choose quality over speed, every step of the way,” Mumm says. “This is noticeable in the flavours that come through that often get lost in a more hurried process.”
This slow and steady approach has paid off. This year, they picked up a barrel of awards at the prestigious San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2023: a trio of silvers for the delicately floral Last Garden Gin, caramelly Barrel Aged Gin and smooth, subtle Iron Buddha Gin (which won bronze in 2022) as well as a bronze for the smouldering Black Tusk Smoked Vodka (which won silver in 2022).
Added to the lineup this June is their first bottled ready-to-drink cocktail in a bottle: the Ginseng Rye Old Fashioned. It’s a twist on the classic cocktail, featuring spicy rye whisky infused with the earthy bitterness of ginseng, an Asian root with healing properties. The drink is sweetened with maple syrup, made complex with their own housemade aromatic bitters and best served on ice with an orange twist.
Come taste all they are producing at their world-class cocktail lounge and tasting room, nestled in the heart of the Coastal Mountains. Or purchase your favourites through the online shop on the Raincity website.
THIS POST IS SPONSORED BY:
Raincity Distillery
RaincityDistillery.ca
World Class Canada celebrated its 10th anniversary in the best possible way—with a blowout final at Vancouver Cocktail Week that saw Jacob Martin of Toronto’s Bar Banane take home the title of World Class Canada Bartender of the Year 2023.
Winning a prestigious Global Gin Masters Medal—only a few months after they opened their doors—is just one of the exciting things happening at North Vancouver’s Copperpenny Distilling Co.
“Our key focus here is that we recognize, as a distillery, we are more than a maker of spirits, we are a purveyor of experiences,” says Jan Stenc, co-founder of the distillery along with his partner in work and life, Jennifer Kom-Tong. “The whole idea that it is a meaningful social interaction is super-important to us.”