The Alchemist

Eye openers: 4 great brunch cocktail pairings

July 25, 2023 No Comments

Brunch provides a palette for a myriad of cocktail pairings. Reece Sims photo

There’s just something about bringing people together for brunch that captures hearts and palates. Perhaps it’s the enticing blend of savoury and sweet flavours, endless beverage options, and a leisurely atmosphere that creates undeniable allure.

I was especially inspired by the brunches I enjoyed on a recent visit to Scottsdale, Arizona, for a bachelorette party weekend. Mostly I was inspired by one particular brunch at the W Scottsdale’s Cottontail Lounge. The hotel is situated in the heart of the city, with the Fashion District a few minutes west, Old Town a few minutes south, and the Entertainment District at its doorstep.

Best of all? The brunch cocktail pairings. Here are four to try.

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‘After 14 years of last calls’ this iconic Gastown cocktail bar is closing

July 18, 2023 No Comments

The bar has welcomed over 2 million guests since opening.

The Diamond, a Vancouver cocktail culture staple is closing after 14 years in business. @thediamondgastown/Instragram

In a heartfelt and reflective Instagram post, The Diamond, one of Vancouver’s most well-loved cocktail bars, announced that it is closing.

“After 14 years of last calls, we’ve finally reached ours,” reads the post.

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Where to drink right now in Portland

July 17, 2023 No Comments

One of the Pacific Northwest’s great drinking cities is popping with new bars and wild cocktails, from the mustard-licked to slushified—plus … disco balls!

Old Portland favourites and on-point new bars are rocking some Canadian-friendly values, and prices (drinks from USD$12-16 are typical, but no tax!). Because Oregon bars must serve food, delicious bites from bar snacks to elevated meals complement your cocktails. Always on the cutting edge of alternative, plenty of Portland places feature mocktails as refreshing and inventive as their boozy siblings, too.

The Alchemist

The Alchemist Spring/Summer 2023

May 26, 2023 No Comments

In the Spring/Summer 2023 issue of The Alchemist, we have everything you need to enjoy the warm and sunny days ahead.

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11 of Canada’s 50 Best Bars of 2023 are in B.C.

May 19, 2023 No Comments

Some new names and usual suspects, including several here in Vancouver

11 B.C. bars were named in Canada’s 50 Best Bars list 2023. Here they are. Canada’s 100 Best photo

There was a lot of jostling for position and some surprise inclusions in this year’s just-released list of Canada’s 50 Best Bars.

Usual suspects from past lists such as Botanist, The Keefer Bar, and Laowai made the cut yet again, though they’ve been bumped down a few places by bars in Toronto and Montreal. Civil Liberties in Toronto is returning champion and took home the title of Canada’s Best Bar for the second year in a row.

Botanist came in fourth place, and The Keefer Bar was eighth, with Laowai rounding out the top 10.

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Botanist Bar helps put Vancouver on the map

May 5, 2023 No Comments

North America’s 50 Best Bars were revealed on May 4 in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico—a list that included seven Canadian entries, including one bar from B.C. New York’s innovative foodie-cocktail hotspot Double Chicken Please was named North America’s Best Bar.

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A new jungle-themed restaurant and cocktail lounge is opening in Vancouver

April 25, 2023 No Comments

It’s “Vancouver’s first jungle-inspired cocktail lounge.”

The Jungle Room is a new cocktail lounge and restaurant located on Denman Street in Vancouver’s West End. The official opening date is April 28, 2023. @jnglroom/Instagram

Keen-eyed Vancouverites have been watching the West End space at 961 Denman St since late 2021, when signs went up for a “health bar and cocktail lounge” called The Jungle Room moving in where the Dover Arms pub stood for many a year.

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A massive artisan spirits festival returns to Vancouver with 40 distilleries

April 21, 2023 No Comments

BC Distilled is back.

After three years, BC Distilled is returning to Vancouver. BC Distilled photo

After three years of cancelled and modified events, BC Distilled, the massive artisanal spirits festival, is returning to Vancouver.

Forty distilleries and hundreds of locally produced spirits, several of which are new additions to the festival, will take over two rooms at the Croatian Cultural Centre on Commercial Drive this May.

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Clive’s Classic Lounge named world’s best whisky hotel bar

April 3, 2023 No Comments

Dreaming of a dram? Then you may want to hop a ferry over to Victoria, where Clive’s Classic Lounge has just been named Whisky Hotel Bar of the Year in the prestigious Icons of Whisky Awards, presented by U.K.-based Whisky magazine.

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North America’s 50 Best Bars names Botanist Bar the continent’s most hospitable

April 3, 2023 No Comments

Botanist Bar’s creative beverage director Grant Sceney and bar manager Jeff Savage reflect on their Michter’s Art of Hospitality Award. Supplied photo

We already knew it, but now so does the rest of the world. In a first for Vancouver and for Canada, Botanist Bar at the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel has won the Michter’s Art of Hospitality Award, given by North America’s 50 Best Bars.

This prestigious award recognizes the single-best hospitality experience across the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.