Features

Make it a Martini

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At the bar

Getting tipsy with Bar Pompette

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Have Glass Will Travel

Where to drink right now in Las Vegas

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Sponsored

B.C. summer distillery guide

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Taste these locally-distilled spirits and explore distilleries around the province this summer.

Maple Leaf Spirits photo
Maple Leaf Spirits

Cherry Liqueur

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.

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Bar Bites

New sips to savour

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Here are some exciting new products to check out this summer

Instagram.com/okanaganspirits photo

Cabin Gin 2024 Green Label: Okanagan Spirits has just released the first in a new lineup of seasonal small-batch gins inspired by time spent at the family cabin and escapes to other places. It features hints of lemongrass, fresh ginger and Thai lime leaf, reminiscent of trips through Southeast Asia. It retails for $35 (for a 500 mL bottle), with at least two more in the series expected by the end of the year. okanaganspirits.com

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Features

Nuts for inclusive vodka

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Canada’s first out-and-proud 2SLGBTQIA+ owned and operated brand is becoming Squirrel Friendz with cocktail fans in B.C. and beyond

Squirrel Friendz isn’t just a spirit brand; it also promotes inclusivity and community, often by hosting drag events. Photo courtesy of Squirrel Friendz

It all started with a night out at a casino, after which Kyle Aszalos woke up with what he thought could be a million-dollar idea. “Cocktail kits!” he said to his partner, Jeremy Fischer. That pivoted to producing their own spirits to put in the kits, and “then we scrapped the kits,” Fischer laughs.

The co-founders of Squirrel Friendz vodka are celebrating the brand’s one-year anniversary this summer, with entry into BC Liquor Stores in May and a bold, colourful presence on many private-store shelves and back bars. “We went with vodka because it’s the quickest to get to market,” Aszalos says of sourcing the crisp spirit, in all-natural flavours with no added sugar, from commercial distillery Orchard City Distilling Co. in West Kelowna. Quick was important, because it meant they could quickly start making a difference.

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Bar Bites

Shaking up the awards world

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Bar Raval’s Elise Hanson has been crowned the world’s Most Imaginative Bartender. Photo courtesy of Bombay Most Imaginative Bartender

If it’s spring it must be competition season and Canada’s best bars and bartenders are winning awards all over the place. Here are just a few that have made news the past few months.

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Features

A Japanese whisky pilgrimage

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Taste the 90-year legacy of Nikka Whisky at these essential stops

Yoichi, Japan, is in many ways similar to Scotland, which is why Masataka Taketsuru chose it as the site for the Nikka Whisky distillery. Photo courtesy of Nikka Whisky

In most parts of the world, the whisky made there (or the brandy, vodka, rum…) is the result of what grows and thrives in a particular place. The century-old Japanese whisky industry is entirely unique: It’s based on one person’s DNA, and his global quest for whisky excellence.

The grandfather of Japanese whisky founded two of its most famous labels more than 100 years ago: Suntory, in 1923; and Nikka, in 1934. In Nikka’s 90th anniversary year, the brand invited a select group of whisky-philes to trace its founder’s path across Japan. Here’s a taste of Nikka whisk-tory.

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Uncategorized

A tale of three bourbons

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To celebrate National Bourbon Day in the U.S. (June 14, 2024), we take a deep dive into American whiskey, through three Kentucky distillery tours.

To kick off Jimmy Russell’s 70th anniversary year with Wild Turkey, the renaming of the visitor center commemorates Jimmy’s unwavering dedication to crafting bourbon his way. Photo courtesy of Wild Turkey

Wild Turkey: Shooting for Third-Generation Greatness

To dive into the world of Wild Turkey whisky, first consider going shooting. Picking off clay pigeons at the Anderson County Sportsman’s Club is a unique way to experience the lore behind the whiskey made nearby in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. It started with a spirit the Ripy brothers made starting in the 1800s that was sold by grocer Austin Nicholls (a name that still graced Wild Turkey labels until recent years). On 1940s hunting trips, a Ripy executive shared some of that whiskey, which became popularly known among straight shooters around the world as Wild Turkey.

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Bar Bites

Hot Spots: Prophecy

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The gleaming bar at Prophecy, the highly anticipated new lounge at the Rosewood Hotel Georgia. Jonathan Thompson photo

We’ve been waiting impatiently to see what’s going into the grand space under the Rosewood Hotel Georgia where Prohibition used to be. We’ve been waiting just as impatiently to learn where Jeff Savage would land after leaving Botanist Bar last year.

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The Alchemist

The Alchemist Spring/Summer 2024

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iStock/Getty Images Plus/Beo88 photo

Sometimes—well, most of the time, really—all we crave is the clean, icy-cold flavour of a Martini, the botanical bite of the gin and delicate floral essence of the vermouth. And it seems we’re not alone. Although the Martini has been around for at least a century and likely longer, it has never been trendier than it is right now. (Unless you include the syrupy “tinis” of the 1990s, which we don’t.)

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The Alchemist

Where to Drink Right Now in “Bourbon City”: Louisville, Kentucky

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At Evan Williams Bourbon Experience, guests can tour the commercial distillery, taste signature whiskies and stop at the On3 cocktail bar. Photo courtesy of Heaven Hill Brands

On historic blocks in downtown Louisville, Whiskey Row along West Main Street is a modern drinkers’ paradise. Today, not just bourbon distilling but bourbon education is the thing: many distilleries now refer to themselves as “campuses” and tasting-room experiences often approach the level of masterclasses. Bourbon nerds abound.

The crop of downtown distillery tasting rooms means you don’t even have to leave Louisville to experience the range of Kentucky bourbon. Another bonus: these tasting rooms have great gift shops with brand swag, bourbon accessories and, of course, rare bottlings (more secret-stash stores are below, too). You can walk all of Whiskey Row in about 30 minutes, or hop on a Bird or Lime rental scooter to speed between stops — no impaired scooting, please!

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