Canada's only magazine dedicated to distillers, spirits and cocktail culture.
If you like seaweed-kissed Sheringham Seaside and Isle of Harris gins, try maritime-inspired U.K. bottles like Bullard’s Coastal Gin, Fishers Gin, Da Mhile Organic Seaweed Gin and Mermaid Salt Vodka, as well as North Vancouver’s Copperpenny Gin No. 006 Oyster Shell (a collaboration with Fanny Bay Oysters).
Mushrooms first lit up my brain in 2017, when I tried Candy Cap Magic, a Botanist Bar cocktail that matched the fungi’s maple syrup and spice notes perfectly with rye. Then, in 2019, Sheringham Seaside was named the world’s best contemporary gin on the wings of its sustainable kelp note. After sipping 72 Tomates-kissed Tomato Martinis last summer at hip New York bars, it hit me: the savoury spirits revolution has arrived.
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.
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.
• 1.5 oz white rum
• 1 oz Homemade Chili Liqueur
• 2.5 oz peach nectar
• 0.5 oz lemon juice
• 2 dashes orange bitters
• Optional: Plain or peach-flavoured sparkling water
• Garnish: Sliced jalapeño peppers
• 1.5 oz blanco tequila (Hornitos used)
• 1 oz Homemade Chili Liqueur
• 1 oz lime juice
• Garnish: Salt for rim of glass, pepper, lime wheel
A new cocktail-focused bar lounge is getting ready to open in Vancouver’s Mount Pleasant neighbourhood.
Nestled in the perfect middle between casual and fine dining, The Watson will bring a refreshing, upscale element to Main Street – something that Michael Gayman, who owns the wine and charcuterie bar Bartholomew in Yaletown, feels has been missing in the area for some time.
Just like summer, Home Bar is bringing the heat! Spicy drinks aren’t new, but have recently experienced a popularity boom, whether the heat comes from hot sauce, fresh jalapeños or spicy spirits.
We’ll be making something more dynamic and versatile than just popping jalapeños into a bottle of tequila. Chili liqueur allows for balanced, nuanced flavours, can be added or substituted into drinks, and can be as fiery as desired. Or, if you prefer, you can make a chili syrup for all your zero-proof drinks.
When you think bottled or canned cocktails—those commercially-produced beverages known in industry shorthand as “RTD” for “ready to drink”—you might conjure up the same imagery as Vancouver’s Please! Beverage Co.’s founder, Noel Steen: shotgunning a can on a boat.
The Ice Book: Cool Cubes, Clear Spheres, and Other Chill Cocktail Crafts by Camper English
As you’re sweltering under yet another heat dome, let this renowned expert in all things cocktail cool you down with his treatise on the unsung hero of every drink. This handy guide offers everything you need to know about directional freezing, carving ice into diamonds, embedding it with garnishes and dozens of other frosty projects.