Recipe courtesy of Seedlip
• 10 oz Seedlip Grove 42
• 6 Tbsp agave syrup
• 4 oz fresh lime juice
• Ice
• Salt
• Lime wheel (for garnish)
Seedlip Grove 42 Margarita
Build your home bar
The Alchemist tasting panel reviews their at-home essential spirits
For most issues of The Alchemist, we gather our tasting panel and sit in a room somewhere sampling our way through a dozen or so bottles of, say, rye whisky or vermouth. But with a pandemic upending everything, we couldn’t do that this time around. At the same time, since we’ve all been spending so much time chez nous, we wondered what our panelists were drinking at their own homes. So we asked them to recommend a bottle they consider essential for a home bartender, and what cocktail they’d make with it. This issue, our team comprises bartenders Sabrine Dhaliwal, Adam Domet, J-S Dupuis, Robyn Gray, Jay Jones, Trevor Kallies, Jeff Savage and Kaitlyn Stewart. Here’s what they had to say. Sip and shop accordingly.
Bourbon and bubbles
Recipe by Adam Domet, bar manager, Pourhouse
• 1 oz Angel’s Envy Kentucky Straight Bourbon
• 0.5 oz Gonzales Byass Oloroso sherry
• 0.75 oz fresh lemon juice
• 2 tsp simple syrup (1:1)
• 5 raspberries
• 1 oz sparkling wine
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.
Spirited Gift Guide
These gift ideas will warm the hearts and glasses of every cocktail lover on your list
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.
Power Tools
Shake and mix like a pro with this starter list of essential bar gear
Ask a pro bartender for their must-haves, and the answer might be practical: bar mops (a cheap pack of these thin, absorbent white towels is smart, even for home) and pens. However, the essentials below look more aspirational on your home bar cart: always chic in stainless steel, they’re especially envy-inspiring in on-point finishes from gold and rose gold to gunmetal and matte black. (For a roundup of additional tools for the advanced bartending pro, read here.)
Power Tools: Dream Bar
You might not splurge for them all, but here’s a glossary of the cool tools molecular mixologists and tech-savvy ’tenders use.
Big Flavours, Little Packages
B.C.’s small-batch distillers got crafty in this season, releasing new bottled cocktails, gift packs, special editions and other little goodies—from vermouth to liqueur—ideal for stuffing stockings, or treating yourself to new tastes.
Cocktail lovers have a whole back-bar of B.C. craft cocktails and spirits to taste this holiday season. Mini-bottle sets are a hot commodity: Shelter Point’s 12 Days of Christmas advent calendar sold out, direct from the distillery, in hours. More common are spirit trios, which you can break apart into three little presents, or sample without investing in full-size bottles. Sheringham’s gin trios sell out at Legacy Liquor Store, where Remy Letendre, the buyer for the extensive B.C. craft spirits section, says, “This year, I was excited to see a few brands take part in the ‘tri-pack’ Christmas selection. I think it’s a great way for these craft distilleries to get people to try a wider range of products. The early success of the Esquimalt vermouth tri-pack just shows how people are willing to branch out … for home bartending.”
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.”