Devil
Make tonight a good night out
How a B.C. non-profit is helping bar and nightlife patrons stay safe
This past March, The Keefer Bar customers sipping Dragon’s Eye Mules and Café Bastille Martinezes were having a good night out, while also supporting Good Night Out (GNO). The Vancouver non-profit has a champion in World Class Canada Bartender of the Year 2025, The Keefer Bar’s Kate Chernoff, who in collaboration with Ketel One’s Garnished with Good program created two fundraising cocktails to support a group that has been making music festivals, bars and clubs safer from sexual harassment and violence for the past nine years.
Café Bastille Martinez with Ketel One
This dark, savoury twist on the Martini’s precursor was one of the cocktails created in support of Good Night Out this past spring. Recipe by Kate Chernoff, The Keefer Bar.
Taking flight
Could the Paper Plane be the perfect cocktail?
I love a Martini. I’m happy to whisper sweet words to a well-made Old Fashioned. I’ve fallen head over heels for a Negroni on a good patio. But hear me out: While all of the above are well and good, the Paper Plane is the perfect drink.
Made from equal portions of bourbon, Amaro Nonino, Aperol and lemon juice, the new-school classic cocktail has a kiss of booze, a bright hit of citrus and an herbal allure from the addition of amaro. The recipe is foolproof: just one ounce of everything, shake and pour.
A riff on the classic Paper Plane
Recipe by Nathan Murray, bar manager at aKin in Toronto: “I prefer Canadian whisky over bourbon. Then I add an acidulated green tea blended with toasted brown rice in place of classic citrus. The result: a flavour profile that is sure to surprise even the most seasoned Paper Plane drinker.”
The Turbulent Plane
This variation on a Paper Plane is by Anita Dorion, the Toronto-based Vine Translator.
INGREDIENTS:
0.5 oz bourbon
0.5 oz Aperol
0.5 oz Amaro Nonino Quintessentia
Juice of ½ lemon, freshly squeezed
Sparkling wine of choice
Niigata Paper Plane
Recipe by Mat Locke, bar manager at Bar Asra, Vancouver: “My riff uses neither bourbon nor Aperol—half of the key ingredients. Instead, I use Japanese whisky in place of bourbon, and a non-alcoholic aperitivo to replace the Aperol. I balance the cocktail by playing around with the traditional proportions.”
Flying Home
Recipe by Avi Kunen, bar manager at Kissa Tanto, Vancouver: “Sam Ross [the Paper Plane’s inventor] initially tried the drink with Campari. This is a nod to that. Rhubarb and ginger are a natural pairing, and we love combining Japanese whisky and Italian amaro.”
It’s Toronto’s time
World Class Cocktail Festival set to shake up the city—and the country—this September
The World Class Cocktail Festival, to be held August 16 to October 3 across Canada, promises to be one of the biggest and best parties this country has ever seen.
“Our ambition is to give the World Class Global Final a Canadian feel even though it will be centred in Toronto,” says Michael Armistead, who oversees the World Class Canada Bartending Competition as National Onpremise, Reserve and Sponsorship Manager at Diageo Canada.
Bar Gobo’s vinyl vibe
The Chinatown wine bar rebrands as a hi-fi joint, and we are so there for it
For Paul McCloskey, running what might be Vancouver’s first dedicated vinyl-only hi-fi wine bar is something of a full-circle moment.