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Tickets are on sale now for Toronto Cocktail Festival

August 1, 2025 No Comments

The first annual festival runs from October 22 to 26 with a full slate of events, including the unmissable Gala of Cocktails

Tickets are now on sale for the first annual Toronto Cocktail Festival presented by The Alchemist magazine. Save your seat for the best seminars, most delicious cocktail-paired dinners and unmissable signature events like the Gala of Cocktails and the Closing Cocktail-Paired Brunch.

“We are proud to support and promote Toronto’s incredible cocktail community and culture. The success of Toronto Cocktail Festival is made possible through the collaboration of everyone in the industry including bartenders, venues, brands, consumers, and the supporting media,” says Gail Nugent, publisher of The Alchemist magazine and event producer for TCF.

Recipes

Devil

July 31, 2025 No Comments

Recipe by Ryan Buchanan, bar manager at Arcana Spirits Lounge, Vancouver. Note that he uses lime ash to create black bitters to draw the pentagram on the drink, but recommends that home bartender use Angostura instead.

Features

Make tonight a good night out

July 25, 2025 No Comments

How a B.C. non-profit is helping bar and nightlife patrons stay safe

A pink-clad Good Night Out team hits the streets to keep vulnerable patrons safe. Nikki Fraser photo

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.

Recipes

Café Bastille Martinez with Ketel One

July 24, 2025 No Comments

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.

Classics

Taking flight

July 18, 2025 No Comments

Could the Paper Plane be the perfect cocktail?

Rhubarb and ginger are a natural pairing, and Kissa Tanto’s Avi Kunen loves combining them with Japanese whisky and Italian amaro in a nod to the classic. Photo courtesy of Kissa Tanto

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.

Recipes

A riff on the classic Paper Plane

July 17, 2025 No Comments

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.”

Recipes

The Turbulent Plane

July 16, 2025 No Comments

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

Recipes

Niigata Paper Plane

July 11, 2025 No Comments

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.”

Recipes

Flying Home

July 10, 2025 No Comments

Flying Home. Photo courtesy of Kissa Tanto

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

July 7, 2025 No Comments

World Class Cocktail Festival set to shake up the city—and the country—this September

Kate Chernoff (centre) accepts the trophy for World Class Canada 2025 Bartender of the Year, surrounded by previous winners. Photos courtesy of World Class Canada

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.

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Tickets are on sale now for Toronto Cocktail Festival

The first annual festival runs from October 22 to 26 with a full slate of events, including the unmissable Gala of Cocktails

Devil

Recipe by Ryan Buchanan, bar manager at Arcana Spirits Lounge, Vancouver. Note that he uses lime ash to create black bitters to draw the pentagram on the drink, but recommends that home bartender use Angostura instead.

Make tonight a good night out

How a B.C. non-profit is helping bar and nightlife patrons stay safe

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?

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.

Niigata Paper Plane

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

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