These educational events feature a combination of sessions for industry and consumers.
There is serious education and training that goes into every cocktail. Learn about spirits, their history, cocktail techniques and more from some of Canada’s greatest experts in the field. Note that some seminars are designed for industry professionals only, while others are open to everyone.
Sunday, March 6
Mixing it up with Fever-Tree
H2 Rotisserie and Bar at The Westin Bayshore
1601 Bayshore Dr.
Industry only: 2 to 3 pm
Everyone welcome: 4 to 5 pm
We all know the importance of a quality spirit, but what about the mixer? If three-quarters of your cocktail is the mixer, shouldn’t we be mixing with the best? Join Kaitlyn Stewart, the 2017 global Diageo World Class champion as she takes you through the history of the brand, the importance of high-quality ingredients, pairing suggestions, common misconceptions, an eye-opening tasting, and more! We will be mixing cocktails with Ketel One vodka, Tanqueray gin and Seedlip non-alcoholic spirit, paired with food prepared by H2 Rotisserie and Bar.
Get tickets (industry only)
Get tickets (everyone welcome)
MILA Cocktail Master Class
MILA
185 Keefer St.
5:30pm and 8:00pm
Join MILA’s bar manager Alex Tognazzi at the bar as he guides guests through the making of two feature cocktails that showcase spirits from a number of local producers including Artisan Sake Maker, Sons of Vancouver, Legend Distilling and House of Funk. Learn how to create these carefully crafted cocktails with the accompaniment of an appetizer and dessert pairing.
Ms. Better’s Bitters Presents: Extractions, Infusions, Macerations and Powders
Queens Cross Pub
2989 Lonsdale Ave.
North Vancouver
8 pm
Learn all about the botanical ingredients that make your cocktails sing in this seminar featuring Vancouver’s own Ms. Better’s Bitters. Bartenders Robyn Gray and Tarquin Melnyk will also demonstrate how to get the most from bitters by using avant garde technique and molecular technology to create cocktails just for VCW.
Monday, March 7
Diageo World Class Seminar
Published on Main
3593 Main St.
2 to 4 pm
Learn tips, techniques and tales from the competition trenches taught by Diageo World Class bar stars Kaitlyn Stewart, Jeff Savage, Chris Enns, Grant Sceney and 2021’s Global Bartender of the Year, James Grant. Get educated over cocktails and small bites.
Better with Belvedere
The Chickadee Room
182 Keefer St.
2 to 3 pm
This fun and interactive tasting of Belvedere vodka demonstrates how this Polish rye-based spirit can make a difference in your next cocktail. The seminar will feature half-ounce pours of three vodkas over a one-hour tasting. Note that 100 per cent of proceeds from tickets goes toward Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre.
MILA Cocktail Master Class
MILA
185 Keefer St.
5:30pm and 8:00pm
Join MILA’s bar manager Alex Tognazzi at the bar as he guides guests through the making of two feature cocktails that showcase spirits from a number of local producers including Artisan Sake Maker, Sons of Vancouver, Legend Distilling and House of Funk. Learn how to create these carefully crafted cocktails with the accompaniment of an appetizer and dessert pairing.
Tuesday, March 8
Canadian Whisky Master Class by Lot 40
Clough Club
212 Abbott St.
Industry only: 1 to 3 pm
Join Lot 40 global ambassador and bartending icon Dave Mitton for a deep dive into the world of Canadian whisky. Participants will taste through a variety of Canadian whiskies and learn Canada’s storied history as a producer of this great spirit, as well as where the country sits in modern bar and cocktail culture.
Barons, Innovators and Pioneers
Hy’s Steakhouse & Cocktail Bar
637 Hornby St.
2 pm
A premium whisky tasting featuring pioneering malts from intrepid blenders—Dewar’s 18, Aberfeldy 16, Craigellachie 17, Deveron 18 Teeling Single Malt—hosted by Kevin Brownlee, Bacardi Portfolio Ambassador.
From the Foggie Moss and illicit whisky trails to the grain trains that opened Scotland up to malt distribution and the Dublin distilleries during the peak of Irish whiskey, malt whiskies have had a spirited, arduous journey from grain to glass. This session explores the early days of whisky making and covers barrel finishing, innovative blending, the uncompromising spirit that brought life to whisky in early 1800s Scotland and Ireland, and our modern-day fascination with the whisky’s characters and the malts they make.
MILA Cocktail Master Class
MILA
185 Keefer St.
5:30pm and 8:00pm
Join MILA’s bar manager Alex Tognazzi at the bar as he guides guests through the making of two feature cocktails that showcase spirits from a number of local producers including Artisan Sake Maker, Sons of Vancouver, Legend Distilling and House of Funk. Learn how to create these carefully crafted cocktails with the accompaniment of an appetizer and dessert pairing.
Bowmore and Brine
Blue Water Cafe
1095 Hamilton St.
6 to 8 pm
A tasting of the Bowmore lineup with an Islay breakfast. Experience the maritime feel of the Atlantic Ocean with amazing oysters and the sea salt air that permeates the Bowmore Distillery.
Wednesday, March 9
All things ice with Kodama Ice
Resurrection Spirits
1672 Franklin St.
1 to 2:30 pm
Join Kodama Ice owner Jason Browne and Resurrection Spirits for a seminar about all things ice. Charting its humble origins in the frozen farm ponds of Massachusetts to its rise as an indispensable global commodity, we will explore all aspects of what is possibly the most important but often overlooked ingredient in modern cocktails.
Exploring history, science and practical application, Jason will demonstrate and guide participants into creating their own sphere or diamond to be used in cocktails provided by Resurrection Spirits.
Vermouth Master Class
Carlino
1115 Alberni St.
3-4:30pm
Carlino bar manager Gianluigi Bosco will take you through a brief history of vermouth, different types available on the market, production, service, use in cocktails, with a focus on Lynx Vermouth from Italy.
Enjoy a few snacks (olives, chicken liver terrine, and fried mortadella) as well as a Lynx-based cocktail while you learn.
MILA Cocktail Master Class
MILA
185 Keefer St.
5:30pm and 8:00pm
Join MILA’s bar manager Alex Tognazzi at the bar as he guides guests through the making of two feature cocktails that showcase spirits from a number of local producers including Artisan Sake Maker, Sons of Vancouver, Legend Distilling and House of Funk. Learn how to create these carefully crafted cocktails with the accompaniment of an appetizer and dessert pairing.
Thursday, March 10
MILA Cocktail Master Class
MILA
185 Keefer St.
5:30pm and 8:00pm
Join MILA’s bar manager Alex Tognazzi at the bar as he guides guests through the making of two feature cocktails that showcase spirits from a number of local producers including Artisan Sake Maker, Sons of Vancouver, Legend Distilling and House of Funk. Learn how to create these carefully crafted cocktails with the accompaniment of an appetizer and dessert pairing.