These spirited gifts will warm hearts and glasses all season long
12 gift ideas for cocktail lovers on your list
2022 Cocktail Gift Guide
These gift ideas will warm the hearts and glasses of every cocktail lover on your list.
Hive & Soul
Bar Susu’s “briny Martini” cocktail, created by Joe Casson, rides a perfectly seasoned knife edge of sweet and savoury, and is called “Hive & Soul” because of the live element of the fermented honey. Note that it should be served in a “super-cute vintage coupe.”
Give Us Five
A B.C. spirit comes out on top for the fifth consecutive year in the Canadian Artisan Spirit Competition: cheers to DEVINE Distillery’s Ancient Grains, also the Best in Class Young Whisky.
The grains may be ancient, but a globally unique, made-in-B.C. whisky is making modern history: Ancient Grains from DEVINE Distillery in Saanich is the Canadian Artisan Spirit of the Year 2022.
The top-scoring spirit across every category of the national competition, Ancient Grains is also the Best in Class Young Whisky for the third time (so classified because it matures for less than three years, which is the minimum requirement for labelling as “Canadian Whisky”). The whisky was originally created by master distiller Ken Winchester in 2017, using B.C.-grown heritage barley, einkorn, emmer, spelt and kamut, and matured in smaller quarter-casks.
Cocktail gift guide
These gift ideas will warm the hearts and glasses of every cocktail lover on your list.
B.C. Spirits Gift Guide: 2021 Edition
Start your festive shopping now.
In a holiday season with some international supply-chain blips, shop local—and shop soon!—for B.C. small-batch spirts holiday gifts. Limited-edition and seasonal items sell out fast, so if you happen to miss out this season, get on e-newsletter lists or follow distilleries on social media to watch for the next drop, and be very nice (not naughty) until next year. Many items from last holiday season are bound to be available again, so check out last year’s guide, too.
Accolades for Ampersand
The Cowichan Valley distillery wows the world with its handcrafted spirits
Vancouver Island’s Cowichan Valley may seem far away from just about everywhere, but that doesn’t mean the world isn’t taking notice. That’s thanks to an artisanal distillery named Ampersand Distilling Co., which is scooping up all sorts of awards for its carefully handcrafted spirits.
Earlier this year, for instance, the World Gin Awards awarded the distillery’s flagship Ampersand Gin “Canada’s Best Classic Gin.” It’s been made since 2014 from B.C.-grown wheat, eight botanicals and fresh spring water from the five-acre farm owned and operated by the Schacht family, Stephen and Ramona, their son Jeremy and his wife Jessica.
Ampersand 50/50 Martini
As the author of a forthcoming book on essential cocktails, Ampersand co-founder Jessica Schacht recommends this sophisticated classic to make the most of the distillery’s award-winning spirits.
1.5 oz Ampersand Gin
1.5 oz Imperative Dry Vermouth
Garnish: lemon twist
Four’s the charm: Results of the 2021 Canadian Artisan Spirits Competition
For the fourth year in a row, a B.C. craft spirit has won the Canadian Artisan Spirit Competition: raise a toast to Vancouver Island’s Ampersand Distilling, makers of Nocino!
The Canadian Artisan Spirit of the Year is the Nocino! from Ampersand Distilling Company on Vancouver Island. Founded by the Schacht clan, Ampersand operates from a Duncan-area farm, using stills that were designed and built by father and son Stephen and Jeremy; Jessica Schact is instrumental in product development; and Ramona Froehle-Schact manages the farm and more—a true family affair.
Spirited Gift Guide
These gift ideas will warm the hearts and glasses of every cocktail lover on your list
