Events

Seven fall and winter cocktail events you don’t want to miss

October 11, 2019 No Comments

With so many exciting events coming up, you won’t have a moment of boredom all winter long.

Toronto Cocktail Week

Get your kicks in the Six this fall: The six-day festival of all things boozy returns
October 15 to 20, bringing together bars, brands and bartenders—as well as consumers, of course—to celebrate the city’s evolving cocktail scene. TCW will be shaking things up with a neighbourhood-focused bar guide, themed gala events, guided, seminars and pop-up bars featuring familiar faces from Vancouver. torontococktailweek.ca

Art of the cocktail

The Alchemist is pleased to sponsor Western Canada’s most important cocktail festival October 19 in beautiful downtown Victoria. Some 900 attendees will gather at the Grand Tasting to sip and sample cocktails and products from 40 exhibitors pouring more than 60 spirits. Plus there will be masterclasses, guided tastings and more fun than you can shake a cobbler at during this fundraiser for the Victoria Film Festival. artofthecocktail.ca

The Alchemist

9 Vancouver restaurants band together for week-long Pride cocktail fundraiser

July 29, 2019 No Comments

The Mackenzie Room has rallied several Vancouver restaurants together for a week-long Pride cocktail fundraiser. Photo by Katie Cross Photography/courtesy The Mackenzie Room

The theme of this year’s Vancouver Pride Parade is “50 Years and Still Fighting” and with many across the city and region set to join in the celebration on West End streets, there are venues across Vancouver that are stepping up to raise awareness and money for Pride-related causes.

The Mackenzie Room has rallied together eight other restaurants for a week-long joint-effort cocktail fundraiser to align with Pride – and being a great ally is the fitting theme.

Bar Bites

Mark your calendars with these 5 cocktail events

July 10, 2019 No Comments

The Weather Network has forecast a hot, dry summer for B.C., so get out and make the most of it at these upcoming events.

Deighton Cup

Don your fancy chapeaux and hoist your glasses! The ponies hit the track once again on July 20 for the 11th annual Deighton Cup at Hastings Racecourse. Some 5,000 people gather at the track to gamble on the ponies while enjoying swish fashion, buckets of bubbly, fine cigars, gourmet cuisine and, of course, cocktails. The event includes an annual mixology competition, plus sweet summer sippers to enjoy trackside. deightoncup.com

Night on the pier

As the sun sinks to the west on August 8, some of Vancouver’s top bartenders will start shaking things up at this chill party on West Vancouver’s Ambleside Pier. This fundraiser for local arts programs is part of the Harmony Arts festival (August 2 to 11), and there will be food, fun, gorgeous views and plenty of great cocktails to enjoy. harmonyarts.ca

The Alchemist

A spirited selection at the BC Distilled 2019 Audience Favourites Awards

April 11, 2019 No Comments

Odd Society’s Prospector Rye Whisky was voted the audience-favourite whisky at BC Distilled. Gail Nugent photo

They came, they sipped, they chose their favourites, ranging from a delicately herbal absinthe to a boldly spiced rye whisky.

Some 600 people descended on the Croatian Cultural Centre on April 6 for the sixth annual BC Distilled festival, highlighting the best of the province’s artisan spirits. Some 180 spirits from 39 distilleries were poured over two tastings, and at the end of it all, the audience voted for their favourites in 13 categories.

The Alchemist

Artisanal sprits showcased at BC Distilled

April 3, 2019 No Comments

Amaro. Akvavit. Absinthe. Amaretto. And that’s just the As of B.C. artisan distilling. Just imagine what the rest of the alphabet can produce.

Actually, you don’t have to, because you can try them all for yourself at BC Distilled this weekend.

Bar Bites

Get your tickets for the 6th annual BC Distilled festival

March 29, 2019 No Comments

If you love local spirits, mark your calendar for the most important event of the year: the sixth annual BC Distilled festival, which will be held April 6 at Vancouver’s Croatian Cultural Centre.

Bar Bites, On the Town

Science of Cocktails makes science both delicious and accessible

March 14, 2019 No Comments

Amber Bruce won the cocktail competition for her riff on a Manhattan. Photo by Isabella Sarmiento for Science of Cocktails

There was ice and fire, CO² and NO², test tubes and copper tubing and all sorts of mysterious gadgets. Most of all, there was great food and drink in support of an even greater cause.

The city’s top bartenders gathered in February at Telus World of Science for the fourth annual Science of Cocktails event, where they demonstrated the myriad ways science contributes to cocktail culture.

The Alchemist

You can savour the best of B.C. whisky during a guided tasting this week

March 5, 2019 No Comments

Whisky & Words takes place this Friday, March 8 on International Women’s Day, and the event will feature some of the finest spirits from across the globe.

The Vancouver Writers Fest hosts the annual whisky tasting event, previously called A Dram Come True, in order to raise funds for youth education programming. Guests enjoy unlimited drams of whisky from distilleries around the world, as well as local craft spirits and beer. They also get to eat delicious food, enjoy live music, and partake in a silent auction that features rare and unique whiskies as well as experiences.

The Alchemist

These 38 artisan distillers will raise your spirits at BC Distilled 2019

February 14, 2019 No Comments

Over three dozen of the province’s artisan distilleries will be pouring it on this April at the sixth-annual BC Distilled.

Taking place on April 6, this premiere spirits event brings together B.C.’s craft spirits creators for a fantastic tasting event, where enjoying each and every sip is wholly encouraged.

The Alchemist

Science of Cocktails event offers drinks that will have you completely spellbound

January 21, 2019 No Comments

While there will be a multitude of alcoholic beverages on the menu, this annual event is a far cry from the average cocktail party.

The Science of Cocktails at the Telus World of Science offers a unique opportunity to see some of the industry’s most passionate mixologists work their alchemy on classic favourites as well as inspired new concoctions.