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.
Map: Here are all the craft distilleries, wineries, breweries, and cideries in North Vancouver
The craft spirits and beer scene is now booming in North Vancouver, particularly in the burgeoning Brewery District in Lower Lonsdale.
The North Shore will forever hold a piece of Canadian brewing history, as West Vancouver holds the distinction as the site of the country’s first ever microbrewery.
Horseshoe Bay Brewery started brewing beer for the nearby Troller Bay Pub in 1982, long before the craft beer boom exploded on the West Coast decades later.
Horseshoe Bay Brewery is no longer pumping out the suds on the North Shore – although it spawned some other B.C. breweries that are still very much alive – but in its place are now a dozen North Vancouver breweries, a number that seemingly rises each year.
Many of those establishments are clustered in the City of North Vancouver’s burgeoning Brewery District, a neighbourhood that now boasts seven breweries within easy walking distance of each other.
Cocktail gift guide
These gift ideas will warm the hearts and glasses of every cocktail lover on your list.
Canada’s best artisan spirits announced
Sheringham Akvavit named Canadian Artisan Spirit of the Year
One hundred and seventy-five. That’s a lot of spirits to taste, especially when they range from akvavit to amaro to apple brandy.
But throughout December 2017, that just what I and seven other spirits experts from coast to coast did, sniffing, swirling, sipping and occasionally spitting, as we judged the inaugural Canadian Artisan Spirits Awards.
On the Town: BC Distilled
With 34 distilleries under one roof, the fourth annual BC Distilled festival offered a bounty of booze.
Odd Society distiller Gordon Glanz brought along his daughter Mia Glanz to the fest. Jeff Grayston photo.
Bohemian Spirits owners Wade Jarvis and Ervyn Turcon made the trek from Kimberley to East Van. Jeff Grayston photo.
Ampersand’s Jeremy Schacht and Jessica McLeod were all smiles after the distillery’s gin and vodka were named audience favourites for the second year running. Jeff Grayston photo.
B.C. distilling pioneers Jorg and Anette Engel poured samples of their Maple Leaf Spirits. Jeff Grayston photo.
Adding a pop of colour to the proceedings were Dubh Glas distiller Grant Stevely and Jovia Barnett. Jeff Grayston photo.
Nothing sneaky about it; Stealth Distilleries Co. president John Pocekovic (left) and master distiller Randy Poulin were proud to show off their super-clean vodka. Jeff Grayston photo.
Stealth Distilleries Corporation
Master distiller Randy Poulin and Stealth president John Pocekovic specialize in vodka made from field-dried Okanagan corn.
#3-20 Orwell St. North Vancouver
604-916-4103
StealthVodka.com
PRODUCTS:
• Stealth Corn Vodka
• Stealth Wheat Vodka
TASTING NOTES:
Stealth Vodka No. 9
FRAGRANCE: A hint of alcohol on the nose with a small touch of cream.
FLAVOUR: Slight bit of grain with white pepper.
FEEL: The palate is smooth with a tiny element of alcohol warmth.
FINISH: Fairly abrupt.
BEST ENJOYED: In your favorite mixed vodka drink.
THE BOTTOM LINE: As craft vodkas go it is right up there. Packaging is bartender friendly, with a decent neck to grab onto. —Trevor Kallies, February 2017
Stealth Vodka
FRAGRANCE: Caramel, butterscotch even.
FLAVOUR: Toffee, candy corn.
FEEL: Light.
FINISH: Dryer than the nose suggests.
BEST ENJOYED: In a shaken cocktail with fruit or citrus.
THE BOTTOM LINE: A New World-style vodka for those who like sweeter drinks. —Josh Pape, October 2017