This expat-filled, Canadian-favourite winter destination is planting a flag on the world-class bar map. With pretty perfect daily weather and literally a Seven Mile Beach to enjoy during the day, and plenty of sunset and nightlife spots, there’s no need to wait until Cayman Cocktail Week (an annual festival, in the last week of October) to visit.
Where to drink right now in Portland
One of the Pacific Northwest’s great drinking cities is popping with new bars and wild cocktails, from the mustard-licked to slushified—plus … disco balls!
Old Portland favourites and on-point new bars are rocking some Canadian-friendly values, and prices (drinks from USD$12-16 are typical, but no tax!). Because Oregon bars must serve food, delicious bites from bar snacks to elevated meals complement your cocktails. Always on the cutting edge of alternative, plenty of Portland places feature mocktails as refreshing and inventive as their boozy siblings, too.
Tropical tripping
Parliament Hill is all well and good, but this summer, there’s an even better reason to visit Ottawa. (Assuming, of course, that we’re able to travel.)
Floating tropical party bars.
Fortify yourself
The terroir-driven strength of sherry, port and madeira translates into great cocktails
It’s impossible to pass a day in Portugal, Spain or Madeira without being offered a glass of one of their famous fortified wines. Often presented in cocktails and mixed drinks, these local terroir-driven sherries, ports and Madeiras are as natural to drink as (and in some cases more than) water. Because of their blend of wine and spirit, fortifieds are highly useful and versatile in mixed drinks and cocktails, providing just enough of that spirited touch without all the booze of a straight spirit.
Smoke on the water
Experience the magic of Islay, one Scotch at a time
The romantic Isle of Islay in Scotland’s southern Hebrides is best known for its moors, treacherous weather, high seas, early Viking settlements—and, yes, its whisky. For, buried within that dramatic landscape, exists rich soil redolent with peat, and a water supply heavy with briny minerals. No wonder, then, that Islay is home to some of the finest and most distinctive single malts in the world, among them, Ardbeg, Laphroaig and Lagavulin.