Whistler

Where to Drink Right Now in Whistler

December 9, 2023 No Comments

Whether it’s for après or waiting out a no-snow day, the mountain village has plenty of fine drinking options. And if what you crave most is a beer while watching the game in good company, you’ll find the locals huddled at Stinky’s on the Stroll and other casual watering holes!

Wild Blue Restaurant + Bar

Whistler’s most-lauded new restaurant is fronted by a big, beautiful, boomerang-shaped bar, just as pleasant a place to while away an evening as the plush, shiny dining room: the full menu is available at the bar, and service is superb. Crush a plate of raw oysters with a Martini (there are six on the menu, but ask for one made with Copperpenny 006 Oyster Shell gin), and try creative mixology like the Phoenix, a Lot 40 Rye sipper fortified with Cocchi Americano Rosa and sherry, and topped with Laphroaig for a smoldering, savoury finish. A helpful glossary of “Intriguing Techniques & Ingredients” is your cheat sheet to deciphering some of the complex culinary-bar techniques used here. The B.C. edition of Fernet Hunter (a collab with Endeavor Snowboards) is available here, and would make an amazing amaro caldo on a chilly day.

Watch for: An eye-popping $49 deal this winter for a three-course menu during the week (Sunday through Thursday).

@wildbluerestaurant

Features, Guides

Sipping Whistler

January 13, 2023 No Comments

Wild Blue is just the latest establishment to offer exceptional cocktails at the mountain resort

The new Wild Blue Restaurant + Bar serves Pacific Northwest fare and globally inspired cocktails. Photo courtesy of Wild Blue

Mention Whistler, and powder-packed bowls, emerald glades and sweeping vistas likely pop to mind. But these days the resort town’s dining scene is just as much of a draw as its stunning scenery—and alongside it is a cocktail culture snowballing as fast as the 7th Heaven Express.

From Bearfoot Bistro’s nitro-infused Martinis and Araxi’s Firecracker Margarita to Il Caminetto’s Negroni vault and Alta Bistro’s oak-barrel-aged cocktails, Whistler takes its drink-making seriously. Now the ante has just gone up with the recent opening of Wild Blue Restaurant + Bar.

The Alchemist

Jeff Savage Crowned World Class Canada Bartender of 2019

June 5, 2019 No Comments

The Botanist head bartender wins the Diageo World Class Canada title in Whistler

Jeff Savage, Canada’s Bartender of the Year 2019, hoists his trophy atop Whistler Mountain. Colin Fox photo

Jeff Savage is standing on top of the world. Literally.

On June 4, after three days of competition that took the finalists on a cocktail-themed scavenger hunt, through world history and deep into the spirit of the mountains, the head bartender of Vancouver’s Botanist Bar won the Diageo World Class Canada final in Whistler, B.C.

The Alchemist

Smoke and spirits

November 17, 2017 No Comments

Mexico’s top bartender makes us fall in love with the smouldering complexity of mezcal

Mica Rousseau, head bartender at Four Seasons Mexico City and winner of Best Bartender at the 2016 World Class Mexico competition, pours out samples at a mezcal master class at the Four Seasons Resort and Residences Whistler during Cornucopia 2017. He is also hosting Mezcal y Maize, a series of “après” parties. Cornucopia continues to Nov. 19 in Whistler, www.whistlercornucopia.com. Hannes van der Merwe photo

“Twenty years ago in Mexico, mezcal was for poor people. Fifty years ago it was for poor people in the villages,” says Mica Rousseau. “Now it’s a super trendy spirit in the big food and cocktail cities. Now we are producing mezcal not for the Mexican market, but for the rest of the world.”

Recipes, The Alchemist

Naked and Famous

November 17, 2017 No Comments

For his mezcal master class at the Four Seasons Resort and Residences Whistler, Mexico’s Mica Rousseau demonstrated this classic cocktail created by Joaquín Símo at Death & Co. in New York.

INGREDIENTS:
1 oz (30 mL) mezcal
1 oz (30 mL) Aperol
1 oz (30 mL) yellow Chartreuse
1 oz (30 mL) fresh lemon juice

METHOD:
Place all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice, shake well and fine-strain into a cocktail coupe. If you like, garnish with an ice cube. Serves 1.

The Alchemist

November’s most ‘spirited’ events

November 10, 2017 No Comments

November is no one’s favourite month. It’s dark, cold, wet and gloomy, and it isn’t quitethe month that comes with presents. Maybe that’s why it’s such a great month for drinking. I mean, maybe that’s why it’s such a great month for new product releases and exciting social events, starting with these.

The Alchemist

A Cornucopia of cocktails in Whistler

November 3, 2017 No Comments

Savour the art of the shaken and stirred at the ski resort’s annual food and drink fest

Cocktails are served! This year’s Whistler Cornucopia event takes place Nov. 9-19. Darby Magill photo

If you think Whistler Cornucopia is just about wine, think again. Sure, there’s no shortage of Chardonnay, but the annual food-and-drink festival is also about beer, whisky and, above all, cocktails.

In fact, Whistler has generally become a great destination for cocktail lovers. As Mary Zinck, the manager of travel media for Tourism Whistler, says, “I don’t think there is a place that you can go where you can’t get a good drink.”

Features

Oso Good

January 24, 2017 No Comments

With a commitment to quality ingredients and local products, Jason Redmond gives Bar Oso’s cocktails an edge

Bar Oso’s bar manager Jason Redmond. Supplied photo

Bar Oso celebrates its one-year anniversary this ski season. In those scant twelve months, the Spanish-inspired tapas bar has become a must-visit destination in Whistler Village. Located around the corner from its sister restaurant Araxi, Bar Oso set out to give the mountain resort something completely different.

Guides

The Alchemist Guide to Whistler Cocktails

January 3, 2017 No Comments

Whistler at night. Tourism Whistler/David McCohn photo

Think about Whistler drinking and images of craft beers on sunny patios and fragrant steaming mugs of après ski Glühwein inevitably come to mind. But for some reason, Whistler has never traditionally conjured up much in the way of cocktail culture. Fortunately, the wave of thoughtfully crafted drinks and micro-distilled spirits has finally made its way up the Sea-to-Sky, and bars across town are shaking and stirring up some decidedly delicious creations.

Features

Whistler warmers

November 21, 2016 No Comments

Après ski is a cozy affair at Fairmont Chateau Whistler’s The Mallard Lounge

Photo courtesy of Fairmont Chateau Whistler

Whistler is synonymous with winter. Temperatures fall and, in short order, so too does the snow and a barrage of tourists eager to take to the slopes.

And when those tourists have had their fill of the great outdoors, many of them descend upon Fairmont Chateau Whistler’s The Mallard Lounge.