The Alchemist • Issue 19 • Fall/Winter 2022

MOUNTAIN MIXER

Where to drink in Whistler

BRANDY REBRAND

B.C. distillers revive a classic spirit

AT THE BAR

With Dylan Riches of Published on Main

COOL COLAS

Artisan sodas that really pop

08 – BAR BITES

News from the world of cocktails and spirits

11 – BAR CONVENT BERLIN

What’s shaking at the world’s largest bar and beverage trade fair by Gail

Nugent

14 – AT THE BAR

Hanging out with Dylan Riches of Published on Main by Mike Usinger

18 – STILL LIFE

How to craft your own bespoke gin by Charlene Rooke

22 – BRANDY REBRAND

B.C. brandies come into their own—at last by Reece Sims

27 – SIPPING WHISTLER

Seeking the best cocktails at the resort town by YVR

Barfly

34 – COOL COLAS

Artisan brands: Better than the real thing? by Allie

Tuner

38 – CLASSICS: DIRTY MARTINI

Cleaning up a soiled reputation by Joanne

Sasvari

40–

Sarah Annand photo

Matthew Benevoli photo

Contributors

Joanne Sasvari is the editor of The Alchemist and Vitis magazines. She is a WSET-certified writer-editor who covers food, drink and travel for a variety of publications, and is the author of several cookbooks, including the recently released Island Eats.

Matthew Benevoli is an awardwinning mixologist, industry veteran and mentor. He has a passion for creating custom and unique cocktails and loves storytelling through them.

Allie Turner is a lifestyle journalist specializing in beauty and fashion, but a serious love for the people in Vancouver's hospitality industry keeps her coming back to food and cocktail writing.

Charlene Rooke is a certified Specialist of Spirits and a Moonshine University-trained craft distiller who writes for enRoute, Taste and Food & Drink.

Mike Usinger is a Vancouver writer who loves vintage tiki mugs, overhopped IPAs and a good dive bar with a great jukebox.

Doris Sun is a social media contributor for the World’s 50 Best Bars and World’s 50 Best Restaurants. Follow her on Instagram @cocktailfiles.

YVR Barfly is a Vancouver-based writer and longtime waiter and bartender who prefers to go incognito. They might be under cover at a bar near you.

Reece Sims is a retired awardwinning bartender, avid destination distillery-goer and the owner of the beverage-brand agency SIP Spirits. Follow her on Instagram @reecesims

ON THE COVER:

The Corpse Reviver No. 1 is the lesser-known sibling of the classic, best made with B.C. brandy. Find the recipe on page 23.

Reece Sims photo.

Fall's cooler weather makes it tempting to curl up in front of the fire with a dram of whisky or a warming brandy cocktail.

It’s hard to believe that a whole year has passed since last November, when we held the kickoff event for the first-ever Vancouver Cocktail Week presented by The Alchemist. But here we are again, bigger and better and with slightly fewer pandemic restrictions. (We hope.) Vancouver Cocktail Week is March 5 to 11, 2023, but plan to get your tickets soon because we expect many events will sell out quickly.

Meanwhile, before we hunker down in front of the fire during the wintry days ahead, we’ve been thrilled to be back out in the world doing our favourite thing: sipping great drinks and telling other people about them.

In this issue, YVR Barfly ventures to Whistler to drink in the mountain resort’s cocktail scene, Doris Sun heads to Maraca in Santo Domingo and our publisher Gail Nugent hits Berlin, where the cocktail community has just gathered for the world’s biggest bar and beverage trade show.

Also: In “Brandy Rebrand,” Reece Sims discovers how B.C. distillers are putting delicious new life into an old spirit. Allie Turner checks out the cool new artisan colas for your next Cuba Libre. Mike Usinger chats with Dylan Riches, Published on Main’s suave barkeep, in our new column, At the Bar. In Still Life, Charlene Rooke gets the custom treatment with bespoke gins. Home Bar columnist Matthew Benevoli explains how to fill your cocktails with the appealing aroma of smoke. Our tasting panel takes one for the team and samples ultraluxe spirits. And we offer plenty of cocktail recipes for you to try at home.

Plus we cover all the latest spirited news from here and around the world, and offer a complete guide to B.C.’s distilleries. For more, visit thealchemistmagazine.ca.

—Joanne Sasvari, Editor

PUBLISHER:

Gail Nugent

gnugent@glaciermedia.ca

EDITOR:

Joanne Sasvari

jsasvari@glaciermedia.ca

DESIGN & PRODUCTION

MANAGER: Tara Rafiq

SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR:

Valeria Remizova

TheAlchemistMagazine.ca

@TheAlchemistBC

@TheAlchemistMag

Published by:

Glacier Media Group 303 West 5th Avenue, Vancouver, BC V5Y 1J6 778-240-4010

© The Alchemist 2022

This issue is complimentary.

Getty Images photo

BAR BITES

NEWS AND NOTES FROM BEHIND THE BAR AND AROUND THE WORLD OF COCKTAILS AND SPIRITS

VANCOUVER COCKTAIL WEEK, ROUND 2

Hosting Vancouver’s first-ever cocktail week back in March, just as we were coming out of pandemic restrictions, was definitely a leap of faith. But we quickly learned that Vancouverites were thirsty for good cocktails, especially when they could enjoy them with each other.

Now Vancouver Cocktail Week presented by The Alchemist is coming back for a second round March 5 to 11, 2023—and it’ll be even bigger.

The signature events are back, including the opening brunch and closing gala. In between those two big parties there will be a dozen seminars, cocktail-paired dinners and special events as well as our cinq à sept series of elevated happy hours.

Now that we can travel again, international bar stars as well as national and international brand ambassadors will be flying in to share their expertise and join the fun. And, in conjunction with our charity partner, the BC Hospitality Foundation, we will once again offer spirits education scholarships for those who wish to further their spirited careers.

Cocktails are meant to be enjoyed with friends old and new. They are inherently social, and that’s just what Vancouver Cocktail Week presented by The Alchemist is all about. We hope you’ll come and raise a glass with us next March.

Tickets will go on sale December 1. For more information and the latest VCW news, visit thealchemistmagazine.ca.

Jana Bizzarri photo

EXPECT SOME HANKY PANKY AT BOTANIST

Continuing its thrilling series of guest cocktail bar collabs, this November

Botanist Bar’s executive chef Hector Laguna and head bartender Jeff Savage will welcome Mexico City’s acclaimed Hanky Panky cocktail bar (No. 13 on the World’s 50 Best Bars list) for a Día de los Muertos celebration.

On November 2 and 3, chef Laguna will pair a six-course tasting menu with three cocktails created by Hanky Panky bartenders Gina Barbachano and David

Negrete, and three concocted by Botanist’s Savage. Then, on November 4, the Hanky Panky team will join Fairmont Pacific Rim’s creative beverage director Grant Sceney in a cocktail-forward experience with live music and entertainment at The Lobby Lounge & RawBar.

This is the Pac Rim's third collab of the year—previous events have featured New York’s Katana Kitten, SAGA and Overstory—and the series will continue into 2023. “It is a pleasure to bring the flavours and style of Hanky Panky to Vancouver,” says Barbachano, who is also the bar’s general manager. “And to celebrate with the backdrop of Día de los Muertos only enhances the experience.”

Reservations for the $225-per-person dinner can be made through OpenTable.

LEFT: Hanky Panky bartender and GM Gina Barbachano joins the Fairmont Pacific Rim team for a special Día de los Muertos celebration.

TOP: Botanist head bartender Jeff Savage will work with the Hanky Panky team and chef Hector Laguna on a special cocktail-paired dinner.

Photo courtesy of Hanky Panky

Photo courtesy of Botanist Bar

SPOOKTACULAR COCKTAILS

Halloween, All Souls Day and Día de los Muertos: It’s that haunting time of year when we celebrate the dead and their ghostly memories. And that means it’s time for spooky cocktails like the ones crafted by Quebec’s Ungava Spirits Distillery. Find more recipes at ungavaco.com

UNGAVA MARGARITA

The wild Arctic botanicals in Ungava Gin add unique colour and flavour to this spooky big-batch cocktail.

5 oz Ungava Gin

3.75 tequila or mezcal

2.5 oz orange liqueur

4 oz lime juice

1 oz agave syrup

Garnish: Fresh mint, lime slices (fresh or dried)

Combine all liquid ingredients in a pitcher. Stir with a mixing spoon and refrigerate. Just before serving, add ice cubes and fresh mint to the pitcher. Serve in small highball glasses filled with ice cubes, and garnish with a slice of lime. Makes 5 servings.

COCKTAILS WITH TRUE GRIT

The late, great actor John Wayne was often quoted as saying that if he was going to have a drink, “It had better be a good one.” Well, there are plenty of those in John Wayne: The Official Cocktail Book by André Darlington (Insight Editions). The book features more than 70 cocktail recipes, inspired by the Duke’s most famous characters, such as Rooster Cogburn and Davy Crockett. “My dad appreciated a well-made cocktail, and this book offers readers tips and recipes to create some very beautiful drinks,” says his son Ethan Wayne, president of John Wayne Enterprises. So saddle up, pardner, and enjoy this spirited gallop down memory lane.

SMOKE IN STYLE

At $434.95, the Crafthouse by Fortessa Cocktail Smoking Box may seem like a frivolous purchase, especially when you can just follow Matthew Benevoli’s easy tips for smoking cocktails on page 42 instead. But the fact that this gorgeous, Art Deco-ish gadget was designed by world champion bartender Charles Joly makes us give it a second look. It comprises a sturdy stainless-steel frame, glass sides, walnut base, handheld smoker and easy-to-use door latch, making it as ergonomic as it is stylish. Available at Williams Sonoma. williams-sonoma.ca

If there are any lingering doubts that the bar world has bounced back from the pandemic, the recent Bar Convent Berlin should put them to rest.

The trade show is the world’s largest for the bar and beverage community. This year 12,505 attendees from 88 countries and 533 exhibitors from 44 countries travelled to Berlin for the October 10 to 12 event. Among the crowd were some of the biggest names in cocktails, including Portland’s Jeffrey Morgenthaler, Jesse Vida of Singapore’s ATLAS bar and Ruben Neideck, the Berlin-based Bartender of the Year, eager to share new ideas, taste new drinks and discuss solutions to the big issues that still face the industry.

“It was incredible,” says The Alchemist publisher Gail Nugent, who attended the conference. “There were over 1,200 brands, and many had amazing installations. Some of them actually recreated entire bars. There was a map booklet to get around the six exhibition halls, and I put it to good use not to miss anything.”

The intricate installations highlighted some of the major trends in the industry, such as the Taste of Spain’s aperitivo bar, which recreated the spirit of 14 de la Rosa in Barcelona often in low- and no-ABV format, and the popular BCB Urban Gardening Area, where guests could explore issues of sustainability and herbalism. Attendees also loved The Bar in Front of the Bar from Athens, proving that the speakeasy trend is indeed back, and likely here to stay.

Then, when the day’s tastings and discussions were done, attendees hit the town to check out Berlin’s dynamic bar scene. “Everyone was so happy,” Nugent says. “It was just energizing.”

The next BCB will be held October 9 to 11, 2023. For information, visit barconvent.com.

BCB / Roland Justynowicz photos

LEFT: One of the highlights of Bar Convent Berlin was the Urban Gardening Area. RIGHT: Attendees enjoyed a taste of Spain at the aperitivo bar hosted by the 14 De La Rosa Barcelona team. BOTTOM: It was speakeasy time at The Rumble in the Jungle and The Bar in Front of the Bar, created by the Athens team and sponsored by Bar-Fabric.

Previous World Class Canada winners congratulate Massimo Zitti (centre, in the purple shirt), the latest national Bartender of the Year, who placed fifth at the global final. Photos courtesy of World Class Canada

A World Class Partnership

HOT OFF ANOTHER TOP 5 WIN FOR CANADA, THE COMPETITION TEAMS UP WITH VANCOUVER COCKTAIL WEEK

Lastmonth, at the global finals of the Diageo World Class competition in Sydney, Australia, all eyes were on Toronto’s Massimo Zitti. The action was riveting.

“Because it was Canada competing, everyone wanted to watch. The crowd around Massimo was bigger than anyone else’s,” says Michael Armistead, who oversees the Diageo World Class Canada

Bartending Competition as National Onpremise, Reserve and Sponsorship Manager.

And now, for the first time, Vancouverites and visitors will be able to share in the World Class excitement, too.

“We are very proud to partner with Vancouver Cocktail Week as the platinum sponsor,” Armistead says. “We are thrilled

to be part of the media launch event in November, and to present the World Class Canada national final 2023 in Vancouver, March 5 to 11.”

In March, national finalists from across the country—as well as previous national and global winners and international guest judges—will arrive during Vancouver Cocktail Week for a series of challenges, seminars, pop-ups and guest shifts, culminating in the announcement of the World Class Canada Bartender of the Year 2023 at the closing gala on March 11.

It will also be a fitting celebration of Canada’s 10th anniversary in the Diageo World Class program.

Since this country began participating in the world’s biggest and most prestigious cocktail competition in 2013, our bartenders have placed in the top 12 almost every year and twice taken home the global title—surpassing 10,000 participants from 50-plus countries to do so. (Vancouver’s Kaitlyn Stewart was named World’s Best Bartender in 2017 and Edmonton’s James Grant in 2021.)

In 2023, for World Class Canada’s 10th year, Armistead says, “We’ll be visiting more cities than ever before. We’ll be hosting World Class Hangouts including guest shift pop-ups in cities across the country. Our first event will be Nov. 2 in Toronto. Then we’ll be very excited to be in Vancouver on the 8th and 9th for the media launch of Vancouver Cocktail Week, and Victoria on Nov. 10.”

Among the attendees will almost certainly be Zitti, Canada’s Bartender of the Year 2022— who placed in the top five worldwide in

Sydney. (In first place was Adrián Michalcˇík of Norway, followed by bartenders from Australia, Poland and Finland.) “We’re incredibly proud of Massimo and he has continued the Canadian tradition of doing terrifically well at the global final. Placing fifth overall is incredible,” Armistead says.

And who knows—the partnership with Vancouver Cocktail Week may even be a notso-dry run for Armistead to fulfill his dream of hosting a global final right here in Canada.

“I am very excited for the 2023 competition in Vancouver,” he says. “We’re looking forward to seeing some familiar faces and making some new friends.”

It's easier than ever to enter the competition this year—all it takes is an original cocktail recipe. Applications to compete in World Class Canada 2023 open on Nov. 30 and close Jan. 17 at diageoworldclasscanada.com.

Nationally and globally, World Class competitors face challenges using Diageo's reserve brand spirits.

Setting the stage

AT PUBLISHED ON MAIN, DYLAN RICHES PERFORMS COCKTAIL THEATRE

by Mike Usinger

Ask Dylan Riches to trace his journey from the wilds of Prince George to bar manager at East Vancouver’s celebrated Published on Main, and he’ll ultimately suggest that he’s simply swapped one stage for another.

“One of the things I love most about this industry is that the path is not the same for every single person,” Riches says at the award-winning restaurant. “I love talking to people in the industry, getting to know them, hearing about where they come from. Every person’s path has a different turn or twist.”

Today the wildly innovative Riches is one of the star players on a team that landed Published on Main the top spot on the Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants list for 2022. To sit down at the bar with him is to be paralyzed by indecision in the best of ways: Do you opt for the Dog Day Afternoon (hayinfused Buffalo Trace, barbecue Ambrato vermouth, charred corn syrup and Smoke & Oak bitters) or the Demoiselle (blanco tequila, kasu-tarragon Riesling, lime and absinthe)?

As thrilled as he is by where he finds himself today—one of the city’s most respected young bartenders—life hasn’t exactly turned out the way Riches once planned.

Raised in Salmon Valley on the outskirts of Prince George by a drama-and-film-teacher mom, he got the acting bug early, and then set about turning that into a career.

“As young as seven or eight I was in some of her shows that she put on through her high school,” he notes. “As a kid I loved being on stage and being the centre of attention.”

Convinced that acting was what he was born to do, Riches left Prince George at 19 and enrolled in the Vancouver Academy of Dramatic Arts, taking a six-month program geared to film and television. To pay the bills, he landed a day job bartending, for which he had zero qualifications or skills.

“I remember the first time someone asked for a Negroni,” he says with a laugh. “I was like ‘I don’t even know how to spell that.’ ”

But the more time he spent behind the bar—often alongside fellow actors working a side hustle—the more he became deeply fascinated with mixology and the way it blended art, science and history.

“I learned that I loved acting as a passion, not as a career,” Riches says. “And that was a hard pill to swallow for me, because for so long I had convinced myself that I loved acting more than anything.”

Instead, he started channeling his artistic side into making boundary-pushing cocktails, eventually building serious buzz at Vancouver’s Brix & Mortar, then having his mind expanded during a year-long stint at Hong Kong’s tiny but mega-influential experimental cocktail bar The Old Man.

“Growing up, I always loved things I could be creative with and put my own stamp on,” Riches reminisces. “I started to realize I don’t have to make someone else’s recipes out of a book. I can have my own style. That was one of the last pieces of the puzzle to click in—where I was like ‘This is something I really, really want to do.’”

One of the things he loves best about the job that’s become both his passion and his primary love? Bringing things back around to his childhood acting in Prince George, every night is a different show when he’s behind the bar at Published on Main: “It’s kind of like being onstage in that you can’t hide.”

The Solstice, Riches' summertime cocktail in two parts. Sarah Annand photo

Riches brings beauty and balance to cocktails like the effevescent Eden. Sarah Annand photo

Black Pine Social

DISCOVER ELEVATED APRÈS-ANYTHING COCKTAILS AT THE HEART OF SILVERSTAR MOUNTAIN RESORT

Upstairs from the Red Antler at the heart of SilverStar Mountain Resort, the new Black Pine Social restaurant has two natures—like an urbanite-turnedweekend-warrior.

The alluring room has shades-of-grey walls and floors, and a swishy copper chain mail curtain screening a sexy supper club. It's also got rustic barnboard panelling and a wood-burning stone fireplace fronted with deep leather couches for enervated skiers and cyclists. There's a wrap-around patio and a long bar, "comfortable and deep

enough for dining and to encourage chat and questions as you taste and order," says Jacob Sweetapple of Notion Concepts, the brain trust behind a selection of back-bar gems like Eagle Rare bourbon or Don Julio 1942 tequila.

"During the pandemic it was a labour of love," says owner Brandon Loughery of transforming the space into a fine-dining and cocktail lounge with the heart of great gastropub. "But we're looking forward to this winter, and really bringing something different to SilverStar and to Vernon."

At SilverStar's Black Pine Social, the cocktails will tempt you off the hills. Photos courtesy of Black Pine Social

The Lougherys are the power couple behind the Woodsman Group (Woody's Pub in Lake Country, Packing House Pub in Kelowna) and thanks to Melanie Loughery's wine expertise, you can taste B.C. wines from The Hatch, Clos de Soleil and Le Vieux Pin, plus iconic global labels.

One guest recently called chef Jarred Sauve's cuisine the "fanciest, most eclectic pub food"—not a bad description for earthenware plates inspired by global alpine cultures from Japan (steamy ramen) to the Alps (Gruyère and pork belly mac and cheese).

The cocktail menu has mountain grace notes, too: an earthy nettle syrup enhancing rum and pineapple in the Flying V or the evergreen whiff of rosemary over gin and green tea in Last Chance. These cocktails "push boundaries," says Sweetapple. Often, inspiration comes from the kitchen: ginger and lemongrass are natural après warmer-uppers and the house Caesar has a togarashi-spiced Japanese-inflected rim.

Black Pine Social also has a superior ice program, with king cubes made from ice slabs frozen and cut in house, as clear as a frosty alpine lake, some custom-stamped with emblems inspired by the drinks.

A snowboarder himself, Sweetapple says, "When I go out I'm probably still in my gear, and I want something light and refreshing. Once I clean up and head out for dinner, I want a bit more fine dining feel, and a couple of nice cocktails. We feed both of those needs: you can crush a beer and have some karaage, but you can also do fine dining with great wine and top shelf spirits."

Jacob Sweetapple's Notion Concepts has designed a cocktail program that can appeal to a boarder off the slope as well as a couple out for a romantic dinner. Black Pine Social

The back bar at Black Pine Social is packed with elevated spirits from around the world.

Distiller for a day

MAKE YOUR OWN BESPOKE GIN AT ARTISAN DISTILLERIES AROUND THE WORLD—AND RIGHT HERE IN B.C.

by Charlene Rooke

If you’re planning a trip to London, don't just settle for a taste of London Dry gin at one of the city’s fine bars. Blend your own during a three-hour Ginstitute Experience at The Distillery on Portobello Road, during which you’ll learn about gin history and production, and go home with a bottle of your own botanical blend, all for £120 (about CAD$175).

Likewise, the Ginstitute by the Sea in Arisaig, NS, offers a weekend package of two nights in an oceanview chalet plus a session with distiller Thomas Steinhart that involves foraging for local botanicals that go into two bottles of your own gin. (Cost $600 for one person or $900 for a couple, including accommodations, food and libations.)

B.C. distilleries have been ahead of the curve with the custom-gin trend. Vij's Bolly Water, made for Vancouver’s renowned Indian restaurant by Okanagan Crush Pad in 2016, included spices like curry leaf, coriander and cubeb berries. Kelowna chef Rod Butters collaborated with Okanagan Spirits in 2019 to bottle a cucumber-forward gin with mint, lemon

verbena, orris and foraged botanicals. Called the Whole Truth, it was custommade for The Truth cocktail served at RauDZ Regional Table. In 2020, Yaletown Distilling made Blue Ocean Gin with sustainably harvested Haida Gwaii kelp and cobalt butterfly pea flower colouring, as a tie-in to KPMG's Blue Ocean commitment to ocean health.

Now you can be a gin distiller yourself for a day in Whistler, where since 2019, Montis Distilling has created custombatch gins for around 50 customers (montisdistilling.com). “American visitors and people from all over Canada” have been among the takers, says Charlotte Miglin, who handles sales and marketing for the distillery. Summer and pre-holiday are peak seasons to create exclusive spirits for holiday parties, weddings and other occasions. Some spirits aficionados know exactly what they want, but most bespoke

MOST BESPOKE CUSTOMERS WANT TO CREATE SOMETHING THAT THEIR FRIENDS AND FAMILY WOULD THINK IS REALLY UNIQUE AND COOL.

customers “want to create something that their friends and family would think is really unique and cool,” says Miglin.

The process starts with an in-person consultation at Montis, tasting previous custom bottlings plus the distillery’s own unique seasonal gins. This past spring, Cloud 9 gin incorporated delicate rose, cucumber and pink peppercorn; summer Solstice gin combined ginger, pineapple and a pinch of turmeric for vibrant golden colour.

Distillers Marketa Pohlova and Kwang Chen (the distillery's founder) then

create a botanical recipe that layers the client’s favourite flavours over a base spirit made from local malted barley, distilling a micro-batch of as few as 12 bottles (for $65 a bottle plus tax). A design collaboration with local business Cutting Edge Signs allows them to whip up slick custom labels with a bespoke name, spirit description or even logos and images.

Unsurprisingly for Whistler, where tourists are thirsty to try all things local, restaurants and bars have gotten on board by blending specific gins to suit certain cocktails, or create versatile custom bottlings they can keep behind the bar to make a variety of craft gin cocktails. The custom program has been thriving, and Miglin says, “The pandemic pushed it to the extreme, with people really wanting to support local.”

How can every Martini, Negroni and G&T you mix not taste that much better, when it’s made with your own gin?

A selection of custom bottlings at Whistler's Montis Distilling, where you can create your own gin and bespoke labelling, too. Photos courtesy of Montis Distilling

The secret’s out at Wind Cries Mary

FOLLOW THE SIGNS TO GREAT FOOD AND DRINK IN VICTORIA’S BASTION SQUARE

Asign pointing you to fresh oysters and another just above the door are the only clues that one of Victoria’s most exciting food and drink experiences can be found here, tucked away in historic Bastion Square.

Follow the stairs down to find a dark and moody candlelit space, where the canopied bar gleaming with bottles of local and international wine and spirits is a sure sign that this is the right place to come for a good drink.

Head further into the restaurant and you’ll enter a cozy, brick-walled room, which for some will bring back memories of Camille’s, a Victoria staple that occupied the space for 27 years. Go even further and you will discover the best seats in the house—a hidden courtyard patio surrounded by brick walls, where a tree stretches high above and twinkling lights add to the romantic ambience. You'll feel like you’ve left Victoria and been transported to Montreal or New York.

At Wind Cries Mary, the brick walls create a welcoming space, and the well-stocked bar promises fine drinks to enjoy. Photos courtesy of Wind Cries Mary

Chef David Healy’s food complements the restaurant’s esthetic perfectly. The dishes are comforting, coastal and very Vancouver Island. The seasonal menu changes daily and is largely seafood focused, but with a selection of vegetable dishes that showcase just how lucky we are to live in a province with such an abundance of beautiful produce. And each dish is designed to be shared, because Chef Healy wants to bring people together to “break bread” with one another and enjoy the food together, just as they would at their grandmother’s table.

Cocktails and food have always shared the spotlight at Wind Cries Mary, with both focusing on using local ingredients to make simple things very well. The bar program at WCM has grown extensively over the years, but still stays true to the original vision that now-general manager Clayton Thornber had when he started it, which is to try and capture the beauty of Vancouver Island in a glass.

The bar team, led by Soren Schepkowski and Bronwyn Hawkins, has created menu after menu of seasonal cocktails that both bring comfort to locals and brilliantly showcase what the Island has to offer to those just travelling through. The best example of this is Schepkowski’s collaboration with Stillhead Distillery in Duncan to create WCM’s very own rye whisky. With notes of Rainier cherries, cinnamon buns and ocean breeze, it is the base for the WCM Old Fashioned, a house cocktail that tastes the way the room makes you feel.

Not to be outdone, sommelier Jasmin

Dosanj has built a wine list that appeals to those looking for something funky and weird as well as those craving big, bold and Old World wines. Look forward to more exclusive finds at Wind Cries Mary, including Dosanj’s upcoming collaboration with Bella Wines.

The WCM Old Fashioned captures the spirit of the restaurant.

Chef David Healy's seasonal menu focuses on fresh, seasonal, local seafood and produce.

The brandyre-brand

B.C.’S CRAFT DISTILLERS BREATHE NEW LIFE

INTO AN OLD SPIRIT

Words and photos by Reece Sims

Overthe last few decades, brandy has developed a branding problem. Not the Brandy who rose to fame with hits like The Boy is Mine in the late 1990s; rather, the once-venerable tipple that today is often seen as old fashioned, dull and enjoyed exclusively by the elderly.

Perhaps you’ve had it before in your grandma’s flamed Christmas pudding,

drunk an occasional Sidecar at a hip cocktail spot or heard a reference to it in a Drake or Megan Thee Stallion song.

But outside of Cognac—a sub-category of brandy that has been embraced and promoted by the rap community— brandy has not been an intuitive or even conscious choice for most Gen Xers, millennials or Gen Zers.

Despite its waning popularity, there seems to be a trend emerging in British Columbia that just might clutch brandy out of the doldrums and back en vogue. Whether coincidental or created through circumstance, a number of B.C. wineries, cideries and distilleries have recently released their own small-batch, terroir-driven brandies—and they’re good, really good.

WHAT IS BRANDY?

To put it simply, brandy is a category of liquor that is made from distilled wine or other fermented fruit juices and bottled at no less than 40 per cent ABV. While it will possess aromatic and fruity notes, it will be dry in style.

CORPSE REVIVER NO. 1

The lesser-known sibling of the Corpse Reviver No. 2, this spirit-forward classic cocktail is renewed with an all-local lineup of ingredients.

1 oz Alchemist Distiller Duke Apple Brandy

1 oz Merridale XXO Brandy

1 oz Esquimalt Wine Rosso Vermouth

1 barspoon simple syrup (optional; see note)

Garnish: orange zest, cherry

In a mixing glass add all ingredients and ice. Stir until sufficiently chilled and diluted. Strain into a chilled coupe. Express the oils from a piece of orange zest over the surface of the drink, then garnish with a cherry. Serves 1.

Note: To make simple syrup, mix 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water in a small pot and heat over medium heat, stirring often, until sugar is fully dissolved.

The term “brandy” comes from the Dutch word “brandewijn,” which loosely translates to “burned wine.” Like tequila or rum, after brandy is distilled, it can be either bottled while young and vibrant or matured in wood barrels for an extended duration until rich and refined.

Brandy can be made anywhere in the world, but is particularly produced in large wine-making countries such as France, Spain, South Africa and the United States. As B.C. possesses a burgeoning wine industry and is also a large exporter of tree fruits, the province is primed to contend as a top brandy producer and has the capacity to make it “cool” again, thanks to modern craft distillers.

We’re really seeing two main styles emerge in B.C. that are somewhat reminiscent of France’s brandy industry, but with a local twist. There are some exceptions, such as Wyndell Craft

Tolu Olaku photo

Distilleries, which is producing brandies from many fruits like peaches and saskatoon berries, but for the most part (Wyndell Distilleries included), the B.C. industry is dominated with apple-based and grape-based expressions.

AN APPLE A DAY…

With apples being B.C.’s biggest tree fruit crop by production volume, it’s hardly surprising that cideries and distilleries are utilizing this fruit as a raw ingredient for spirit production.

Okanagan Spirits, which opened in 2004, was one of the first distilleries to produce an apple brandy and smartly named their

SAZERAC

Originating from New Orleans, the original Sazerac used Cognac as the base ingredient (it was later replaced with rye whisky). Apple brandy provides a smoother, more fruity base for this locally inspired iteration.

1 sugar cube

2 straws Ms. Better’s Bitters Aromatic Bitters

2 oz Forbidden Spirits Adam’s Apple Brandy

Rinse: Okanagan Spirits Taboo Absinthe

Garnish: lemon zest

In a mixing glass, add sugar cube and bitters. Muddle into a paste before adding brandy and ice. Stir down until all ingredients are well integrated. Rinse a 5 oz rocks glass with absinthe, then strain the chilled ingredients into the glass. Express oils from the lemon zest over the surface of the drink, then drop the zest into the drink. Serves 1.

product Canados as a play on Calvados, a style of brandy made from apples in Normandy, France. Created using mostly Hyslop crabapples, a variety often used for making ciders due to its tartness and tannin levels, the Canados is aged in French oak for a minimum of three years before being bottled. This expression is extremely aromatic with notes of fresh red apples, oak tannins, baking spices and a long-lasting finish.

While Okanagan Spirits produces spirits from many different base ingredients, the Garden-of-Eden-inspired Forbidden Spirits makes all of their vodkas, gins and liqueurs from locally sourced apples. Therefore, releasing the aptly named Adam’s Apple Brandy was instinctive. Produced from 100 per cent estate-grown apples and aged in charred American oak casks, this expression is light, juicy

and balanced—perfect for use in stirred down, spirit-forward cocktails.

Along similar lines, this year Alchemist Distiller released just over 600 bottles of Duke Apple Brandy, which is aged for three years in ex-bourbon barrels. This limited-edition brandy presents a harmonious combination of oak and fruit notes that work well as a spirit substitute in classic vodka or gin cocktails.

For something a bit more hard-core (apple pun intended), Wayward Distillery offers a limited-edition cask-strength apple brandy. The distillery is known for producing spirits made from honey, so apples are something of a departure; however, they utilize their ex-Drunken Hive Rum casks for maturation to produce a brandy that’s bold, spicy and “rich with an overabundance of personality,” as owner Dave Brimacombe notes.

GRAPE EXPECTATIONS

The eponymous Cognac and Armagnac brandies from France may be the most

FRENCH CONNECTION

Named after the Gene Hackman film of the same name, this two-ingredient cocktail is easy to make and pairs wonderfully with dessert.

2 oz Maple Leaf Spirits Lady of the Cask brandy

0.75 oz Sons of Vancouver Amaretto

Garnish: lemon zest

In a rocks glass, combine ingredients and add ice. Stir until chilled. Express oils from the lemon zest over the surface of the drink, then drop the zest into the drink. Serves 1.

well-known styles of grape-based brandies in the world, but within B.C. a number of distilleries are reinventing these styles of spirits in a more approachable, yet still complex manner.

As noted by Maple Leaf Spirits, “If wine is the heart of the grape, brandy is the soul.” If this adage is true, then their Lady of the Cask brandy will be your kindred spirit. Made from grapes grown in the Okanagan and aged in European oak barrels for a minimum of six years (a similar aging period to a VSOP-designated Cognac), the complexity of this spirit spawns new

BETWEEN THE SHEETS

Thought of as a riff on a Sidecar, this inspired classic is amped up with the use of some higher-ABV craft spirits.

0.75 oz Wayward Distillery Cask Strength Apple Brandy

0.75 oz Wayward Distillery Drunken Hive Rum

0.75 oz Sons of Vancouver Quadruple Sec

0.5 oz lemon juice

Garnish: orange or lemon zest

In a cocktail shaker, add all ingredients with ice. Shake until adequately diluted and chilled. Double-strain into a chilled coupe and garnish with expressed citrus oils and a twist. Serves 1.

tasting notes at each subsequent smell and sip. Aromas of tropical fruits, berries, butterscotch and almonds are followed by red apples, tobacco, Parma violet candy and toffee on the palate. The finish permeates with delight.

Similar to Maple Leaf Spirits, Merridale

Cidery, located in the Cobble Hill, focuses on the terroir of the Cowichan Valley by using only local ingredients that are processed, fermented, distilled and bottled on their farm. Borrowing terminology from Cognac, their “hors d’âge” (which translates to “beyond age”) Cowichan XXO Brandy is single vineyard, single batch, single barrel and aged for a minimum of 10 years in new French oak barrels. Where XOdesignated Cognacs carry a price tag of $200 or more, this local expression can be found in half-sized (375 mL) bottles for under $50. Expect intense vanilla and toasted cedar notes, with red apples, cinnamon, white pepper and brown sugar dancing on your palate.

All in all, whether you’re partial to lighter, unaged spirits like vodka and gin, or prefer the bolder, more mature tastes of darker spirits like whisky and rum, the category of brandy is the perfect middle ground for all imbibers as it offers something for everyone.

With B.C. distillers producing excellent quality, locally inspired iterations, there is enormous potential for the category to be prolific once again. Perhaps creating a new (unofficial) name and identity for it in B.C. is a good start to the category’s rebranding—Caniac, anyone?

SippingWhistler

WILD BLUE IS JUST THE LATEST ESTABLISHMENT TO OFFER EXCEPTIONAL COCKTAILS AT THE MOUNTAIN RESORT

by YVR Barfly

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.

Sophisticated new cocktail lounges have livened up Whistler's nightlife. Getty Images photo

OUT OF THE WILD BLUE

Focusing on Pacific Northwest cuisine, with sustainable seafood and local ingredients as cornerstones, Wild Blue is headed by an industry dream team including: Restaurant Hall of Fame inductee Jack Evrensel, founder and former operator of Toptable Group; Iron Chef Alex Chen; respected restaurant director Neil Henderson; and executive chef Derek Bendig, whose previous experience includes representing Canada at James Beard House in New York City and working at a two-Michelin-starred restaurant in France.

And leading the cocktail program is bar manager Zack Lavoie, formerly of The Keefer, The Diamond, Australia’s Sum Yung Guys and Bar Oso.

With hospitality being the name of the game for a clientele that comes from all over the

globe, the cocktail menu had to feature a little something for everyone, Lavoie explains.

“With this in mind, we looked at the most popular cocktails in the world and used them as the foundation for our inspiration,” he says. “Then, we broke them down into four simple categories—tart and punchy; refreshing; spirit-forward; and classic Martinis—then tweaked them to our tastes using modern techniques."

He adds, “With the rich and sultry tones of the room, classic Martinis have already

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

WITH THE RICH AND SULTRY TONES OF THE ROOM, CLASSIC MARTINIS HAVE ALREADY BECOME A STAPLE OF THE DINING EXPERIENCE, PARTICULARLY THE VESPER.

THE VESPER

Recipe courtesy of Zack Lavoie, Wild Blue Restaurant + Bar.

1.5 oz Botanist gin

0.75 oz Belvedere vodka

0.25 oz Cocchi Americano Bianco

Garnish: lemon twist

Place all ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice and shake hard. Fine strain into a Martini glass, and garnish with a lemon twist. Serves 1.

become a staple of the dining experience, particularly the Vesper. Seasoned Martini drinkers have been overjoyed to see a version of the Gibson.”

Among the ingredients that Lavoie—an avid snowboarder—is “stoked” to work with are products from Cocchi, the Italian company that has been making wine-based aperitifs since 1891. “I’m a big fan of what they offer and don’t see them often enough in B.C.,” Lavoie says. Consider Cocchi Americano Rosa, its base of Piedmont red wines enhanced with extracts of gentian, cinchona, citrus zests, rose petals, and other botanicals. Lavoie showcases the cherryhued aromatized wine in Wild Blue’s house cocktail, the Phoenix. With peated Scotch as a fragrant garnish, the bold sipper also consists of sherry and rye.

Other Wild Blue cocktail highlights? The Sanita, which Lavoie made for his Palomaloving sister, using lime-cordial foam instead of lime juice along with Patrón silver tequila, grapefruit and agave. Inspired by the French 75 and named after an Italian pistol of the same era, the Beretta incorporates limoncello with citron vodka, Italian herbs, lemon

and prosecco. Then there’s the Strawberry Daiquiri. It is a resort town, after all, and Lavoie is a big fan of the classic cocktail.

“Although we all secretly love a blended version, we shake ours very hard and have refined it by creating a strawberry oleo saccharum and adding a touch of Liquore Strega to the mix, with white rum and lime bringing it back to its Daiquiri roots,” he says.

INSPIRED BY NATURE

Elsewhere in Whistler, the art of the cocktail can be found at the Raven Room Restaurant & Cocktail Bar, recently named one of Canada’s Best Bars by Canada’s 100 Best The drinks list draws inspiration from the

Photo courtesy of Wild Blue

SHISO FINE

Recipe courtesy of Stephanie Redmond, The Raven Room Restaurant & Cocktail Bar.

0.75 oz green-tea-infused plum wine (see note)

2 oz shiso-infused Moonlight shochu (see note)

0.25 oz lime juice

0.25 oz green tea syrup (see note)

1 to 2 shiso leaves

Garnish: additional shiso leaf

Place all the ingredients in a cocktail glass filled with ice, and stir well. Fine strain into a Nick and Nora glass and garnish with an additional shiso leaf (if you like, thread a skewer through it and place it on top of the glass). Serves 1.

Notes: To make the tea-infused wine, add 40 g of green tea leaves to 750 mL of Gekkeikan plum wine, seal and let sit for 8 to 12 hours. Strain before using, then keep chilled.

To make the infused shochu, add 20 g of shiso leaves to 750 ml of Moonlight shochu, seal and let sit for 8 to 12 hours. Strain before using, then keep chilled.

To make green tea syrup, add 30 g green tea leaves to 2 cups each granulated sugar and water. Heat, stirring, until sugar is fully dissolved. Remove from heat, cool to room temperature, strain and chill.

WE ALWAYS TRY TO ASK: WHY IS THIS COCKTAIL SPECIAL OR HOW DOES IT RELATE TO THE SEA TO SKY?

mountain town’s natural surroundings and changes seasonally, the team behind it being especially fond of rare flavours.

Take the low-ABV Shiso Fine, made with Moonlight shochu infused with its namesake Japanese herb, a member of the mint family. Light, refreshing, and ideal after a day of invigorating outdoor exertion, the concoction also has Gekkeikan plum wine infused with green tea as well as lime and green-tea syrup.

The recently revamped Braidwood Tavern at Four Seasons Whistler Resort & Residences has elevated its cocktail offerings (the Margarita menu has proven to be a huge hit) while keeping with its mountain cabin-like feel. Bartender Rocio Mogollon describes the menu as “playful, trendy, and fun.” “We always try to add a wow factor to each cocktail,” Mogollon says. “Nevertheless, we have some pillars as the backbone: Go local and go seasonal whenever possible.”

For winter, Mogollon recommends the Polar Bear Express from the bar’s hot chocolate cocktail program. With vodka, Chambord, white chocolate ganache, coconut milk, coconut whip cream, and raspberry powder, it’s served in a bear glass mug “that brings us back to our best winter memories”. The Mezcal-based Maria Bonita, named after an actress from the Golden era of Mexican cinema, is another standout, with yellow Chartreuse, grapefruit, and a mix of spices that includes cinnamon and black cardamom.

Photo courtesy of The Raven Room

AN ICONIC ROOM

Finally, Mallard Room at Fairmont Chateau Whistler is an iconic spot beloved by locals and visitors alike for its live music, sumptuous comfiness and consistently solid craft cocktails.

“When we compose the cocktail menu, we approach it a little differently every time,” says Jack Broadhead, assistant director of food and beverage. “At the core is always taste. Everything must be delicious first. From there we want to inject interest and locality. We always try to ask: Why is this cocktail special or how does it relate to the Sea to Sky?”

Mallard Room bartender Lina Khandaker created the eye-catching Castaway Old Fashioned. She wanted an approachable take on the classic that would fit with the room’s warmth—it’s best sipped by the fireplace.

CASTAWAY OLD FASHIONED

Recipe courtesy of Lina Khandaker, Mallard Lounge at Fairmont Chateau Whistler.

1.5 oz Woodford Reserve bourbon

0.5 oz Taylor Fladgate 20-year-old Tawny Port

0.25 oz maple syrup

4 dashes Angostura bitters

Garnish: Amarena cherry and orange zest

Add all ingredients to a mixing glass with ice and stir to your preferred dilution. Place a king cube into a double Old-Fashioned glass. If you like, smoke the ice and/or the glass using a smoking gun and applewood chips. (See page 42 for directions on smoking cocktails.) Strain cocktail over ice cube, and garnish with the cherry and orange zest. Serves 1.

“The first thing you’ll notice is the smell of the applewood smoke, mixed with a single piece of oud. Think lighting incense: That’s the smell you’ll get," Khandaker says. "The Woodfordis a smooth, warm bourbon with notes of cinnamon, cocoa and spices, and the Taylor Fladgate 20-year adds some floral and citrus balance. The house-made barrelaged bourbon maple syrup adds a sweet kick."

She adds: "I wanted a big visual wow, which we achieved perfectly with a beautiful presentation using the smoke top at the tableside, then pouring the drink over a big ice cube in front of the guest. This cocktail is a lovely sensory experience; it looks, smells and tastes fantastic. It’s a perfect late-night sipper.”

Photo courtesy of Mallard Room

The Godfather

DISARONNO ORIGINALE AND THE BUSKER OFFER A CLASSIC COCKTAIL YOU CAN’T REFUSE

It’srare that a cocktail is made from only two ingredients, without a third to provide balance and support. It’s even rarer that a twoingredient cocktail is so perfectly crafted that it can withstand the test of time.

The Godfather is just that drink.

Named for the Oscar-winning 1972 movie, the whisky-and-amaretto-based Godfather cocktail was allegedly the favourite tipple of its star, Marlon Brando, and enjoyed by the timelessly cool crooners of the Rat Pack. And why not? The whisky (traditionally blended scotch), brings honey, heather and smoke to the glass, while the amaretto adds sweet, nutty complexity. Together they create a simple but sophisticated sipper to enjoy on a weekend at the cabin, for après ski or simply relaxing in front of the fireplace.

Like so many other mid-to-late 20th-century cocktails, The Godfather disappeared for a few years, but is now enjoying a revival. This time, though, the ideal combination is Disaronno Originale amaretto with The Busker, an Irish whiskey that partners so perfectly with the amaretto, it could have been made just for this cocktail.

It’s impossible to think of amaretto (the name means “a little bitter”) without also thinking Disaronno, which has produced the liqueur in the Lombardy town of Saronno since around 1600 when Giovanni Reina discovered an old innkeeper’s recipe. The Reina family, which still owns the company, has kept the recipe a closely guarded secret for four centuries, but

has revealed that it comprises apricot kernels, herbs, fruit and burnt sugar.

The Busker, on the other hand, is a modern Irish whiskey, part of the distillation revolution sweeping the Emerald Isle where uisge baugh (water of life) originated. The Busker produces four types of whiskey (single grain, single pot still, single malt and blended) at the Royal Oak Distillery in County Carlow. The Triple Cask Triple Smooth used in The Godfather is a blended malt matured and finished in bourbon, marsala and sherry casks, rich with notes of tropical fruit, vanilla, dark chocolate, toffee and a hint of cinnamon.

With its elegant simplicity, The Godfather lends itself to endless variations. Modern palates, for instance, prefer a slightly less sweet drink than its original 1:1 formula. It’s a perfect balance of sweet and strong, easy to make, easy to “twist” and, most of all, easy to enjoy. It’s a cocktail that you simply can’t refuse.

THE GODFATHER

This elegant signature recipe captures the romantic spirit of the 1970s cocktail, but with less sweetness than the original.

1.5 oz The Busker Triple Cask

Triple Smooth

0.75 oz Disaronno

Garnish: orange zest

Combine all ingredients (except garnish) in a rocks glass over a large ice cube. Stir until chilled and diluted. Express the oils of a slice of orange zest over the drink, then drop the peel in it. Serves 1.

Crafty colas

FIVE BRANDS THAT GIVE THE POPULAR SODA AN ARTISANAL REMAKE

by Allie Turner

Colas originated as medicinal beverages, but are now just sweet refreshers. Getty Images photo

Thinkof cola and you likely think of Coke, Pepsi and the rivalry between them.

The two beverages were initially developed by pharmacists as patent medicines—one to aid digestion (Pepsi), the other as nerve tonic (Coke)—but today they are simply

sweet, carbonated beverages with flavours of vanilla, citrus and spice, especially cinnamon.

Coca-Cola was invented in 1886 by Atlantabased pharmacist John Stith Pemberton, who was looking for a non-addictive alternative to morphine. He created a

syrup from coca leaf extract (which is also the plant from which cocaine is derived), caffeine-rich kola nuts and wine, later removing the wine to appease the growing temperance movement. Pepsi, meanwhile, was created in 1893 by another pharmacist, Caleb Bradham, in North Carolina. Originally called Brad’s Drink, the sugary, vanilla-flavoured soda was renamed PepsiCola in 1898 and shortened to Pepsi in 1961.

And that rivalry? It may appear that the two have been duking it out for the title of best cola since the 1890s, but the battle was largely fabricated by marketing teams in the 1970s.

The formula for both has changed over the years (the originals didn’t contain, for instance, high-fructose corn syrup and contemporary Coke doesn’t contain coca) but remains a closely guarded secret. That has not stopped others from creating their own cola variations, trying to recreate the nostalgia and flavour of a childhood favourite, only with high-quality, artisanal ingredients.

These pre-packaged artisanal beverages appeal to adults looking for cocktail mixers as well as those seeking nonalcoholic drinks that aren’t your average mass-produced pop. They contribute to the growing sober movement and offer consumers more thoughtful and considered choices by lowering the amount of sugar, calories and/or caffeine, while offering a more complex flavour profile.

Here are five craft colas to try. They may not be medicinal these days, but they are still the real thing.

FENTIMANS CURIOSITY COLA

One of the first to introduce artisanal sodas, Fentimans is a British beverage company that has been around since 1905 and uses botanical infusions to create its carbonated drinks. The Curiosity Cola is made with fermented ginger root extract, pear juice concentrate and glucose syrup, and it does contain caffeine.

¾ OZ. COLA MAISON

The Coca-Cola corporation creates a syrup that’s mixed with carbonated water at designated bottling facilities around

the world. The Gourmet Warehouse in Vancouver, on the other hand, stocks an artisanal cola concentrate by a Montreal company called ¾ Oz., which creates small-batch soda syrups. The Cola Maison is an herbal citrus syrup made with spiced essential oils, and can be mixed with sparkling water at home or added directly to a cocktail.

BOYLAN BOTTLING CO. CANE COLA

cola is made with kola nut and cane sugar, and promises a nose full of bubbles with hints of toasted cotton candy and traces of lime.

NOT TOO SWEET COLA

Boylan Bottling Co. is a heritage brand from New Jersey, dating back to 1891. The company started with birch beer and has expanded to craft sodas in recent years, including the Cane Cola made with cane sugar, orange, lemon and lime oils, nutmeg, coriander and lavender.

PHILLIPS SODA WORKS SPEED

KING CRAFT COLA

Vancouver Island’s Phillips Brewing & Malting Co., best known for its Blue Buck beer, has branched out into the world of craft sodas with a slew of classic childhood favourites including root beer, orange cream, ginger ale and cola. The Phillips

This low-calorie option from Vancouver’s Not Too Sweet beverages (formerly known as Canoe Cola) contains no caffeine and is made with natural sugars derived from dates and sugar cane. The cola is meant to evoke memories of childhood sodas and is made with citric acid, vanilla extract and warming spices for a complex flavour that’s sweet—but not too sweet.

Boylanbottling.com photo

NotTooSweetDrinks.ca photo

Dirty Martini

It's the addition of olive brine, with its oils, murk and floaties, that makes a Martini "dirty." Getty Images photo

A TARNISHED CLASSIC CLEANS UP ITS ACT

by Joanne Sasvari

If given the choice, you’d pick potato chips over chocolate. You prefer your cheese well aged and a little blue. When you order sushi, you always need to refill your soy dipping bowl. You can’t wait for mushroom season. And you almost certainly have at least three types of salt in your pantry right now.

If you’re the sort of person who craves savoury and salty flavours, then the Dirty Martini is the drink for you. Luckily, it’s no longer the pariah of the cocktail set. Well, sort of.

A CERTAIN TYPE OF DRINKER ENJOYS THE FRISSON THAT ACCOMPANIES A NAME WITH LEWD CONNOTATIONS— AFICIONADOS TEND TO LIKE THEIR MARTINIS “DIRTIER,” “FILTHIER” AND “SLUTTIER” THAN GOOD TASTE MIGHT DICTATE.

What makes a Martini “dirty” is the addition of olive brine—often murky, sometimes oily, occasionally pulpy—which transforms an otherwise elegant and laser-clean drink into a brackish puddle that could easily be hiding a troupe of sea monkeys. A certain type of drinker enjoys the frisson that accompanies a name with lewd connotations—aficionados tend to like their Martinis “dirtier,” “filthier” and “sluttier” than good taste might dictate. And, like so many drinks popular in the ’80s and ’90s, the Dirty Martini has a bad rep of being made with questionable ingredients and slapdash technique, and enjoyed by those with little taste or finesse.

All of that has added the Dirty Martini to the pantheon of drinks many bartenders despise and may think less of you for ordering. But like the Cosmo and the Amaretto Sour, this punchline of a cocktail is making a comeback thanks to thoughtful craftsmanship and a growing appreciation that its umami notes are, quite simply, yummy.

The first barkeep to muddle olives into a Martini was John O’Connor at New York’s Waldorf Astoria back in 1901, according to cocktail historian David Wondrich. In 1930, olive brine made its first written appearance in G.H. Steel’s My New Cocktail Book. But it was U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, an enthusiastic if somewhat sloppy cocktailian, who really popularized it during the Second World War. His version comprised two parts gin, one part vermouth and a restrained teaspoon of brine, a relatively elegant concoction that he garnished haphazardly with anywhere from one to four olives.

(Note that olives must never be served in even numbers as it is considered extremely bad luck, and poor hospitality, too. As Brad Gadberry writes in his treatise Martini FAQ: “High tradition dictates that you must use an odd number of olives. One olive is fine; so are three—five is excessive. Using two or four olives is a faux pas.”)

In any case, the Dirty Martini’s popularity began to rise after the war. Over time, vodka replaced the gin, the vermouth was left in the back of the liquor cabinet and the amount of olive brine increased as surely as its quality decreased. As the co-owner of New York’s Mother’s Ruin told Punch magazine, “Nobody knew anything. Everything was bad. I’m sure there were some people doing the right things, but I made a lot of Dirty Martinis in the ’90s, and it was literally just vodka and crappy olive juice.”

But now a new generation of bartenders is bringing back the brine, ensuring that we can enjoy this dirty pleasure of a cocktail without feeling too soiled.

The rule of three: Serving olives in even numbers is considered unlucky, as well as poor hospitality. Getty Images photo

DIRTY MARTINI

A savoury variation on the classic.

2.5 oz gin or vodka

0.5 oz dry vermouth

0.25 to 0.5 oz olive brine

Garnish: 1 or 3 olives on a skewer

Add the gin or vodka, vermouth and olive brine to a mixing glass filled with ice and stir until well-chilled. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a skewer of olives. Serves 1.

Variations:

• Make it extra dirty by using olives stuffed with blue cheese, chilies or roasted garlic.

• Make it just a little soiled by garnishing it with caper berries instead of olives.

• Make it filthy by increasing the amount of brine until it tastes like the sea.

• Or make it a Gibson by swapping out the olives for two pickled onions and replace the olive brine with the pickle juice the way they do at Tableau Bar Bistro.

Smokin’

FIRE UP FALL’S WOODSY FLAVOUR

Story and photos by Matthew Benevoli

There's more than one way to add the autumnal aroma of smoke to cocktails. We explore your options.

Fall has arrived and there’s a chill in the air, so it’s time to trade T-shirts for sweaters and cosy up with a comforting drink. Dark, boozy cocktails offering a warming feeling become our go to, and through smoking we can elevate those drinks and invoke a fireside experience.

There are many ways to smoke cocktails, using ingredients such as woods, herbs and spices, and employing anything

from a lighter to culinary torches, wood planks and the handy appliance known as a smoking gun. Smoking might seem intimidating, but with the methods on the next page and some practice, you’ll soon be creating complex flavour layers in every sip.

Whichever method you choose, practice makes perfect. Have fun experimenting— just mind those fingers!

HOW TO SMOKE

COCKTAILS AT HOME

METHOD 1

Toast a sprig of herbs (such as rosemary or thyme) until it starts to smoulder, then use it to garnish your drink, taking care to blow out any flames. This will create smoky, herbaceous aromas.

JUPITER ASCENDING

1 oz Courvoisier or other VSOP Cognac

1 oz Arbutus Distillery Birch Liqueur

0.5 oz medium sherry

METHOD 2

Place a wood plank or chips on a fireproof surface, then torch it. Flip a glass over the burning section—this will extinguish the flame and cause smoke to fill the glass. When ready, re-flip the glass, pour your cocktail into it and enjoy smoke on the nose and tongue while you sip.

1 tsp grapefruit oleo saccharum (see note)

2 drops saline solution (1:5 sea salt to warm water)

Hickory smoke

Garnish: dehydrated orange wheel

Stir all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Pour into a decanter. Add hickory chips into a smoking gun and turn it on. Gently light chips with a lighter and, using the hose, billow smoke into the decanter. Swirl decanter, seal it and let infuse for 1 to 4 minutes, depending on how smoky you want your cocktail. Pour cocktail into a chilled rocks glass over a large ice cube. Serves 1.

METHOD 3

Trap smoke in a decanter along with your favorite boozy sipper. Pour the cocktail into the decanter, then use a handheld "smoking gun" to fill it with smoke. Swirl the decanter and let it infuse for one to four minutes. This forces in more oxygen and creates fuller, more voluptuous smoke flavour.

Note: To make the grapefruit oleo saccharum, use a citrus peeler to peel 2 well-washed grapefruits, taking care to avoid the bitter pith. (Keep the remaining grapefruit to juice later.) Place the peels into a sealable plastic bag along with 1 cup of granulated sugar. Seal the bag, removing as much air as possible, and massage the peels and sugar a little. Set aside for 12 to 24 hours at room temperature, massaging occasionally. When the sugar is partially dissolved and no crystals remain, juice the remaining grapefruit and add some or all of it to the sugar-oil mixture. Mix well, then use a fine mesh strainer to remove peels and any pulp. Makes about 1 cup.

ROSEMARY BEE’S KNEES

2 oz London Dry-style gin

1 oz lemon juice

1 oz honey syrup (see note)

1 small rosemary sprig

Garnish: charred rosemary sprig

Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker tin with ice and shake. Strain into a cocktail glass. Lightly torch a rosemary sprig, blow out any flame and rest on top or clip to rim of the glass. Serves 1.

Note: To make honey syrup, combine equal parts honey and hot water; stir well.

Recipes by Matthew Benevoli

CHURCHILL'S BREAKFAST

2 oz unpeated scotch whisky

1 oz brewed coffee

0.5 oz maple syrup

2 dashes aromatic bitters

A pinch of freshly grated cinnamon

Garnish: torched cinnamon stick

Torch a cedar plank. Place a chilled cocktail coupe over the burning section to capture the smoke and set aside. (The smoke will latch onto the condensation from the chilled glass for a deeper flavour.) Meanwhile, stir all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Flip coupe upright, then strain the cocktail into the smoked glass. Light the end of a cinnamon stick and lay it atop the cocktail as garnish. Serves 1.

Mastering Gin at Copperpenny Distilling Co.

NORTH VAN DISTILLERY REAPS THE REWARDS OF CRAFTSMANSHIP

Winning

a prestigious Global Gin Masters Medal—only a few months after they opened their doors—is just one of the exciting things happening at North Vancouver’s Copperpenny Distilling Co.

“Our key focus here is that we recognize, as a distillery, we are more than a maker of spirits, we are a purveyor of experiences,” says Jan Stenc, co-founder of the distillery

along with his partner in work and life, Jennifer Kom-Tong. “The whole idea that it is a meaningful social interaction is super-important to us.”

The couple opened the distillery doors in early 2022 after travelling the world chasing their careers in the motion picture industry (and, for Jenn, working with the Magic Mike Live franchise).

At Copperpenny's North Vancouver gin parlour, guests can enjoy cocktails crafted with the distillery's award-winning Gin No. 005. Photos courtesy of Copperpenny Distilling Co.

Wherever they went, they would seek out local gins, and often bring a bottle home as well. “That became our way of remembering those unique experiences. And in the end, we decided we wanted to create our own B.C. gin here,” Jan says. “We’ve got this beautiful combination of the ocean and the mountains and we’re such a multicultural port city—it seemed important that we created our own message in a bottle.”

Gin, he notes “really captures a sense of place in a spirit. Gin really does reflect not only the culture that makes it, but the history that led up to its creation as well as all the locally available botanicals.” They already use some B.C. botanicals and wheat from the Peace River region in their products and plan to use even more in limited releases like the upcoming partnership with Fanny Bay Oysters, utilizing their oyster shells, which add salinity and minerality to the gin.

Guests can enjoy these well-crafted spirits in Copperpenny’s gin parlour and tasting room on North Vancouver’s Esplanade Avenue, where Jenn has put her distinctive design skills to beautiful use. There they can also watch the stills in action through a large glass wall that acts as a looking glass from the tasting room into the distillery. “We’ve invested in some pretty unique distilling equipment from the Netherlands that combines art and science,” says Jan. They are real conversation pieces.

Next up for Copperpenny is a selection of liqueurs and amaros designed especially for cocktails, as well as spirit-specific

master classes, private event bookings, a sipping society, new barrel cellar and, just in time for the holidays, custom labelling and adorable 50 mL bottles perfect for stocking stuffers.

Meanwhile, they are still basking in the glow from their blind tasting win at the 2022 Spirits Business Global Gin Masters Competition, announced on July 1 in London, UK, where Copperpenny Gin No. 005 won the prestigious Masters Medal —“the highest possible award”—in the Global Micro-distillery category.

“It was a very welcome and humbling experience for sure,” Jan says. “Being only open for nine months, we were looking for some feedback from the ultimate authority. To get a Gin Masters Medal so quickly was really unexpected, but it’s real validation.”

Jenn Kom-Tong and Jan Stenc founded Copperpenny after tasting gins around the world.

Luxe libations

THE ALCHEMIST TASTING PANEL REVIEWS HIGH-END SPIRITS

by Joanne Sasvari

Sometimesnothing will do but the highest of high-end spirits. Perhaps there is an important anniversary to commemorate, a business deal to cement, a mentor to thank. Or maybe you are just lucky enough to stumble upon a tasting where you can sip something rare that’s been aging in a barrel for decades. Whatever the event, there comes a time when you may be able to enjoy an ultra-premium spirit—or a cocktail that’s been made

with it. We asked our tasting panel to share some of their favourites and the cocktails they’d make with them (if they could afford to). This issue, our tasting panel team comprises bartenders Sabrine Dhaliwal, Robyn Gray, Grant Sceney and David Wolowidnyk. Here’s what they had to say.

Note: Some of these products may not be available due to ongoing shipping delays.

The tasting panel discusses the ultra-premium spirits we rarely get to taste. Getty Images photo

SABRINE DHALIWAL HENNESSY PARADIS RARE

40% ABV, $1,950, 750ML

“There are many wonderful top-shelf spirits out there, but I do feel that Cognac has the best value,” says Sabrine Dhaliwal, beverage manager for Cross the Road Ltd. (Juke Fried Chicken and Chickadee Room), who would choose the storied Hennessy Paradis Rare.

“Hennessy Paradis is a unique and rare Cognac that is a testament to time,” Dhaliwal says. “Using eaux-de-vie that have been carefully maturing for a minimum of about 25 years in old oak barrels to bring out the silkiness, structure and complexity of the spirit without too much oak influence, it is truly a harmonious liquid. It is a Cognac that will truly please all imbibers, from the novice drinker to the seasoned Cognac savant.”

Suggested cocktail: Vieux Carré. “I understand that using Hennessy Paradis in cocktails may seem crazy for some, so Hennessy XO is an excellent alternative,” Dhaliwal says. (XO is also a relative bargain at only $350 a bottle.) “Using eaux-de-vie aged for a minimum 10 years—and most are much older—this Cognac has superb structure and lots of oak influence, which helps provide a great backbone to stirred down cocktail cocktails like the Sazerac and the Vieux Carré.”

ROBYN GRAY

CLASE AZUL TEQUILA ULTRA AGED

40% ABV, $3,325, 750 ML

“What’s not to love about an ultra-aged, ultra-luxury tequila?”

asks Robyn Gray, bartender at the Fairmont Pacific Rim Lobby Lounge.

“Ultra-aged means that tequila is matured in barrel for at least three years, but this one spends five years in

THERE ARE MANY WONDERFUL TOP-SHELF SPIRITS OUT THERE, BUT I DO FEEL THAT COGNAC HAS THE BEST VALUE.

VIEUX CARRÉ

0.75 oz rye whisky

0.75 oz Cognac

0.75 oz sweet vermouth

0.5 oz Bénédictine liqueur

2 dashes Angostura bitters

2 dashes Peychaud’s bitters

Garnish: lemon twist

Place all the ingredients into a mixing glass with ice and stir until well chilled. Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice or, if you prefer, served up in a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist. Serves 1.

The classic, invented at the Monteleone Hotel in 1930s New Orleans.

Getty Images photo

BOBBY BURNS

The origins of this classic are lost to time, but it emerged in the early 20th century, its name an homage to the famed Scottish poet Robert Burns.

1 oz blended scotch whisky

1 oz sweet vermouth

0.5 oz Bénédictine liqueur

Garnish: lemon peel

Place all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice and stir until well chilled. Strain into a cocktail glass. Twist a lemon peel over the glass to release its oils and then drop it into the drink. Serves 1.

American and Spanish sherry casks before being put into this beautiful decanter.”

Suggested cocktail: Tequila Martinez. “Promising big rich flavours of cinnamon, candied ginger and hazelnut, I would spin this up into a Tequila Martinez … if I could afford it,” Gray says.

GRANT SCENEY

THE MACALLAN M, MASTERS

DECANTER SERIES SINGLE MALT WHISKY

45.9% ABV, $6,735, 750 ML “I recently had the opportunity in which a guest asked for me to make a cocktail with The Macallan M,” says Grant Sceney, creative beverage director at the Fairmont Pacific Rim. “Macallan M is ‘a single malt of exquisite complexity and character’ and is one of their luxury whiskies in their Master Decanter Series. It starts with welcoming baking spices on the nose, which leads into vanilla and oak spice on the palate with a long raisin/sultana finish.”

Suggested cocktail: Bobby Burns. “One of my personal favourite cocktails coming into

TEQUILA MARTINEZ

Recipe courtesy of Robyn Gray.

1.5 oz Clase Azul Ultra Aged tequila

1.5 oz Carpano Antica Formula vermouth

2 tsp maraschino liqueur

Garnish: orange zest

Stir all the ingredients down on cubed ice in a mixing vessel until perfectly dilute and chilled. Strain into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with orange oil expressed from a swath of orange zest, then discard the zest. Serves 1.

Getty Images photo

Getty Images photo

fall and winter is the Bobby Burns. It consists of scotch, sweet vermouth, bitters and a whisper of Bénédictine. It’s a delicious tipple for the colder weather,” Sceney says. “I made the Bobby Burns with Macallan M and was only able to taste a couple of drops to ensure it was balanced, and it certainly made the taste buds dance. Given the opportunity to enjoy a cocktail without the price tag being a concern, this would be it.”

DAVID WOLOWIDNYK GLENFARCLAS 17 YEAR OLD

43% ABV, $190, 750 ML

“I love sipping on a dram of an exquisite single malt and experiencing it for the pure journey of complexity,” says David Wolowidnyk, bartender at Acquafarina. “The Glenfarclas 17 Year Old certainly has some weight to it, drawing you in with notes of vanilla and dried fruit while the malty character and oak provides the backbone. A slight perception of sweetness is rounded out by the dried fruit, earthy notes and a whisper of smoke. Often people only experience single malts on their own, but they can, and do, make for a wonderfully complex cocktail.”

Suggested cocktail: The Sunset. “With this particular dram, I pay homage to the classic Bobby Burns cocktail, substituting the vermouth for Marsala and adding a little orange bitters to complement the character of the whisky,” Wolowidnyk says.

SUNSET

1 oz Glenfarclas 17-year

1 oz Marsala

0.5 oz Bénédictine liqueur

2 dashes orange bitters

Garnish: orange peel, shortbread

Combine all ingredients with cubed ice in a mixing glass. Stir to chill and dilute, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange peel expressed over the surface and serve with a shortbread cookie. Serves 1.

This twist on the scotch classic is created by David Wolowidnyk.

Getty Images photo

OFTEN PEOPLE ONLY EXPERIENCE SINGLE MALTS ON THEIR OWN, BUT THEY CAN, AND DO, MAKE FOR A WONDERFULLY COMPLEX COCKTAIL.

Gold Medal Whisky is what we do

Imagine your own private-label custom-cask whisky, crafted for you by Canada's most internationally awarded craft distillery. Let Okanagan Spirits turn your whisky dreams into reality with our Private Label Program. Not only will you have your own private reserve signature whisky to serve at your bar or at home, but you also get the cask it was finished in, branded with your very own customized barrel-end. Your whisky, your label, your barrel.

Crafted by three-time World Spirits Awards Distillery of the Year

COCKTAIL GIFT GUIDE

These gift ideas will warm the hearts and glasses of every cocktail lover on your list.

ELDER BROS FARMS DISTILLERY APPLE STRUDEL LIQUOR

20% ABV, from $32.99 (750 ml)

Freshly pressed Creston apples are infused with cinnamon sticks added to our crafted spirit. Stewed apples, Christmas spice just brings you into the holidays. Available at BC Liquor stores and private liquor stores around the province. More info at elderbrosfarms.com

SHELTER POINT DISTILLERY SINGLE MALT WHISKY

46% ABV, $78.25 (750 ml)

Winner of Double Gold at the 2022 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, our Single Malt Whisky is a classic expression benefiting from our coastal location and terroir. Aged in a selection of different casks the Single Malt shows a balanced yet complex palette with the sweet leathery mouthfeel of a high-quality single malt. Available at shelterpoint.ca

STILLHEAD DISTILLERY HANDCRAFTED ISLAND SPIRITS

Spirits shopping for someone special? Stillhead Distillery has you covered with their Wild Blackberry Gin, Van-Isle Rye Vodka and multiple unique whiskies.

Order at stillhead.ca or purchase at private liquor stores across the province.

AMPERSAND DISTILLING NOCINO!

TOFINO DISTILLERY PSYCHEDELIC JELLYFISH ABSINTHE

Treat the spirit lover in your life with Nocino! Green Walnut Liqueur.

Winner of the 2021 Canadian Artisan Spirit of the Year.

Buy at ampersanddistilling.com

RESURRECTION SPIRITS RYE WHISKY

Our Rye Whisky is made from 100% BC grown rye grain. It is twice-distilled and then aged in second-fill bourbon and cabernet oak barrels for three years. The layered complexities drawn from the two barrels yield a depth of flavour, providing a truly unique interpretation of Canadian Rye Whisky.

This expression of rye can be sipped on its own, over ice or combined with your favourite ingredients to make an exquisite whisky cocktail.

Purchase at the distillery or get more info at resurrectionspirits.ca

Take a trip back in time with Tofino's old world style Absinthe, handcrafted in your favourite BC beach town. Heavy notes of anise and smooth herbal undertones deliver a surprisingly smooth, high proof treat that is also certified organic. Pour it over ice cream or try out any number of adventurous cocktail recipes. A truly unique gift!

Purchase at the distillery, online at tofinocraftdistillery.com or in private liquor stores.

SHERINGHAM DISTILLERY SEASIDE GIN

Sheringham Distillery is on a mission to make the world’s most approachable spirits, prioritizing sustainability and quality ingredients with a chef’s approach to distilling. With a story to discover in every bottle, what will yours be this holiday season? Available at BC and private liquor stores.

More info at sheringhamdistillery.com

Sponsored content

43% ABV, from $41.65 (750 ml)

42% ABV, $55 (750 ml)

73% ABV, starting at $40 (375 ml/750 ml)

COCKTAIL GIFT GUIDE

OKANAGAN SPIRITS CRAFT DISTILLERY

COCKTAIL COLLECTION BOX SET

3 x 375 ml, $100

Three premium readyto-drink cocktails. All natural. 100% BC.

The Manhattan Project –The perfect Manhattan, every time.

The Flying Fortress – a play on the Old Fashioned like you’ve never tasted.

The Orchard Negroni – 100% Elegant Craft. The way it should be.

Shipped direct to your door from our online store at www.oks.ca

STEALTH CRAFT DISTILLERS

STEALTH CORN VODKA

40% ABV, $27 (750 ml)

Enhance your favourite holiday cocktail with Stealth Corn Vodka. This award winning vodka is meticulously distilled using 100% organic corn giving it a subtle natural sweetness.

Available at private liquor stores and at stealthcraftdistillers.com

Sponsored content

The Canadian Professional Bartenders Association is a member-run non for profit society committed to establishing and upholding the highest standards in the proud trade of the career bartender. We consider continuous education, pride in service and principled responsibility to be the cornerstones of our profession, ideals we foster by building and maintaining community. The CPBA regularly organizes and executes educational seminars, competitions, product salons and meet-ups, and acts as a liaison between corporate brands and member businesses.

Hospitality is our business, and we love it.

B.C. DISTILLERY LISTINGS

YOUR GUIDE TO THE SPIRIT MAKERS

This province’s 78 artisan distilleries are producing everything from vodka to vermouth. Discover B.C.’s best spirits with our updated guide to the producers, tasting rooms and so much more.

VANCOUVER ISLAND & GULF ISLANDS

Ampersand Distilling

DEVINE Distillery

DISTILLERY LEGEND

(on-site services offered)

Tasting room Cocktail lounge

On-site sales Food Tours

Many distilleries are small operations. We always recommend calling before your visit to confirm opening hours and product availability.

Antidote Distilling Co.

COMING SOON

4721 Johnston Rd., Port Alberni

AntidoteDistillingCo.com

Arbutus Distillery

1890 Boxwood Rd., Nanaimo 250-714-0027

The Schacht family handcrafts spirits in the Cowichan Valley. Ampersand Gin, their flagship spirit, was declared Canada’s Best Classic Gin at the 2022 Canadian Artisan Spirit Competition.

Products: Ampersand Gin, Per Se Vodka, Imperative Dry Vermouth, Nocino!

4077 Lanchaster Rd., Duncan 250-999-1109

AmpersandDistilling.com

— Partner Distillery —

Awarded the 2022 Canadian Artisan Spirit of the Year for their Ancient Grains “Young” Whisky, DEVINE Distillery continues to build on its farmto-flask approach creating unique small-batch whisky, gin, “rum” and brandy.

Products: Glen Saanich, Ancient Grains, Genever, Dutch Courage, Sloe Gin, Honey Shine Silver, Honey Shine Amber, Black Bear

250-665-6983

@DevineDistillery

DevineDistillery.com

— Partner Distillery —

ArbutusDistillery.com

Bespoke Spirits House

425 Stanford Ave. E., Parksville BespokeSpiritsHouse.com

ClearCut Distilling Co.

319 Sutil Rd., Quadra Island 250-285-2257

SouthEnd.ca

Driftwood Spirits

836 Viewfield Rd.,Victoria DriftwoodSpirits.ca

Fermentorium

Distilling Co.

2010 Government St., Victoria 250-380-1912

Fermentorium.ca

Macaloney’s Island

Brewery and Distillery

Goldstream Distillery

4A-4715 Trans-Canada Hwy., Whippletree Junction, Duncan 250-213-8476

GoldstreamDistillery.com

Island Spirits Distillery

4605 Roburn Rd., Hornby Island 250-335-0630

IslandSpirits.ca

Merridale Craft Spirits

1230 Merridale Rd., Cobble Hill 250-743-4293

MerridaleCider.ca

Winners of numerous World Whiskies Awards, this distillery, started by Scotsman Graeme Macaloney, offers several single malts as well as world-class tours of the distillery.

Products: Glenloy Single Malt Whisky, Invermallie Single Cask Series (Ex-Bourbon, Portuguese Red Wine, Port, Moscatel), Mac Na Braiche

Single Malt Spirit, Peated Mac Na Braiche Single Malt Spirit, Peated Darach Braiche Single Malt Spirit, Oaken Poitín

Single Malt Spirit, Searaidh Braiche Single Malt Spirit

761 Enterprise Cres., Victoria 778-401-0410

VictoriaCaledonian.com

Misguided Spirits

18-1343 Alberni Hwy., Parksville 250-586-2200

MisguidedSpirits.ca

Maehem Spirits

COMING SOON!

4905 Cherry Creek Rd., Port Alberni 250-731-7535

MaehemSpirits.ca

Moon Distillery Ltd.

350 A Bay St., Victoria 250-380-0706

MoonDistillery.ca

Pacifi c Rim Distilling

2-317 Forbes Rd., Ucluelet

PacificRimDistilling.ca

Salt Spring Shine Craft Distillery

194 Kitchen Rd., Salt Spring Island 250-221-0728

SaltSpringShine.com

Shelter Point Distillery

4650 Regent Rd., Campbell River 778-420-2200

ShelterPoint.ca

Sheringham Distillery

252-6731 West Coast Rd., Sooke 778-528-1313

SheringhamDistillery.com

Spinnakers

308 Catherine St., Victoria 250-386-2739

Spinnakers.com

Stillhead Distillery

105-5301 Chaster Rd., Duncan 250-748-6874

Stillhead.ca

— Partner Distillery

Tofino Distillery

Unit G & H, 681 Industrial Way, Tofino, 250-725-2182

TofinoCraftDistillery.com

True North Distilleries

103-680 Berwick Rd. S., Qualicum Beach 778-879-4420

TrueNorthDistilleries.com

Victoria Distillers

9891 Seaport Pl., Sidney 250-544-8217

VictoriaDistillers.com

Wayward Distillery

2931 Moray Ave, Courtenay 250-871-0424

WaywardDistillery.com

LOWER MAINLAND, FRASER VALLEY & B.C. WEST COAST

Anderson Distilleries

Bruinwood Estate Distillery

2040 Porter Rd., Roberts Creek 604-886-1371

Bruinwood.com

Central City Brewers & Distillers

11411 Bridgeview Dr., Surrey 604-588-2337

CentralCityBrewing.com

Copper Spirit Distillery

441 Bowen Island Trunk Rd., Bowen Island 778-895-9622

CopperSpirit.ca

Copperpenny Distilling

103-288 E. Esplanade, North Vancouver 778-802-3500

CopperpennyDistilling.ca

Crow’s Nest Distillery

117-667 Sumas Way, Abbotsford 778-251-6002

CrowsNestDistillery.com

Deep Cove Brewers & Distillers

2270 Dollarton Hwy., North Vancouver 604-770-1136

DeepCoveCraft.com

Deep Earth Farms

785 Iverson Rd., Lindell Beach

DeepEarth.ca

Dragon Mist Distillery

213-19138 26th Ave., Surrey 604-803-2226

DragonMistDistillery.com

Goodridge & Williams Craft Distillers

8-7167 Vantage Way, Delta GWDistilling.com

The Liberty Distillery

1494 Old Bridge St., Vancouver 604-558-1998

TheLibertyDistillery.com

Long Table Distillery

1451 Hornby St., Vancouver 604-266-0177

106-3011 Underhill Ave., Burnaby 604-961-0326

AndersonDistilleries.ca

LongTableDistillery.com

Lucid Spirits

105B-8257 92nd St., Delta 604-349-3316

LucidSpirits.ca

Mad Laboratory

Distilling

119-618 East Kent Ave., Vancouver MadLabDistilling.com

Mainland Whisky

107-3425 189th St., South Surrey MainlandWhisky.com

Montis Distilling

1062 Millar Creek Rd., Whistler MontisDistilling.com

New Wave Distilling

3387 Tolmie Rd., Abbotsford 604-864-1033

@NewWaveDistilling

North West Distilling Co.

104-20120 Stewart Cres., Maple Ridge 604-818-6972

NorthWestDistillingCo.ca

Odd Society Spirits

1725 Powell St., Vancouver 604-559-6745

OddSocietySpirits.com

Roots and Wings Distillery

One Foot Crow

1050 Venture Way, Gibsons

OneFootCrow.com

Pemberton Distillery

1954 Venture Pl., Pemberton 604-894-0222

PembertonDistillery.ca

Resurrection Spirits

Specializing in craft spirits from absinthe to whisky to gin to vodka. Stop by for a tasting or a cocktail flight and feel the farm-fresh spirit take flight on your tastebuds. Open daily year round.

Products: Vital Vodka, Double Vice Coffee Infused Vodka, Renegade (horseradishinfused vodka), Dill Pickled Vodka, Peachy Keen Vodka, Jackknife Gin, Encore Gin, Inspired Gin, Old Dame, Rebel, Sidekick, Johnny Handsome, Old Fashioned Spirit, Apotheosis Absinthe, cocktail kits

7897 240th St., Langley 778-246-5247

RootsAndWingsDistillery.ca

— Partner Distillery —

Handcrafted rye whisky, gin, and vodka made with 100% BC rye grain. Stop by the distillery’s cocktail lounge to try the spirits in the seasonal, grain-to-glass cocktails.

Products: Rye, Vodka, Gin 1672 Franklin St. Vancouver 604-253-0059

ResurrectionSpirits.ca

— Partner Distillery —

Ravens Distillery

37455 Kilgard Rd., Abbotsford 236-483-4028

RavensDistilling.com

Salish Sea Spirits

7074 Westminster St., Powell River 604.313.8848

SalishSeaSpirits.ca

Sons of Vancouver

1431 Crown St., North Vancouver 778-340-5388

SonsOfVancouver.ca

Stealth Craft Distillers

#3-20 Orwell St., North Vancouver

StealthCraftDistillers.com

The 101 Brewhouse & Distillery

1009 Gibsons Way, Gibsons 778-462-2011

The101.ca

The Woods Spirit Co.

1450 Rupert St., North Vancouver 778-996-7637

TheWoodsSpiritCo.com

Yaletown Distilling Company

1132 Hamilton St., Vancouver 604-669-2266

YTDistilling.com

OKANAGAN, KOOTENAYS & INTERIOR

After Dark Distillery

1201 Shuswap Ave., Sicamous 250-836-5187

AfterDarkDistillery.com

Alchemist Distiller

101-18006 Bentley Rd, Summerland 250-317-6454

AlchemistDistiller.ca

Bohemian Spirits

417A 304 St., Kimberley BohemianSpirits.com

CrossRoads Brewing & Distillery

508 George St., Prince George 250-614-2337

CrossRoadsCraft.com

Dubh Glas Distillery

8486 Gallagher Lake Frontage Rd., Oliver 778-439-3580

TheDubhGlasDistillery.com

Elder Bros Farm Distillery

3121 Mission Wycliffe Rd., Cranbrook 250-581-2300

ElderBrosFarms.com

Fernie Distillers

531 1st Ave., Fernie FernieDistillers.com

Forbidden Spirits Distilling

4400 Wallace Hill Rd., Kelowna 250-764-6011

ForbiddenSpirits.ca

Indigenous World Spirits

2218 Horizon Dr., Kelowna 250-769-2824

IndigenousWorldWinery.com

Jones Distilling

616 Third St. West, Revelstoke JonesDistilling.com

Okanagan Spirits

Legend Distilling

3005 Naramata Rd., Naramata 778-514-1010

LegendDistilling.com

Maple Leaf Spirits

948 Naramata Rd., Penticton 250-493-0180

Red Collar Brewing & Distilling Co.

355 Lansdowne St., Kamloops 778-471-0174

RedCollar.ca

Taynton Bay Distillers

B.C.’s Original Craft Distillery invites you to step into their Prohibition-era tasting rooms to experience authentic farmto-flask whiskies, gins, vodkas, liqueurs, brandies and even Canada’s original absinthe.

Products: BRBN BourbonStyle Whisky, B.C. Rye Whisky, Laird of Fintry Single-Malt Whisky (double-wooded in Fortified Foch, Port, Rhum Agricole and Extra-Anejo Tequila casks), Okanagan Shine un-aged whisky, fruit and grain-based vodkas and gins, seasonal traditionally made liqueurs and brandies, Taboo Genuine Absinthe and Aquavitus. Private label custom cask program also available.

5204 24th St., Vernon 267 Bernard Ave., Kelowna 250-549-3120 | 778-484-5174

OkanaganSpirits.com

MapleLeafSpirits.ca

Monashee Spirits

307 Mackenzie Ave., Revelstoke 250-463-5678

MonasheeSpirits.com

Okanagan Crush Pad

16576 Fosbery Rd., Summerland 250-494-4445

OkanaganCrushPad.com

Old Order Distilling Company

270 Martin St., Penticton 778-476-2210

OldOrderDistilling.ca

Red Bridge Distilling.

#11 1445 McGill Rd., Kamloops 778-362-2555

RedBridgeDistilling.ca

1701B 6th Ave., Invermere 250-342-5271

TayntonBaySpirits.com

Tumbleweed Spirits

#7-6001 Lakeshore Dr., Osoyoos 778-437-2221

TumbleweedSpirits.com

Vernon Craft Distillery

Vernon, 250-306-4455

VernonCraftDistilleries.com

Wiseacre Farm Distillery

4275 Goodison Rd., Kelowna 250-469-2203

WiseacreFarmDistillery.com

Wynndel Craft Distilleries

1331 Channel Rd., Wynndel 250-866-5226

WynndelCraftDistilleries.ca

— Partner Distillery —

La Chispa

1.5 oz Bulleit Bourbon

0.75 oz Pacharán

0.3 oz Lustau East India Solera

0.15 oz Averna

0.15 oz Amaro Montenegro

2 dashes Angostura Bitters

Ardbeg Mist

Orange Oils, Star Anise

Add first six ingredients to a mixing glass, stir for 15 seconds. Mist with 2 spritzes of Ardbeg 10Year Scotch. Strain the cocktail into a rocks glass with a large ice cube and mist with orange oils. Garnish with star anise.

1014 Main Street • bodegaonmain.ca

Open Monday-Wednesday 3:30pm-11pm • Thursday-Sunday 11am-midnight Happy Hour Monday-Wednesday 3:30pm-6pm • Thursday-Sunday 3pm-6pm Brunch Saturday & Sunday 11am-3pm @bodegaonmain @bodegaonmainVan #bodeganights

Origami

Social photo

LAST CALL

GREAT WORLD BARS WE LOVE: MARACA

growing upper middle class of well-heeled and impeccably dressed locals, who pack the bar looking for trendy and creative libations.

A 14-drink cocktail menu showcases Dominican spins on classic cocktails. There is an Old Fashioned made with Brugal Leyenda rum, which is available only for the local market. There’s also the Negroni Dominicano, a tropical Negroni that incorporates pineapple-infused vermouth, strawberryinfused Campari and, of course, rum. These warm weather interpretations of well-known cocktails will definitely put you into an upbeat mood.

Ona nondescript street, just steps from the busy souvenir stores, pubs, cigar shops and touristy restaurants of Old Town Santo Domingo, lies a teal building devoid of signage, but accented by a strikingly curved red door. It’s not immediately obvious that you’ve arrived, but push open the door and you’ll know you’ve found Maraca.

An almost otherworldly restaurant and bar, Maraca is a feast for the senses. A sprawling space featuring dramatic local art, lush plants and colourfully tiled floors clashing with equally bold wallpaper, Maraca is a visual cacophony in the best sense of the term. Bartenders shake and pour at an amazingly fast clip, working nonstop to keep up with the constant flood of orders for Espresso Martinis, Mezcal Mules and gin & tonics.

Maraca embodies the future of Santo Domingo, traditionally dubbed the “first city” of the Americas and an often-overlooked destination among those planning a visit to the Dominican Republic. Maraca caters to the

The energy of Maraca is priceless and will be the template that Santo Domingo’s burgeoning bar scene will use to replicate for years to come. maracamenu.com —Doris Sun

Doris

Sun photo

Instagram.com/maracasdq photo

The Pineapple Spicy (Ron Brugal XV rum, pineapple and lemon juice, vanilla syrup, pink pepper) at Maraca.