THE ALCHEMIST ON • Issue 24 • Spring/Summer 2025

IN FLIGHT

Could this be the perfect cocktail?

ELBOWS UP!

A resurgence of Canuck creativity

SAFETY FIRST

A good night for everyone

PULL UP A SEAT

Great bars to try, both near and far

COCKTAIL MIXERS

SIMPLY ADD A SPIRIT

NO ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS SERVINGS PER BOTTLE 5+

NON CARBONATED

NO ARTIFICIAL FLAVOURS

NO ARTIFICIAL COLOURS

This modern classic soars above the others by Kate Dingwall

A rallying cry for Canadian creativity by Christine Sismondo

How a B.C. non-profit is helping bar and nightlife patrons stay safe by Charlene Rooke

Rick O’Brien photo

Nathan Murray photo

Contributors

Joanne Sasvari is the editor of The Alchemist, Vitis and YAM 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 2023’s Okanagan 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.

Kate Dingwall is a WSET-trained wine professional and a writer, editor and photographer covering spirits, food, culture and travel for publications such as Food & Wine and Serious Eats.

Viranlly Liemena is a Vancouverbased creator with deep love for travels, cocktails and travelling for cocktails. He is a big fan of Martinis and Champagne, preferably on the plane.

Brenton Mowforth has become Toronto’s authority on where and how to drink. His mission is to influence people to share a passion for “drinking better, not more” by taking a thoughtful approach to imbibing.

Charlene Rooke is a WSET Spirits instructor, Certified Specialist of Spirits and the Academy Chair, Canada West, for World’s 50 Best Bars. A trained craft distiller, she also writes for Food & Drink, Taste and other drinks publications.

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

Christine Sismondo is a National Magazine Award-winning writer who covers spirits, wine, bars and cultural history for numerous publications, and is the author of America Walks into a Bar.

ON THE COVER: Think

Martini with a tropical vibe. See Her Through the Pines, created by Driftwood Spirits, features Driftwood’s Contact Gin, acidadjusted pineapple juice, simple syrup, habanero tincture and saline solution. Living Room Creative photo

Editor’s letter

In late April, Vancouver firmly shook off its “no fun city” rep and welcomed the best barkeeps on the continent for North America’s 50 Best Bars. Restaurants and bars across the city hosted epic parties and exciting pop-ups, and it’s fair to say that the day after the awards Vancouver was the single most hungover place on the planet. But nobody seemed to mind because everyone was having so much fun.

It was a good reminder that “fun” is what cocktail culture is supposed to be.

The best reason to enjoy a cocktail is not just because it’s delicious, but because it is convivial. Sharing a cocktail with someone breaks down barriers, makes conversation easier and inspires us to kick up our heels and hit the dance floor. It’s a little bit glamorous, a little bit daring. It’s a good time in a glass.

Yes, there can be too much of a good thing, and it’s important to recognize that. (Charlene Rooke’s story on Good Night Out, an organization promoting safety for everyone, does just that.) And for sure these last few years have been serious ones, where the hospitality community has tackled serious issues including mental health, precarious economics and geopolitics. (For more on that, check out Christine Sismondo’s piece on how Canadian bartenders and distillers are handling the current U.S.-Canada trade war.)

But, every once in a while, it’s just enough to sip something wellcrafted and a little bit boozy, to lighten up and forget the scary headlines for an hour or two, to find the courage to talk to a cute stranger or try that kooky dance move.

This fall, the cocktail world descends on Toronto for two huge events: the World Class Global Final in September and, from October 23 to 26, the inaugural Toronto Cocktail Festival, brought to you by The Alchemist magazine, the same team that's behind Vancouver Cocktail Week.

We know that in between the seminars and competitions, Toronto is going to be serving up what Vancouver just did. It’s what we are craving most these days: a whole lot of fun.

—Joanne Sasvari,

Find The Alchemist in select distilleries, cocktail bars and independent liquor stores across B.C. and Ontario.

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

Editor

© The Alchemist 2025

This issue is complimentary.

Living Room Creative photo

BAR BITES

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

TORONTO COCKTAIL FESTIVAL SET TO SHAKE UP THE SIX

TFC promises to be a destination event for cocktail lovers. Living Room Creative photo

The Alchemist magazine team has had so much fun hosting Vancouver Cocktail Week, we’re bringing the good times to Toronto. This fall, we’re launching the first annual Toronto Cocktail Festival, to be held October 23 to 26, 2025.

This inaugural year we will start with a four-day preview weekend festival and then expand to a full eight-day festival week for 2026.

Toronto is already a hub of cocktail creativity, with its multi-award-winning bartenders and brand ambassadors; now

the Toronto Cocktail Festival offers those bartenders the showcase they deserve with a destination event that brings the cocktail-loving world to town. For more information, sign up for notifications at thealchemistmagazine.ca/tcf.

Meanwhile, VCW25 was held in March at venues across Vancouver, with the glamourous closing gala at the Rosewood Hotel Georgia. Planning is already underway for next year; mark your calendars for VCW26, to be held March 1 to 8, 2026. For more info on that event, visit thealchemistmagazine.ca/vcw.

HUGO TOGNI’S NEXT MOVE

After four years spent building Toronto’s Bar Pompette into the nation’s No.1 bar (and currently No. 7 on North America’s 50 Best Bars), cofounder Hugo Togni is now moving on.

The Pompette team has become known worldwide for their ability to train staff, and Togni feels the time has come to spread some of that magic beyond the bar’s walls. He plans to help other businesses—namely fine-dining restaurants—through his next venture, Mirabelle Beverage Consulting.

The move is also a response to the drinking community’s growing fascination with farm-to-glass hospitality. “I want to help fine-dining restaurants understand the philosophy of chefs and bring it into the glass,” says Togni.

There is currently a considerable gap in the market with respect to the knowledge around how a restaurant’s bar team can collaborate with farms and incorporate seasonality in their drinks program. Togni aims to fill this gap by offering up his

lifelong learning and culinary passion to seamlessly bring the ethos of the back of house into the front of house.

RAISE A GLASS TO CANADA’S BEST BARS

On May 15, at a glam ceremony in Toronto, Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants revealed Canada’s Best Bars, with Toronto venues taking four of the top 10 spots: Bar Pompette, fresh off its triumphant showing at No. 7 on North America’s 50 Best Bars, placed first,

followed by Civil Liberties (No.3), Library Bar (No. 6) and Cocktail Bar (No. 9).

Congratulations to all the winners, and thanks for making the city so delicious! For the full list, visit canadas100best. com/best-bars.

SPRITZ UP YOUR SUMMER

Lillet.com photo

Summertime and the living is lazy, or at least it should be. So when it comes to our favourite cocktails of the season, we not only crave something light and thirst-quenching, we also want it to take as little effort as possible, but maybe just a bit more effort than cracking open an RTD.

Enter the spritz. The Aperol spritz has been ubiquitous for more years than we like to count; last year, summer was all about the Hugo spritz, which is made with elderflower liqueur rather than Aperol.

This year, the spritz of the moment is the Lillet spritz, perhaps the easiest of them all.

Lillet Blanc is an aperitif, an aromatized wine similar to vermouth, but lighter and more refreshing. It’s a blend of wines and fruit infusions that’s been made according to a top-secret recipe for nearly 150 years in Bordeaux. It is delicious enjoyed simply over ice, in cocktails like the classic 20th Century or, of course, in a spritz.

To make the spritz: Simply combine equal amounts of Lillet and club soda in a wine glass filled with ice; garnish with an orange wheel, or to make it a “spa spritz,” slices of cucumber and/or lemon, lime and sprigs of mint. Repeat as needed.

For more Lillet recipes, visit lillet.com.

COCKTAILS TO GO, GO, GO

Summertime means camping and picnics and lounging in the back yard—or the back country. Now you can bring your favourite cocktails with you, thanks to the folks at Yeti.

Yeti is already famous for its rugged, nearly indestructible coolers that can keep ice frozen for days as well as its insulated go-cups that keep coffee hot and cold drinks chilled for hours upon hours.

They have recently introduced a range of

Now that’s the summer spirit! yeti.ca/ drinkware back country. Now you can bring your go-cups that keep coffee hot and cold

They have recently introduced a range of tough, sturdy, insulated cocktail shakers, wine tumblers, flasks, pitchers, wine chillers and other containers for all your adult beverages that are ready to go wherever you do. They also come in a range of stylish colours,

from poppy pastels to Canada Day red and sophisticated neutrals.

AW, SHUCKS FOR THIS UMAMI MOMENT

Umami, the savoury so-called fifth taste after sweet, sour, salty and bitter, is having a moment in the world of drink. Think Dirty Martinis, whisky made with mushrooms, gin with savoury herbs and olives, or cocktails shaken with miso, saline or soy sauce.

Now distillers are turning to the sea for what might be our favourite umami-rich ingredient yet: the oyster.

A couple of years back, Copperpenny Distilling in North Vancouver released a gin made with Fanny Bay oyster shells, which added hints of umami and brine that led the gin to be named the 2023 BC Food & Beverage “Product of the Year” and win two silvers at the 2023 UK Gin Masters blind tasting competition.

In Australia, meanwhile, the distillers at Manly Spirits in New South Wales had a similar idea, crafting their Oyster Pearl

Vodka with “oceanic elements sourced from the Sydney Rock oyster shell, harmoniously interwoven with a medley of foraged marine botanicals.”

On Rhode Island, ISCO Spirits (a.k.a The Industrious Spirit Company) has gone a step further, with their Ostreida Oyster Vodka, which is made with actual fresh-farmed oysters for a vodka that is savoury and briny with a “bivalve bouquet.”

But our favourite might just be the recent collab between Driftwood Spirits and Shuck Taylor’s terrific little oyster bar, both located in Victoria. The Shuck Taylors x Driftwood Oyster Spirit is distilled with the freshest Vancouver Island oysters for the full essence of minerality and brine of the sea. To try it, you’ll need to pop over to the Island and enjoy a shot at Shuck Taylor’s or an Oyster Spirit Caesar at Driftwood Bar & Patio. wanderingmollusk.com, driftwoodspirits.ca

Behind the curtain

CRY BABY GALLERY IS A LOCALS HANGOUT THAT REALLY IS ALL ABOUT THE ART OF THE COCKTAIL

by Brenton Mowforth

“Locals only” is a phrase invented specifically for places like Toronto’s Cry Baby Gallery. An urban hangout that embodies the metropolitan culture of its city, just far enough from the hustle and bustle that the average tourist is likely not to venture. Here’s a place that has grown from the streets up, like a flower through a crack in the sidewalk. Passersby might think Cry Baby is no more than an art gallery, but tucked behind a curtain in the gallery’s far left is a gritty, dim, yet warmly lit cocktail den with exposed brick and a bar-top long enough to accommodate a sizable chunk of Toronto’s drinking population.

Cry Baby Gallery, which ranks No. 12 on Canada’s 50 Best Bars and, as of April, No. 68 on North America’s 100 Best Bar lists, offers a laid-back and trendy atmosphere catering to a hip youthful crowd. Industry folks are often seen bellying up to the lengthy bar beside artists and general public alike to sip local beers, low-intervention wines or a cheekily named tipple from their ever-rotating cocktail menu. Think cocktails such as the Yada, Yada, Yada, which combines overproof rum with bitter orange, vermouth, chamomile and cinnamon before being lengthened with tonic.

At Cry Baby Gallery, the Zombie returns from neardeath with an elevated twist. Rick O’Brien photo

A house staple is the Cry Baby Zombie, a customized classic that includes a classified rum blend and a proprietary sorrel syrup that, itself, boasts north of 50 ingredients. “I was reluctant to put a Zombie on the menu because it’s such a gated tiki drink,” says co-owner Rob Granicolo, “but we stripped

I WAS NEVER ONE FOR SPEAKEASIES, BUT IT WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS COMING TO BE [A THING] IN TORONTO, SO WE WORKED IT INTO THE DESIGN.

it down presentation-wise to fit the bar and decided to keep it on the menu because it was such an iconic drink that wasn’t really being championed in the city yet.”

In the beginning, Cry Baby Gallery wasn’t meant to be a speakeasy, or even a cocktail bar. “I was never one for speakeasies, but it was something that was coming to be [a thing] in Toronto, so we worked it into the design,” says Granicolo. After taking over the space from an independent clothing supplier, the landlord had always wanted to renovate it into an art gallery, but initially had plans to put a café in the back. When Granicolo and his co-founders were called in to run the place, they decided, “We didn’t want to run a café ... so let’s do a cocktail bar instead.”

Then began a rather extensive renovation process that would convert the understated clothing shop with covered walls and linoleum flooring into what we know now as a neighbourhood-defining hotspot for social activity and libations. Memories and stories aplenty, relationships short and long have begun and ended while bathed in the rich yellow light within these walls.

A decidedly important facet of the bar is the functioning art gallery in the front, directed by working artist Mony Zakhour (known professionally simply as Mony), which features new artists every couple of weeks to keep the place fresh. The team met Mony serendipitously in the alley behind the bar during construction while he was

Adding a rose-petal garnish to the Julia Gulia Martini. Rick O’Brien photo

Cry Baby Gallery is a cocktail den that perfectly captures Toronto’s metropolitan vibe. Brenton Mowforth photo

producing a mural. They commissioned him to do a piece for them in their bathroom. A relationship budded, leading to an art show devoted to Mony’s work and subsequently to his role as art director. “The art gallery allowed us to keep changing our cultural flavours,” says Granicolo, expressing the bar’s aim to keep things progressive and relevant. “Mony is very ingrained in the art community.”

Many folks in the hospitality industry know the past year or so as the “era of the popup.” Guest shifts have played a major role in many bars’ ability to bring in extra covers on typically quieter nights earlier in the week, and Cry Baby Gallery is no exception.

In the early days of the pop-up craze, brands focused on bringing in international bartenders, but over time found that proving a return on their investment was difficult.

TORONTO IS ARGUABLY THE BEST CITY ON THE CONTINENT FOR BARTENDERS.

This led the team at Cry Baby Gallery to start plugging the local bartending community with the view that “Toronto is arguably the best city on the continent for bartenders.” This created an opportunity for bartenders to spread their wings and create menus they might not be able to at their normal workplaces—and at the same time find a way to generate excitement and revenue at a time when overall drinking habits have diminished.

“The pop-ups came from general boredom and to generate business as spending habits change,” says Granicolo.

Cry Baby Gallery is at 1468 Dundas Street West, Toronto. @crybaby.gallery

The team at Cry Baby Gallery has been promoting Toronto bar culture through a series of pop-ups. Rick O’Brien photo

BAR BASICS

What you need to know for making the recipes in The Alchemist.

ESSENTIALS

Measurements: For the most part, our recipes are in imperial volume (fluid ounces, teaspoons and cups). We might occasionally use weight (for instance, an ounce of tea leaves for an infusion); in those cases, it will be noted.

Tools: The essentials are a cocktail shaker (cobbler or Boston), mixing glass, jigger, citrus juicer, Hawthorne and fine-mesh strainers, muddler, bar spoon, sharp knife and vegetable peeler. Any special tools will be noted.

Glassware: You could fill your cupboards with different types of glassware, but you only really need three (aside from wine and beer): a stemmed “cocktail” glass, either the V-shaped martini or curved coupe; the short, stubby rocks or Old Fashioned; and the tall, narrow Collins.

SWEETENERS

Simple syrup: This is the basic sweetener in many cocktails; because the sugar is already dissolved, you won’t get a gritty, sandy sludge in the bottom of your glass. To make it: Bring equal amounts of sugar and water just to a boil in small pot over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until sugar is fully dissolved. Remove from heat, cool, and place in a clean jar or bottle. Will keep in the fridge for about two weeks.

Not-so-simple syrup: There are a couple of ways to add flavour to the basic simple syrup process. 1. Replace the water with another liquid, such as tea or juice. 2. Simmer the syrup with spices or hardy herbs such as cloves, cinnamon, ginger or rosemary and let them steep as the syrup cools. 3. Add soft herbs, such as mint or basil, to steep for a few minutes in the hot syrup after it is removed from the heat.

TERMINOLOGY

Double or fine strain: This means straining your cocktail through both a Hawthorne and fine-mesh strainer to remove ice, pulp, seeds and other small fragments that can muddy the texture of shaken drinks.

Dry shake: Shake without ice; this is often used to increase the froth in egg-based drinks like flips and sours.

Long, tall, lengthened: A drink with soda water and ice added to it, typically served in a Collins glass.

Rim: To rim a glass with salt, sugar or spice mixtures, run a lemon or lime wedge around the lip of the glass, then dip it into the seasoning.

Rocks: Served on ice.

Straight, neat: Served without ice.

Twist: A slice of citrus peel, with no pith or flesh attached, used as garnish.

Up: A cocktail served without ice in a stemmed cocktail glass or coupe.

SUMMER DISTILLERY GUIDE

JOHN SLEEMAN & SONS

RYE WHISKY

40% ABV, $44.95 (750 ml)

Our Rye Whisky is a masterfully crafted blended spirit that highlights the characteristics of classic Canadian rye. Comprised of corn whisky aged in mature American oak as well as rye whisky aged in first fill American oak, this blend also features Rye Whisky matured in new Canadian oak, which lends to a layered sipping experience rich in character from start to finish.

JOHN SLEEMAN & SONS GIN

40% ABV, $24.95 (375 ml)

$39.95 (750 ml)

Our recipe of 11 prominent botanicals reflect the sweeter character of a traditional London Dry Gin style. John Sleeman & Sons Gin uniquely expresses a provincial earthiness, highlighted by a supporting cast of aromatics including angelica, cassia bark, nutmeg, and sea buckthorn to reflect the lush rural landscape of Canada.

Available in the LCBO, Manitoba, select stores in B.C., and for delivery online any time at johnsleemanandsons.com

RHEAULT DISTILLERY LOON VODKA

40% ABV, $45.35 (750 ml)

Handcrafted in Hearst, in the heart of Northern Ontario, Loon Vodka is a five times distilled in a twenty plate column copper single-batch pot still. Aiming for excellence, this product is a sweet nectar from Canada’s North.

Enjoy chilled and neat, or try it in your favorite vodka-based cocktails.

Available at the LCBO or at the distillery. Shipping is available— order at facebook.com/ rheaultdistillery

Available in the LCBO, Manitoba, and for delivery online any time at johnsleemanandsons.com

ELORA DISTILLING CO.

ONTARIO BLACK SPICED RUM

40% ABV, $49.99 (750 ml)

Aged in new oak char #3 Kelvin Cooperage barrels for at least a year, this dark, delicious and flavorful rum gets its smoothness from a mixture of three distillations. After its aging period, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg are macerated to add a spice bouquet. Silver medal winner at 2024 Artisan Distillers Awards Canada.

Available at the distillery, in the LCBO and online at eloradistillingcompany.com

MACALONEY’S ISLAND DISTILLERY CATH-NAH-AVEN

46% ABV, $104.99 (700 ml)

Cath-nah-aven pays homage to the great sherried whiskies from the banks of the river Spey. Our award-winning Vancouver Island distilled classic single malt is carefully crafted in premium Oloroso and Pedro Ximénez casks from Andalucía in Spain. Married by our Whiskymaker, this whisky reveals a complex redberry, plum, and oak nose, enhancing the fruit, floral, and sea-breeze notes.

Available at macaloneydistillers.com

COPPER ROSE DISTILLERY PREMIUM VODKA

40% ABV, $39.95 (750 ml)

Copper Rose Premium Vodka is crafted with Canadian rye and distilled 12 times for a silky, smooth finish.

A clean, bright vodka with floral notes on the palate and a faint citrus pepper finish. Delicious and versatile, this vodka makes an exceptional cocktail, martini or is perfect for sipping neat.

Available in the LCBO and online at copperrose.ca

KINSIP HOUSE OF FINE SPIRITS JUNIPER’S WIT GIN

40% ABV, $50.20 (750 ml)

Stir up your next party with Juniper’s Wit Gin! Delightful in a cocktail or on its own, this estate-produced gin is handcrafted with our unique blend of herbs and botanicals including locally-sourced juniper, lavender, and hops.

Available at the distillery, in the LCBO and online at kinsip.ca

THE WOODS SPIRIT CO. AMARO CHIARO

25% ABV, $48 (750 ml)

The beautifully delicate sister of classic amaro. Our Amaro Chiaro is less bitter and sweeter on the palate compared to traditional amaro. We have delicately balanced 14 botanicals including gentian root to create a wonderful bouquet of floral and aromatic herbs with soft green notes of mint, prominent citrus and velvety sweetness. Try Amaro Chiaro in a White Negroni or in a summery spritz.

Available at thewoodsspiritco.com

Toronto’s winning bar scene

FOUR CITY VENUES MAKE THE NORTH AMERICA’S 50 BEST BARS LIST

by Alchemist staff

Since opening in 2021, the Frenchaccented Bar Pompette has charmed cocktail lovers across Toronto. Now it’s wooed the judges of North America’s 50 Best Bars, too. When NA50BB announced its 2025 list on April 29 in Vancouver, Bar Pompette landed at No. 7, the best showing for a Canadian bar since the list was first compiled in 2022.

Three other Toronto bars made the top 50 list — Civil Liberties (No. 21), Bar Mordecai (No. 37) and Mother (No. 44) — with another five in the 50-100 list: Library Bar (No. 51), Civil Works (No. 55), Cry Baby Gallery (No. 68), Simpl Things (No. 83) and Slice of Life (No. 96).

And that’s not all: Bar Pompette also took home the Michter’s Art of Hospitality Award and Civil Works won the Siete Misterios Best Cocktail Menu Award, recognized for its creative use of water to enhance and showcase the flavours of the featured spirits.

It was an impressive showing for Canada’s biggest city, which in recent years has become a powerhouse of cocktail excellence, and one that has earned recognition from NA50BB since it first began in 2022.

North America’s 50 Best Bars is a relatively new competition, but one that is fast gaining traction in the bar community. It grew out of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, which has

been around since 2002, when the British trade magazine Restaurant decided to create a list of the best restaurants in the world, based on the advice of 150 experts. The following year they held their first awards ceremony. Soon afterward, The World’s 50 Best Restaurants became independent from Restaurant magazine, although it is still based in the U.K., where it is owned and managed by the data and events firm William Reed.

Today, some 1,080 culinary experts take part in a structured and audited voting procedure to compile the yearly list of the world’s finest restaurants. The World’s 50 Best has become a guide for global culinary

The winning team at Toronto's Bar Pompette. Jessica Blaine Smith photo

The Saperlipopette cocktail at Bar Pompette is made with fresh spruce tips and wild blueberries. Jessica Blaine Smith photo

experiences as well as a barometer for gastronomic trends.

In 2013, 50 Best added its first regional lists, for Asia and Latin America. In 2017, it acquired The World’s 50 Best Bars (which had been published since 2009) and Asia’s 50 Best Bars (published since 2016). In 2019, the brand launched 50 Best Discovery, a travel- and experience-focused platform featuring thousands of bars and restaurants across the globe. And, in 2023, it launched The World’s 50 Best Hotels.

For the bars that make the list, it’s not just the recognition of their hard work that makes it so valuable. It’s also the community they join in celebration at the awards ceremonies and beyond.

In Vancouver, those who attended the awards ceremony at the JW Marriott Parq were able to hang out with legends like Julie Reiner of NYC’s Clover Club and Milady’s, who was named Roku Industry Icon, and

Eric Van Beek of Mexico City’s Handshake Speakeasy, which took the No. 1 spot for the second year in a row.

But the celebration also spilled out across the city, as venues big and small hosted pop-ups, guest shifts, after-parties and other events throughout the week. The ceremony returns to Vancouver next year, and plans are already underway for even more events around it.

Meanwhile, for Bar Pompette and the other bars that made the list, the recognition offers both credibility and breathing space in an industry grappling with rising costs, shrinking margins and a powerful antialcohol movement. Lists like this also give other bars and restaurants something to aspire to, raising the standards for both craftsmanship and hospitality.

But in the end, it’s the consumers who really win—not only do NA50BB and similar lists, such as Canada’s Best Bars, encourage excellence across the industry, they offer a guide to good food, good drinks and a good time to be had by all.

NA50BB—THE TOP 10

For the full list of winners, please visit theworlds50best.com/bars/northamerica/ list/1-50.

1. Handshake Speakeasy, Mexico City

2. Superbueno, New York

3. Tlecān, Mexico City

4. Jewel of the South, New Orleans

5. Sip & Guzzle, New York

6. Overstory, New York

7. Bar Pompette, Toronto

8. El Gallo Altanero, Guadalajara

9. Licorería Limantour, Mexico City

10. Kumiko, Chicago

ONTARIO DISTILLERY LISTINGS

YOUR GUIDE TO THE SPIRIT MAKERS

These distilleries in Ontario produce everything from vodka to vermouth. Start exploring them here— and find a complete list of Canada’s distilleries at thealchemistmagazine.ca.

Beattie’s Distillers Alliston beattiesdistillers.com

Black’s Distillery Peterborough blacksdistillery.com

Canadian Mist Distillers Collingwood canadianmist.com

Collective Arts Distilling Hamilton collectiveartsbrewing.com

Copper Rose Distillery Windsor collectiveartsbrewing.com/ distilling

Copperhead Distillery and Spirits Sundridge copperhead-distillery.com

Crosscut Distillery Sudbury crosscutdistillery.ca

Dairy Distillery Almonte dairydistillery.com

Dillon’s Small Batch Distillers Beamsville dillons.ca

Dixon’s Distilled Spirits Guelph dixonsdistilledspirits.com

Dunrobin Distilleries Dunrobin dunrobindistilleries.com

Durham Distillery Ajax durhamdistillery.ca

Elora Distilling Company

Elora eloradistillingcompany.com

Forty Creek Distillery Grimsby fortycreekwhisky.com

Georgian Bay Spirit Co. North York georgianbayspiritco.com

Heretic Spirits Collingwood hereticspirits.com

Hiram Walker & Sons Distillery Windsor jpwisers.com

Junction 56 Distillery Stratford junction56.ca

King’s Lock Craft Distillery Johnstown klcraftdistillery.ca

Kinsip House of Fine Spirits Bloomfield kinsip.ca

Laneway Distillers Niagara lanewaygin.com

Last Straw Distillery Concord laststrawdistillery.com

Limited Distillery Niagara-on-the-Lake limiteddistillery.com

Magnotta Distillery Woodbridge magnotta.com

Manns Distillery Brantford mannsdistillery.com

Maverick Distillery Toronto maverickdirect.ca

Mill Street Distillery Toronto millstreetdelivery.com

Murphy’s Law Distillery Elmira murphyslawmoonshine.com

Niagara College Distillery Niagara-on-the-Lake ncteachingdistillery.ca

Niagara Distillery Niagara Falls niagaradistillery.com

Nickel 9 Distillery Toronto nickel9distillery.com

North of 7 Distillery Ottawa northof7distillery.ca

O’Kenny Craft Spirits Pembroke okenny.ca

Old Son’s Distillery oldsonsdistillery.ca

Paradigm Spirits Co. London paradigmspirits.com

Polonée Disillery St. Catharines polonee.ca

Reid’s Distillery Toronto reidsdistillery.com

Rheault Distillery Hearst rheaultdistillery.ca

SFR Distillery Ottawa sfrdistillery.com

Silver Fox Distillery Arthur silverfoxdistillery.ca

Spirit of York Distillery Toronto spiritofyork.com

Spring Mill Distillery Guelph springmilldistillery.com

Stalk and Barrel Distillery stalkandbarrel.com

Still Waters Distillery Concord stillwatersdistillery.com

Strati Spirits Tyendinaga stratispirits.ca

Tawse Winery & Distillery Vineland tawsewinery.ca

Top Shelf Distillers Perth topshelfdistillers.com

Vieni Estates Wine and Spirits Beamsville vieni.ca

Wayne Gretzky Estate Winery & Distillery Niagara-on-the-Lake waynegretzkyestates.com

Willibald Farm Distillery Ayr drinkwillibald.com

Wolfhead Distillery McGregor drinkwolfhead.com

the summer standard for premium non-alcoholic spirits

SCAN FOR COCKTAIL INSPIRATION

Kate Chernoff (centre) accepts the trophy for World Class Canada 2025 Bartender of the Year, surrounded by previous winners. Photos courtesy of World Class Canada

It’s Toronto’s time

WORLD CLASS COCKTAIL FESTIVAL SET TO SHAKE UP THE CITY—AND THE COUNTRY—THIS SEPTEMBER

The World Class Cocktail Festival, to be held August 16 to October 3 across Canada, promises to be one of the biggest and best parties this country has ever seen.

“Our ambition is to give the World Class Global Final a Canadian feel even though it will be centred in Toronto,” says Michael Armistead, who oversees the World Class Canada Bartending Competition as National Onpremise, Reserve and Sponsorship Manager at Diageo Canada.

To make it not just Toronto’s festival, but Canada’s, he’s also planning activations from Vancouver to Halifax in the lead-up to the competition itself. “We want to bring to life the feeling of community,” he says. “We’re excited about it, and we feel the industry is excited about it, nationally and globally.”

World Class, sponsored by Diageo and its reserve brands (including Johnnie Walker Scotch whisky, Don Julio tequila, Tanqueray No. Ten Gin, Singleton single malt and

Ketel One Vodka), is the biggest and most prestigious cocktail competition on the planet. Each year, some 10,000 bartenders from 55 countries compete and the winner is justly considered the globe’s Bartender of the Year.

Since Canada started competing in 2013, this country has won the global title four times, more than any other country: Kaitlyn Stewart in 2017, James Grant in 2021, Jacob Martin in 2023 and Keegan McGregor in 2024. So it only seems fitting that it’s Canada’s turn to host the big event. Certainly, Armistead has been trying to bring it home for the past few years, and he has a thrilling lineup planned. (See the schedule to the right.)

The Fairmont Royal York is the host hotel and festival hub, but, Armistead points out: “All through the week we will be doing brand activations, seminars and guest shifts featuring global industry legends all around Toronto.”

Many of those events will be ticketed and open to consumers, including the closing events and winner’s announcement. Plus World Class is planning to run contests all summer to bring cocktail-loving visitors and industry pros to the festival.

The only question remaining is: Will hosting the Global Final in Toronto mean home team advantage for this year’s World Class Canada winner, Kate Chernoff of Vancouver’s Keefer Bar? “She feels the support of the country behind her,” Armistead says. “This year’s other Canadian National Finalists will all be at the final as part of the global team.”

WORLD CLASS SCHEDULE

A snapshot of events planned for the global party

Saturday, August 16

The kickoff of World Class Cocktail Festival. World Class will be sponsoring the King’s Plate horse race at Woodbine Racetrack. “We’ll be there to support it, top hat and tails in hand,” Armistead says.

Sunday, August 17

Month-long World Class promotion begins at LCBO outlets across Ontario.

Thursday, September 4

Opening night of the 50th anniversary of the Toronto International Film Festival. Don Julio is TIFF’s official tequila partner, and there will be World Class Cocktail Festival activations at some film events.

Monday, September 22, to Friday, September 26

Events, seminars and guest shifts in key cities across the country, as well as visits by previous global winners en route to Toronto, “to ensure there is a full community feel to the cocktail festival,” Armistead says.

Saturday, September 27

Competitors arrive in Toronto.

Monday, September 29

An industry forum with a series of seminars during the day, with an opening party in the evening.

Tuesday, September 30, and Wednesday, October 1 The competition.

Thursday, October 2

The final challenge and announcement of the winner, held in a venue to be announced.

Taking flight

COULD THE PAPER PLANE BE THE PERFECT COCKTAIL?

by Kate Dingwall

Ilove a Martini. I’m happy to whisper sweet words to a well-made Old Fashioned. I’ve fallen head over heels for a Negroni on a good patio. But hear me out: While all of the above are well and good, the Paper Plane is the perfect drink.

Made from equal portions of bourbon, Amaro Nonino, Aperol and lemon juice, the new-school classic cocktail has a kiss of booze, a bright hit of citrus and an herbal allure from the addition of amaro. The recipe is foolproof: just one ounce of everything, shake and pour.

The resulting drink is bold and bitter, but refreshingly citrus-driven and highly drinkable. It’s easy to execute—there are no odd or esoteric ingredients—and endlessly riffable (soup up the recipe with seasonal ingredients or swap in your favourite whisky).

“The great thing about a Paper Plane is that its vibe is super adaptable,” says Avi Kunen, the bar manager of Kissa Tanto in Vancouver. “It can start off a night, play and pair well with food, and wind down a dinner. You can be chic and sophisticated with it on a first

FLYING HOME

Recipe by Avi Kunen, bar manager at Kissa Tanto, Vancouver: “Sam Ross [the Paper Plane’s inventor] initially tried the drink with Campari. This is a nod to that. Rhubarb and ginger are a natural pairing, and we love combining Japanese whisky and Italian amaro.”

1 oz Nikka Coffey Grain Whisky

1 oz ginger-infused Amaro Nonino

1 oz lemon juice

1 oz rhubarb-sweetened Campari

Optional garnish: Ginger-pickled rhubarb

Place all ingredients (except garnish) into a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake hard and double-strain into a chilled coupe glass. If you like, garnish with ginger-pickled rhubarb. Serves 1.

Photo courtesy of Kissa Tanto

IT’S A POPULAR DRINK BUT NOT OVERLY SO; COOL, BUT NOT EXCEEDINGLY EVERYWHERE LIKE THE APEROL SPRITZ OR THE DIRTY MARTINI.

date, or drink five of them on a rowdy boys’ night. Hell, it even works as a brunch drink.”

“I think one of the biggest draws of a Paper Plane is that anyone can drink it and be happy,” says Mat Locke, the bar manager at the newly opened Bar Asra in Vancouver’s South Granville neighbourhood. “From diehard Old Fashioned fans to vodka-cranberry drinkers.”

“I love the Paper Plane because of its balance and simplicity,” Kunen continues. “Just four ingredients that you’d find behind any bar that takes cocktails even a little bit seriously, an equal-parts recipe, and no garnish!”

A MODERN CLASSIC

The Paper Plane was invented in the late aughts by Sam Ross, who was a bartender at New York’s infamous and industry-defining Milk & Honey. He was riffing and reworking the Last Word—another equal-parts classic cocktail. But instead of punchy, herbal Chartreuse, he brought in Campari for sweetness and Amaro for herbaceousness.

Playing on the bar’s radio? M.I.A.’s Paper Planes.

His final recipe landed on 0.75 ounces each of bourbon, Aperol, Amaro Nonino and lemon juice, shaken till it’s icy.

“For those who have yet to try it, this cocktail has a beautiful balance and equal parts of bold whiskey, vibrant Aperol, bittersweet amaro, and refreshing citrus,” says Nathan Murray, the bar manager at aKin, chef Eric

NIIGATA PAPER PLANE

Recipe by Mat Locke, bar manager at Bar Asra, Vancouver: “My riff uses neither bourbon nor Aperol—half of the key ingredients. Instead, I use Japanese whisky in place of bourbon, and a non-alcoholic aperitivo to replace the Aperol. I balance the cocktail by playing around with the traditional proportions.”

1.5 oz Shinobu Bourbon-Based Whiskey

1 oz Babylon Spritz (non-alcoholic bitter orange)

0.75 oz Amaro Nonino

0.75 oz fresh lemon juice

2 drops salt solution

Add all ingredients to a shaker with ice. Shake, the fine-strain into a coupe glass. Serves 1.

Chong’s new tasting-menu destination in downtown Toronto. “Perfect for both seasoned cocktail lovers and rookies to the bar scene, this modern classic is sure to be a certified crowd pleaser.”

And while it’s been less than 20 years since the Paper Plane’s first flight, it’s now become a staple at great bars. “It’s one of the first modern classic cocktails,” says

Photo courtesy of Bar Asra

IT’S THE HANDSHAKE BETWEEN DAZZLING AND COMFORTING; THE COCKTAIL I CHOOSE WHEN I’VE HAD ENOUGH OF REFRESHING BUBBLY DRINKS AND I WANT TO EASE INTO THE PART OF THE NIGHT WHERE I POUR MYSELF A STRAIGHT DRAM.

THE TURBULENT PLANE

Recipe by Anita Dorion, the Toronto-based Vine Translator.

0.5 oz bourbon

0.5 oz Aperol

0.5 oz Amaro Nonino Quintessentia

Juice of ½ lemon, freshly squeezed Sparkling wine of choice

Add all ingredients except the sparkling wine into a shaker filled with ice. Shake, shake, shake until it’s too cold to hold any more.

Strain into a coupe glass. Top with sparkling wine. Serves 1.

Kunen. It’s a popular drink but not overly so; cool, but not exceedingly everywhere like the Aperol Spritz or the Dirty Martini.

“People who order them feel like they’re part of an exclusive club that already knows about Daiquiris, Last Words and Old Fashioneds, and has moved onto newer, fresher drinks,” Kunen adds.

The Paper Plane’s easy approachability is proven to win over even the staunchest bourbon drinkers. “My preferred method of drinking bourbon is neat,” says Leanne Roy, the Jill-of-all-trades at John Sleeman & Sons, a newly revived historic Canadian distillery. “I don’t often consider it one of the more refreshing spirits, but the Paper Plane proves me wrong every time.”

“It’s a tightrope walker between herbal sour and mellow sweet,” Roy continues. “It’s the handshake between dazzling and comforting; the cocktail I choose when I’ve had enough of refreshing bubbly drinks and I want to ease into the part of the night where I pour myself a straight dram.”

And bartenders—home ones included— can tweak the recipe to the weather or vibe. Saffron in New Orleans uses bourbon, ghee-smoked peach Aperol, lemon and star anise. New York’s famed PDT ditches the lemon juice and adds muddled mint instead. These aren’t the first riffs: Joaquin Simo, former owner of Pouring Ribbons, turned the Paper Plane into the Naked and Famous, a smoky, citrusy, herbal drink made with equal parts mezcal, yellow Chartreuse, Aperol and lime juice.

Anita Dorion photo

A BARTENDER’S BLUEPRINT

For Murray, the Paper Plane is a blueprint—a blank canvas for building new flavours. His bar program leans into tea, so he swaps out citrus for an acidulated green tea blended with toasted brown rice. He also highlights Canadian whisky instead of the classic bourbon. It’s for patriotism’s sake, but also gives the cocktail a lighter profile. “The result: a flavour profile that is sure to surprise even the most seasoned Paper Plane drinker.”

Locke’s more into Japanese whisky. His Niigata Paper Plane gets a heftier pour of that, then balances out the alcohol by skipping Aperol in favour of a zero-proof bitter orange aperitivo.

Or, try tequila, swap in your favourite brown spirit or add effervescence.

“A spritzed paper plane is a wonderful morning option,” Kunen says. He’ll play around with seasonal infusions (try rhubarb infused into Campari) or, swap in Japanese whisky for a more suave, elegant take.

A RIFF ON THE CLASSIC

Recipe by Nathan Murray, bar manager at aKin in Toronto: “I prefer Canadian whisky over bourbon. Then I add an acidulated green tea blended with toasted brown rice in place of classic citrus. The result: a flavour profile that is sure to surprise even the most seasoned Paper Plane drinker.”

0.75 ounces Bearface Wilderness No. 3 Whisky

0.75 oz Aperol

0.75 oz Amaro Nonino

0.76 oz acidulated green tea (see note)

Add all ingredients to a shaker with ice. Shake, strain into coupe glass. Serves 1.

Note: To make acidulated green tea, brew a cup of tea, let it cool, then add a few drops of lemon juice or 1 tsp of vinegar, or to your taste.

Kayla Thompson, a bartender at Waterworks Bar in Toronto’s Waterworks Food Hall, likes to swap out bourbon for cinnamon whisky in the colder months. “It gives it a warm feel and an intriguing taste,” she says. “In the warmer months, I like to add pineapple juice for a tropical twist.”

Elise Hanson, the bar manager of Civil Works, one of Toronto’s best bars, tags in mezcal instead of bourbon. She’ll also dial back the sweeter components in the recipe (Aperol and Amaro Nonino) to give it a slightly drier profile. Or, she’ll punch up the bitterness by swapping Aperol for Campari and Amaro Nonino for Cynar.

“The Paper Plane is a beautifully balanced cocktail that has a universal appeal,” she says. “Its simplicity makes it both approachable and endlessly customizable, allowing it to be tailored to suit any guest’s preferences.”

Essentially? The Paper Plane is everything and anything you want it to be.

Nathan Murray photo

Elbows up!

HOW CANADIAN BARKEEPS AND DISTILLERS ARE HANDLING THE TRADE WAR TROUBLES

by Christine Sismondo

“Joe Canadian” responds to Trump’s threats: 25 years after recording the original “I Am Canadian” ad for Molson beer, actor Jeff Douglas recorded a new patriotic rant that has garnered over 1.2 million views on YouTube. YouTube.com/@AverageJoes1867 screenshot.

Last month at the “knowhere public house,” a locavore bar and community hub in Sudbury, Daniel Cronin hosted a five-course storytelling dinner billed as “The Night the White House Burned.”

The event had been inspired by the (possibly apocryphal) story of a lavish supper planned by then First Lady Dolley Madison, which was meant to be a victory feast for United States

forces during the War of 1812. Instead, it was enjoyed by invading Brits—right before they burned down the White House.

“Yes, this was obviously a response to everything going on with the U.S. tariffs,” says Cronin, who acts as knowhere pub’s bar consultant. “I’m an American citizen, an expat living here in Sudbury, and it’s disappointing to see my country making far more aggressive

choices than are necessary or smart for the greater peace of the world.”

Chef Gaetanne Larocque Canadianized the meal with local fare and each course was paired with punches made with ingredients such as sumac syrup, Ontario cider, Niagara vermouth and, of course, plenty of Canadian whisky—the only whisky from this continent they sell.

“It was easy for us to say, ‘We’re not buying American liquor right now,’” Cronin says, noting that they already had a strong Canadian whisky program. “There’s no point, there’s no need. I feel fairly confident in my ability to recommend a rye that has a similar profile to a specific bourbon if I’ve got a consumer who wants that.”

CHANGING HABITS

Although the spirits business isn’t as economically important as Canada’s auto, steel or lumber industries, which have all been affected by high tariffs unexpectedly levied by the U.S. government, the bourbon boycott has been a serious talker. Some provinces immediately pulled American wine, beer and spirits from shelves, whereas, in jurisdictions with private retailers, some U.S. products are still available.

“It’s definitely been challenging for certain people,” says Eric Scouten of Kakuteru Lounge in Saint John, New Brunswick. “Your general Old Fashioned drinkers are in the habit of ordering what they see as a simple order, but that’s no longer the case. It requires a longer conversation.”

And, of course, it’s not only bourbon. Wine lists at steak joints are traditionally heavy on the Cali Cab. Some people have reported problems sourcing tequila in provinces where Mexican spirits come through the States. And coffee liqueur is a surprising tough item to keep in stock.

A selection of cocktails, beers and spirits using the slogan “Elbows Up”:

In March, Junction 56 in Stratford, Ontario, launched a ready-to-pour cranberry vodka cocktail under the name “Elbows Up.”

G&P on Main in Whitehorse added a new “Maply” cocktail to its menu in April using the rallying term.

At Compass Distillers in Halifax, the name refers to the latest spirit in its portfolio—a corn whisky.

This spring, Yellowbelly Brewery launched a lagered ale under the name “Elbows Up” that’s available in can format at Newfoundland Liquor.

The Irish Heather in Vancouver has been serving an “Elbows Up!” Old Fashioned made with Lot 40 Canadian Rye, describing it as an “American classic made with Canadian spirit.”

ELBOWS UP ACROSS CANADA

Compass Distillers photo

I THINK BARTENDERS SHOULD SEE THIS AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE CREATIVE AND I THINK THAT THE FOLKS WITH THE POCKETBOOKS SHOULD BE FLEXIBLE WITH THE FACT THAT PRICING IS GOING TO BE DYNAMIC.

“What’s been interesting is how many funny little things are produced in the United States that you don’t even think about, like Fireball or Butter Ripple Schnapps,” says Skye Plowman of the Trapline Lounge in Yellowknife’s Explorer Hotel. “Or Sour Puss. I’m not going to miss it personally, but that group that comes in on Friday nights to do Porn Star shots is missing Raspberry Sour Puss quite a bit right now.”

Perhaps not so much that they’d indulge in cross-border shopping, however.

CLOSE TO HOME

Polls show that Canadians are easing off travel to the U.S.A. for a range of reasons: to show support for our own economy stressed by the trade war; to protest a government callously deporting and detaining racialized populations; and, finally, out of fear for personal safety. No matter how remote the possibility is, given sensational accounts of Europeans and Canadians being detained by ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement), it’s hard to plan a trip to the U.S. without a flicker of a thought about what the odds are that you also wind up with a free excursion to El Salvador.

And, since the post-pandemic bar community in Canada is as international as it’s ever been (thanks to pop-ups, takeovers and enthusiasm for conferences), strained U.S.-Canada relations are starting to re-shape that, too. Even Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans, a high-profile and nearly mandatory stop on the circuit, may see fewer Canadians this year.

“I do think a lot of people are quite serious about not going to Tales this year,” says

Christina Veira, part-owner of Toronto’s Bar Mordecai. “I’ve heard it from a lot of people who work at a lot of levels of the industry, which makes me take it seriously.”

Veira points out that, for many, a sense of financial instability is part of the equation. Veira says few of her colleagues feel “flush” right now and, like many, are cautious about the future, given the simmering trade war. The fact that tariff announcements are capricious and ever-changing doesn’t make it any easier.

“We had been invited to do a pop-up in the States and we’re not doing it,” says Veira. “Any travel I have booked to the States right now is on the personal side and I couldn’t ask staff to travel since I could not, in good faith, say that my feeling of ‘it should be fine’ was enough.”

Veira says that bar owners might have an easier time at the border, since it represents a clear anchor at home. Bartenders without an ownership stake, on the other hand, might be subject to tougher scrutiny, since immigration agents might suspect they’re crossing the border to work under the table.

“I’m also aware that some members of the staff might not feel safe because of immigration status, gender, sexuality, what have you,” Veira adds. “Even if my body isn’t the most privileged, I have some and that gives me an illusion of safety.”

A SILVER LINING

There’s been an uptick in conversations around exploring Asian, African and European events, as well as interest in homegrown conferences. The Bar Committee Nova Scotia group, chaired by Dylan

Brentwood are looking into reviving the defunct Drink Atlantic Cocktail Festival, which would be a lovely excuse to visit one of Canada’s most vibrant food, cocktail, wine and craft spirits destinations.

Although, we should also just go so we can hang out with Brentwood as he makes us drinks behind the wood at Bar Kismet, festival or not. The silver lining in this dark timeline is that it might move us to take stock of all the great things we have here in Canada. And that will be especially exciting if our new federal leader manages to get inter-provincial trade barriers axed this year.

“I think bartenders should see this as an opportunity to be creative and I think that the folks with the pocketbooks should be flexible with the fact that pricing is going to be dynamic,” she says. “We’ve spent so much time being told that this spirit from the States is better or this wine from California is better than ours, it’s time to really open ourselves to what might be new to you or new to the market.”

Plowman adds: “It’s going to take a lot of effort. It’s going to be super annoying. But it could also be a really fun opportunity.”

CRAFT DISTILLERS SEIZE THE MOMENT

In April, B.C.’s craft distillers launched a petition on change.org to get the province’s craft sprits into government liquor stores, with a plea to: “Join the movement to demand fairness, fuel B.C.’s economy, and give authentic local spirits the respect they deserve. Raise your voice, raise your elbows, and let’s make some noise!”

It’s not just about getting more local hooch on store shelves; at issue are two key changes distilleries have been requesting for the last decade. The first is allowing B.C. distilleries similar benefits and reimburse-

ments as the BC VQA wine program. Under that, if a $40 bottle of BC VQA wine is sold in a BC Liquor Store, the winery retains $33 of the price. Meanwhile, if a $40 bottle of 100-per-cent farm-to-bottle B.C. craft spirit is sold, the distillery keeps only $13—which is less than the cost of production.

The second is to remove the 50,000-litre production cap that keeps distilleries from growing and allows multinationals to dominate the B.C. marketplace. The petition notes that there is no cap on how much a B.C. winemaker can produce; meanwhile, if a distiller produces more than 50,000 litres, they can be charged a $280,000 penalty on the next bottle they make. That puts them at an unfair advantage compared to foreign brands that produce millions of litres.

The distillers believe the potential economic and agricultural benefits are staggering, noting that that the province’s wine industry has flourished into a $4-billion industry under the VQA program. For more info or to sign the petition, go to change.org/p/ elbows-up-bc-time-to-get-bc-craft-spirits-in-government-liquor-stores

B.C.

Make tonight a good night out

HOW A B.C. NON-PROFIT IS HELPING BAR AND NIGHTLIFE PATRONS STAY SAFE

by Charlene Rooke

This past March, The Keefer Bar customers sipping Dragon’s Eye Mules and Café Bastille Martinezes were having a good night out, while also supporting Good Night Out (GNO). The Vancouver non-profit has a champion in World Class Canada Bartender of the Year 2025, The Keefer Bar’s Kate Chernoff, who in collaboration with Ketel One’s Garnished with Good program created two fundraising

cocktails to support a group that has been making music festivals, bars and clubs safer from sexual harassment and violence for the past nine years.

GNO might be most recognizable to nightlife patrons for its pink-clad teams sharing bottles of water and safety support on Vancouver’s Granville Street and in downtown Victoria on weekends.

A pink-clad Good Night Out team hits the streets to keep vulnerable patrons safe. Nikki Fraser photo

But its impact is also felt in the back-ofhouse of venues across Canada. GNO offers training to the staff of music festivals and clubs, bars and restaurants on how to prevent, spot and respond to gendered harassment and abuse in their locations. That can include anything from comments and unwanted attention to drug-facilitated sexual abuse, from alcohol overconsumption to drink-spiking.

A Parallel 49 Brewing Company staff member wrote glowingly to GNO after completing its certification training, with a cold hard truth of the industry. “Hospitality is an industry that does have a dark side of persistent harassment, and the problem won’t be addressed by the big companies unless there is a level of compliance tied to it.” In 2025, April 23 was declared Safe Spaces Hospitality Day in the City of Vancouver, recognizing local businesses that have audited their space through a

THE PROBLEM WON � T BE ADDRESSED BY THE BIG COMPANIES UNLESS THERE IS A LEVEL OF COMPLIANCE TIED TO IT.

CoV-funded program called Last Call and obtained credentials from Good Night Out.

Those businesses are featured on a map on the non-profit’s website, helping customers make informed decisions about the businesses they support (goodnightoutvancouver.com/partners). For nightlife patrons, GNO also offers

SHOTS AND SIGNALS

THE SIGNAL FOR HELP RESPONDER’S ACTION GUIDE

Angel Shot: Ordering an “Angel Shot” is meant to be a secret code to a server or bartender that you are uncomfortable in a hospitality space or need help. However, the term is not universally known and runs the risk of further inquiries that can alert a harasser to your appeal, potentially escalating the situation. “It is important to have thorough staff training and response plans to follow to reduce the chance of further harm,” says GNO executive director Stacey Forrester.

Signal for Help:

During the COVID-19 pandemic Canadian Women’s Foundation created a silent hand gesture (thumb tucked into palm, then fingers folded down over it) that could be used in-person or over virtual and video communications as a universal signal for help in instances of gender-based violence. It has since gone viral on social media and is credited for helping save a U.S. teenager from a dangerous situation.

You can be that judgement-free friend, family member, and coworker we all need in our lives.

1. Open Palm 2. Tuck Thumb 3. Trap Thumb

The Dragon’s Eye Mule was one of two Ketel One cocktails created by Kate Chernoff at The Keefer Bar in support of GNO. Photo courtesy of Kate Chernoff

All it takes is for one bad actor to ruin what should be a fun and enjoyable experience. GNO not only patrols the streets, but educates businesses in how to keep their customers safe from harassment and violence. Nikki Fraser photo

community workshops on topics like consent, substance abuse and bystander intervention.

WELCOMING SPACES

GNO started “out of a love for night life, out of a love for live music, out of a love for those experiences in social spaces in Vancouver,” says executive director Stacey Forrester, who collaborated with co-founder Ashtyn Bevan on what was originally a student project for Bevan in 2016.

“It was really born from a common experience to reflect on all of the amazing nights out we had, and how easily that can be ruined, how one comment, one gesture, one action, can really ruin an otherwise good experience,” Forrester says. GNO in B.C. started as the Canadian chapter

of the same-named UK organization that generously shared some of its tools and resources. Around the same time, the Ontario organization the Dandelion Initiative, which folded in 2022, began doing similar work in that province.

Generations of imbibers, particularly women, have internalized the burden of ensuring their own safety at night, whether by moderating consumption or guarding their drinks to stay safe. “If that was all it took, we would have eradicated the problem by now,” Forrester says.

A former nurse who previously worked extensively on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, Forrester believes that B.C.’s relatively progressive values and a higher awareness of creating safer, protective spaces has allowed GNO to flourish in the province,

WHETHER YOU’RE FEMINIST-MINDED OR NOT, TO CREATE A SPACE THAT’S WELCOMING TO MANY MORE CUSTOMERS IS JUST GOOD BUSINESS,

where it takes a 360-degree approach of educating hospitality staff, customers and bystanders.

She emphasizes, though, that even a GNO workshop isn’t a one-stop solution for any business. “The reality is, it takes culture change, and culture change is very slow.”

There’s a risk that venues that have already experienced risks and problems will treat GNO training as a shield or as a badge indicating that they’ve “fixed” a problem. “We do have guardrails around that,” Forrester says, emphasizing that prevention and training are the way forward for businesses.

A poster in the bathroom or a few lines at the bottom of a menu, reminding patrons how a bar or club wants people to feel and act in the space, can bring awareness and even create a deterrent. “Over the years, we’ve seen places be really creative, with house rules or messaging created as little works of art, so safety messaging is built into the going-out experience,” Forrester says.

A healthy bottom line might just be the common-sense driver for businesses seeking GNO certification. “Whether you’re feministminded or not, to create a space that’s welcoming to many more customers is just good business,” Forrester says.

CAFÉ BASTILLE MARTINEZ WITH KETEL ONE

This dark, savoury twist on the Martini’s precursor was one of the cocktails created in support of Good Night Out this past spring. Recipe by Kate Chernoff, The Keefer Bar.

2 oz Ketel One Vodka

1 oz Infused Sweet Vermouth (recipe follows)

1.5 tsp orange liqueur

Garnish: lemon twist

Add ingredients (except garnish) to a cocktail stirring tin. Add ice and stir until chilled and diluted, up to one minute. Strain into a chilled Martini glass and garnish with a lemon twist.

Serves 1.

INFUSED SWEET VERMOUTH:

To a sealable container add 200 mL sweet vermouth, 20 g natural coffee beans, and 40 g dried mango. Seal (ideally with no oxygen in the container) and infuse for eight hours at room temperature. Finestrain through a coffee filter and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one month. Makes enough for 6 cocktails.

Photo courtesy of Kate Chernoff

Tea time

DISCOVER A WORLD OF FLAVOUR IN A CUPPA

Story, photos and recipes by

Matthew Benevoli

Tea is one of the world’s most common beverages—second only to water in terms of the amount consumed—yet it’s often overlooked as a cocktail ingredient. And that’s too bad, because it’s far more versatile, accessible and fun to experiment with than you may think.

With a wide range of black, green, white and herbal teas available, you can find almost any flavour profile you’re looking for, from a fruity herbal tea ideal for a fizzy and refreshing highball to a bitter, dry and tannic over-steeped green tea that makes a substitute for dry vermouth in a Martini. Looking for something more exotic? Enter Lapsang Souchong. Often referred to as “the scotch of teas,” its leaves have been dried above a pinewood fire, giving it savoury and smoky characteristics akin to Islay-made whisky.

And then there are so many options of how to use your tea: Add sugar and reduce it to make a syrup; carbonate it to make a soda; or freeze it into ice cubes that add layers of flavour to your drink as they slowly melt.

Whether it’s a unique blend, something that’s eye catching or maybe a longstanding favourite, tea could be your

Tea is a classic component of mixed drinks, especially punches, and has almost infinite uses in cocktails.

secret weapon when mixing things up at your next get-together.

For any questions or additional tips, please reach out to @m.benevoli on Instagram.

HOW TO BREW TEA FOR COCKTAILS

You will need: a kettle; a vessel for brewing the tea, such as a teapot; measuring spoon; timer; tea leaves or bags; and, if using loose leaves, a strainer, mesh tea ball or fillable filter sacs.

HOT BREW:

The most common way to brew a pot or cup of tea is by steeping the leaves, whether loose, in a bag or in a tea ball, in hot water. How hot that water is and how long you steep the tea depends on what kind of tea it is—see the table below for recommended times and temperatures for the most common types of tea.

In any case, you should always start with cold, fresh water, bring it to a boil and let it cool for a minute or two before pouring it over the teabag or leaves. Once the tea reaches your desired strength, strain it or remove the teabags. Chill the tea before using it in cocktails.

IDOL MEETS IMPOSTER

White 175ºF-185ºF 1 Tbsp 1-3 mins

Green 180ºF185ºF 1 tsp 3 mins

Black 175ºF-185ºF 1 tsp 3-5 mins

Herbal 175ºF-185ºF 1 Tbsp 5-7 mins

COLD BREW:

Cold-brewed tea is milder, less astringent and more refreshing than hot-brewed teas. To make it, combine tea bags or loose-leaf tea with cold water in a pitcher or jar, using about 1 tsp of loose tea leaves or 1 teabag per cup of water. Place it in the refrigerator and let it steep for four to 12 hours, depending on how strong you like it. (A stronger brew is preferable for cocktails.) Strain and chill before serving.

This twist on a classic Old Fashioned gets an appealing smoky note from the ice cube made with Lapsang Souchong, a Chinese black tea whose leaves are dried over burning pinewood for a rich, bold and earthy flavour with subtle bonfire notes.

2 oz Canadian Club 12 Year Old Whisky

0.5 oz honey liqueur (such as Drambuie)

3 dashes aromatic bitters (such as Angostura)

1 large Lapsang Souchong ice cube (see note)

Garnish: cocktail cherry and orange zest

Combine whisky, liqueur and bitters in a mixing glass with ice, then stir to chill and slightly dilute. Add Lapsang Souchong ice cube to a rocks glass, then strain prepared cocktail over ice. Garnish with cocktail cherries and orange zest. Serves 1.

Note: To make the Lapsang Souchong ice cube, place 2 Tbsp of Lapsang Souchong tea leaves in a teapot or similar vessel and pour 2.5 cups of just-boiled water over them. Steep 3 to 5 minutes, until it reaches your desired strength, then strain into ice cube moulds. Place in freezer until frozen solid, 3 to 4 hours. Transfer cubes or whole tray into freezer Ziplock bag until ready to use.

KYOTO COLLINS

This refreshing long drink uses a soda made with fragrant white tea. White teas are harvested from the youngest, most tender buds and leaves of the tea plant, and very lightly processed, resulting in a delicate, often floral flavour.

1.5 oz dry gin (such as Suntory Roku)

0.5 oz fresh lemon juice

0.5 oz organic cane sugar syrup (see note)

4.5 oz Japanese Cherry Blossom White Tea Soda (see note)

Garnish: edible flowers or lemon zest

Stir gin, lemon juice and syrup together in a tall glass, fill with ice and top with soda. Garnish with edible flower or lemon zest. Serves 1.

Note: To make syrup, weigh equal parts water and organic cane sugar and stir until sugar has fully dissolved. Store in refrigerator up to one month.

Note: To make the cold-brewed Cherry Blossom White Tea soda, place 2 Tbsp (heaping) of tea leaves in a glass pitcher then add 4 cups of cold water. Place in the refrigerator and steep for 4 to 12 hours, until it reaches your desired strength. Stir in a pinch of fine sea salt, then transfer to a SodaStream or similar device and carbonate. Transfer into a sealable bottle and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Makes about 4 cups.

JADE GHOST

This refreshing and fruity cocktail will make the Margarita lovers happy.

0.75 oz blanco tequila (such as Tres Generaciones Plata)

1.25 oz vodka (such as Suntory Haku rice vodka)

0.25 oz melon liqueur (such as Midori)

0.75 oz Mango-Passionfruit/Acai & Ginger Green Tea Syrup (see note)

0.25 oz fresh lime juice

Garnish: lemon twist

Add all ingredients (except garnish) to a shaker with ice and shake well. Strain into a chilled coupe or Martini glass. Garnish with lemon twist. Serves 1.

Note: To make the green tea syrup, place 2 bags each of the Mango-Passionfruit-Acai and Ginger Green Tea in a vessel such as a teapot. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil, let it cool slightly, then pour it over the teabags. Steep for about 3 minutes, or until you reach your desired strength, then remove teabags and stir in 2 cups of organic cane sugar until dissolved, adding more sugar if it’s not sweet enough for your liking. Transfer syrup to a sealable bottle and store in refrigerator up to one month.

Credits: Spirits generously provided by Suntory Global Spirit (Canada). Japanese Cherry Blossom white tea and Lapsang Souchong provided by The Granville Island Tea Company.

Canada in a glass

BYE-BYE BOURBON.

IT’S CANADIAN WHISKY’S TIME TO SHINE IN THESE MODERN COCKTAILS

Compiled by Reece Sims

For decades, Canadian whisky has played the quiet backbone in everything from Manhattans to whisky sours. But now, a new wave of bartenders is reclaiming it—not just as a versatile base spirit, but as a way to express local terroir, seasonality and storytelling in the glass. Whether it’s smoky and coastal, floral and bright, or tropical and spiced, Canadian whisky is proving that it can do more than blend in: It can take the lead.

We sat down with seven bartenders from across Canada to find out which whiskies they’re reaching for and the signature cocktails they’re crafting to showcase them.

The tasting panel for this edition features Lacey Roberts, Ryan Buchanan and Griffin Cox from British Columbia, Bradley Horseman from Alberta, and Kat Saulnier and Tristin Vissers from Ontario.

DEVIL

Recipe by Ryan Buchanan, bar manager at Arcana Spirits Lounge, Vancouver. Note that he uses lime ash to create black bitters to draw the pentagram on the drink, but recommends that home bartender use Angostura instead.

1.5 oz Shelter Point Smoke Point

0.5 oz Ancho Reyes Liqueur

0.67 oz hot honey

0.5 oz lemon juice

A few drops of Ms. Better’s Miraculous Foamer Optional garnish: Angostura bitters

Place all ingredients into a shaking tin. Add ice and shake hard, focus on bringing the tin back and forth in a sharp motion. This will help give the foam on the top without having to dry shake. If you like, you can draw a pentagram on top of the foam with Angostura bitters. Serves 1.

Photo courtesy of Arcana Spirit Lounge

LACEY ROBERTS

BEARFACE TRIPLE OAK

CANADIAN WHISKY

42.5% ABV, BC: $39.99 / ONTARIO:

$39.95, 750 ML

At Vancouver’s Michelin-starred

Published on Main, head bartender Lacey Roberts (ZommiZelda) has long been championing Canadian whisky—particularly Bearface. “I’ve been a massive fan since 2018,” she says. “It’s 100 per cent corn, aged in multiple casks and made right here in B.C., which makes it not just versatile behind the bar, but also something I’m proud to introduce guests to.”

Recipe by Lacey Roberts, head bartender, Published on Main, Vancouver. POLLINATION

1.5 oz Bearface Canadian Whisky

1 oz elderflower-infused local honey (see note)

0.5 oz Elderflower Freeze Switch Vermouth (see note below)

0.5 oz Krupnik Honey Liqueur

2 drops Ms. Better’s Banana Bergamot Bitters

2 drops saline

Optional garnish: honey tuile, elderflower butter cream, edible flowers

Stir all ingredients (except garnish) with ice in a mixing glass until chilled and properly diluted. Strain into a chilled tulip glass and, if you like, serve alongside a honey tuile topped with a dollop of elderflower butter cream and fresh petals. Serves 1.

Note: To make elderflower-infused honey, combine 500 g locally sourced honey, 10 g fresh or 5 g dried elderflowers, and 250 mL (1 cup) boiling water in a sealable, heat-safe vessel. Mix well and steep until cool, about 30 minutes. Strain and store in the fridge.

To make the Elderflower Freeze Switch Vermouth, pour the contents of a 750 mL bottle of dry vermouth into a sealable bag and freezer for 2 to 3 hours until slushy. Meanwhile, make 1 cup of elderflower tea by pouring 1 cup of boiling water over 2 g fresh or 1 g dried elderflowers; steep for 10 minutes, strain, cool and set aside. Strain the slushy vermouth through a fine-mesh sieve into a measuring cup. You should have 500 mL (2 cups) of liquid; if you don’t, let a little more of the ice melt. Discard the ice. Mix strained vermouth with the tea and store in the fridge.

Bearface has carved out a unique space in Canada’s whisky landscape, thanks in large part to the creative vision of master blender Andres Faustinelli. “His scientific approach, combined with a love for foraging and the wildness of our landscape, really speaks to me,” Roberts says. The brand’s Wilderness Series is a prime example— each release captures a different element of B.C. terroir, from matsutake mushrooms foraged in

Sarah Annand photo

HOW THE WHALE GOT HIS THROAT

Recipe by Lucas Van Es, beverage manager at Bagheera in Vancouver.

1 oz J.P. Wiser’s 10 Year Old

1 oz Green Spot Irish whiskey

1 oz Sea Buckthorn + Labrador Tea Cordial (see recipe below)

0.5 oz Strega liqueur

2 oz elderflower soda

Stir all ingredients with ice in a mixing glass until chilled and properly diluted. Strain into a highball glass over ice and top with elderflower soda. Garnish with lemon oils.

Note: The original cocktail is made in a milk punch style and force carbonated for extra effervescence, but is simplified for this article.

SEA BUCKTHORN + LABRADOR TEA CORDIAL

1 kg sea buckthorn purée

1,100 mL water

10 g Labrador tea (herbal tea made from the leaves of an evergreen shrub)

10 g dried lemon verbena

5 g dried rosemary

20 g citric acid

20 g lactic acid

400 g sugar

Process the sea buckthorn purée in a blender to ensure that it’s completely smooth, then pass it through a fine mesh strainer to remove any remaining lumps.

Bring water to a boil. Add the tea, verbena and rosemary and cut the heat. Steep for 5 minutes before straining the solids through a paper filter.

Combine the steeped and strained tea, sea buckthorn purée and all other ingredients and emulsify using a hand blender. Transfer to sealable containers and keep refrigerated for up to two weeks. Makes about 2 L.

the Kootenays to distilled salt water from the Pacific Coast and now a third bottling inspired by the air of the forest.

Suggested cocktail: Pollination. Bearface’s distinct character served as the perfect foundation for a cocktail that connects flavour, place and story in Roberts’s Bianco Manhattan, which is poured tableside from a beeswax-coated vessel, the wax sourced directly from the Queen Elizabeth Park apiary.

“At its heart, Pollination is about showcasing elderflower and honey—two ingredients that naturally pair with the light vanilla, spice and warmth of Bearface,” she explains. “It’s spiritforward, but soft enough to sip any time of day. And I love the playfulness of tying the theme together: flowers, honey and, of course, bears.”

RYAN BUCHANAN

SHELTER POINT SMOKE POINT

53% ABV, $83.75, 750 ML

For Ryan Buchanan (@rjbuch31), bar manager and “spirits adviser” at Arcana Spirits Lounge, great whiskies tell a story of place. And few do that better, he says, than Shelter Point Smoke Point—a limited expression from Vancouver Island’s coastal distillery. “Shelter Point is doing something really special,” Buchanan says. “They’re using Canadian barley, local water and their seaside environment to create whisky with a true sense of terroir. You can taste the West Coast in it.”

Photo courtesy of Bagheera

Smoke Point is finished in barrels that have been smoked with driftwood and seaweed, giving the whisky a coastal smokiness that evokes Islay scotch, but with a distinctly Pacific personality. “It’s rich, saline, and subtly wild like ocean air and earth meeting fire,” he says.

Suggested cocktail: Devil. This bold, smoky and slightly spicy serve showcases the Smoke Point whisky without overwhelming it. “We use chipotle liqueur and spiced honey to amplify the smoke, then balance it with lemon juice and our vegan super foamer to give it lift and texture,” Buchanan says. “It’s got depth, but it’s also incredibly drinkable.”

Tabytha Towe photo

The result is a drink that’s smoky, but nuanced, with enough sweetness and acid to keep the palate coming back. “It’s a little ritualistic,” Buchanan says. “Rich, spicy, elemental—just like Shelter Point itself.”

LUCAS VAN ES

J.P. WISER’S 10 YEAR OLD

40% ABV, BC: $30.99 / ONTARIO: $35.95, 750 ML

Bagheera’s bar manager Lucas Van Es (@whatslukedrinking) set out to create a cocktail that felt like spring in Canada— bright, herbal and quietly complex. He started with J.P. Wiser’s 10 Year Old, a whisky he describes as “versatile, character-driven and grounded in Canadian heritage.” Aged for a decade, it offers notes of buttery shortbread, toasted oak and just enough rye spice to keep it lively.

“It’s not trying to be something it’s not,” Van Es explains. “It’s confident and clean—a dream to mix with.”

Suggested cocktail: How the Whale Got His Throat. It takes its name from a Rudyard Kipling short story in which an Irish boy is swallowed by a whale and spat out in Labrador. That journey inspired the drink’s split base of Irish and Canadian whisky, and its wild, botanical character.

A homemade sea buckthorn cordial brings vibrant acidity and fruit, layered with Labrador tea, rosemary and lemon verbena for an earthy, aromatic backbone. A touch of Strega adds forest spice, and it’s topped with force-carbonated elderflower soda for an elegant sparkle.

“It’s smooth, herbaceous and effervescent,” Van Es says. “Fruity on the front, green in the middle, with a clean, mellow finish. A little whimsical, a little wild—just like the story.”

GRIFFIN COX

DILLON’S THREE OAKS RYE

WHISKY

43% ABV, BC: $49.99 / ONTARIO: $49.95, 750 ML

Griffin Cox (@caciopapii), bar manager at Bernie’s Supper Club & Cinema in Kelowna, has been finding endless inspiration in Dillon’s Three Oaks Rye Whisky—a bottle that “perfectly balances familiarity and complexity,” he says.

“I’ve been using it across a range of cocktails,” Cox explains. “Canadian ryes tend to be incredibly cocktail-friendly, but this one in particular hits a sweet spot. It’s versatile without being neutral. It wants to be built on.”

What sets Dillon’s apart, he says, is its layered oak profile. Aged in a blend of first-fill bourbon casks, new American oak and Ontario oak, the whisky shows comforting notes of vanilla, sweet spice and something distinctly herbal that comes from the local wood. “That Ontario oak brings out a subtle, earthy greenness that plays beautifully with rye grain—it opens up a lot of doors when you’re building flavours.”

Suggested cocktail: Lost Highway. This thoughtful spin on a whisky smash uses flavour mapping to showcase the whisky’s range. “It started by pulling out the key notes I was getting from the Three Oaks—spice, mint, herbal oak—and then layering in things that either complement or contrast them,” Cox explains.

LOST HIGHWAY

Recipe by Griffin Cox, bar manager at Bernie’s Supper Club & Cinema in Kelowna.

1.5 oz Dillon’s Three Oaks Rye Whisky

0.75 oz apricot brandy or liqueur such as Giffard Abricot du Roussillon

0.75 oz Super Orange (see recipe below) or fresh lemon juice

0.5 oz tonka syrup (see note) or vanilla syrup

5 large mint leaves

Shake all ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker until chilled and properly diluted. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a chilled rocks glass over a large ice cube. Garnish with a large mint sprig. Serves 1.

SUPER ORANGE

Note that this will take 24 hours to make.

40 g orange peel, without the bitter pith

66 g granulated sugar

600 g water

44 g citric acid

Combine orange peel and white sugar in a container and allow it to sit overnight to extract the oils from the peels.

The next day, add the mixture plus water and citric acid to a blender and blend on high for 30 seconds. Strain the liquid through a fine sieve to remove any solids. Bottle and store in the fridge for up to two weeks. Makes about 2½ cups.

TONKA SYRUP

Bring 750 mL water to a boil and grate in 2 tonka beans. Infuse for 30 minutes, then strain through a coffee filter to remove the solids. Weigh the liquid and add an equal measure of white sugar. Stir to dissolve, bottle and store in the fridge for up to one week.

“Stone fruit deepens the body, tonka bean doubles down on the baking spice, and our house-made Super Orange brings acidity and brightness without fighting the whisky.”

This bright, layered and grounded cocktail is refreshing as it is complex. “It’s the kind of drink that plays well with whisky lovers and cocktail newcomers alike. And it all starts with choosing a base that gives you something to build on.”

BRADLEY HORSEMAN

FORTY CREEK COPPER BOLD

43% ABV, BC: $31.49 / ONTARIO: $35.70, 750 ML

Bradley Horseman (@iamtherealponyboy), bar manager at Calgary’s Salt & Brick, describes the Forty Creek Copper Bold as “elegant, strong, and quietly sophisticated,” adding that at 43% ABV, it brings structure to the glass—but doesn’t overpower the supporting cast. “There’s a soft vanilla note and winter spice that makes it incredibly fun to mix with,” he says. “It’s the kind of whisky that holds its own in tropical drinks without clashing.”

Suggested cocktail: High Fives All Around. With no patio at Salt & Brick, Horseman had a simple goal for his latest cocktail menu: Bring the beach to the bar.

The result is a tropical-leaning, whisky-based tiki drink that’s all sunshine, spice and a shot of nostalgia. In it, Forty Creek Copper Bold is paired with Punt e Mes, maraschino liqueur, lemon, pineapple and a house-made Chinese five spice agave syrup that brings an unexpected savoury depth. It’s tiki, yes—but with a Canadian twist.

The cocktail’s name is a nod to his snowboarding crew from Saskatchewan.

“Every year on our trip, no matter what happens, we say it: High fives all around. It’s a vibe,” Horseman says. “I wanted the drink to feel like that moment—celebratory, laid-back and a little sun-soaked.”

KAT SAULNIER

LOT 40 RYE WHISKY 43% ABV, BC: $44.99 / ONTARIO: $42.45, 750 ML

Bar Mordecai’s Kat Saulnier (@danger. kat) has found her new favourite whisky for cocktail-building in Lot 40. “With American bourbons getting harder to source, I’ve been diving into Canadian options—and Lot 40 is easily one of the most dynamic,” she says. “It’s bold and dry with a spicy punch, which makes it strong enough for something like an Old Fashioned, but subtle enough to blend into more layered drinks.”

HIGH FIVES ALL AROUND

Recipe by Bradley Horseman, bar manager, Salt & Brick in Calgary.

1.5 oz Forty Creek Copper Bold

0.5 oz Punt e Mes vermouth

0.25 oz maraschino liqueur

0.5 oz Chinese Five Spice Agave Syrup (see recipe)

1 oz pineapple juice

0.75 oz fresh lemon juice

Shake all ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker until chilled and properly diluted. Strain into a rocks glass over ice and garnish with pineapple fronds. Serves 1.

CHINESE FIVE SPICE AGAVE SYRUP

Note that this will take about 24 hours to make.

In a medium-sized saucepan combine 1 cup water nectar with 1/2 cinnamon stick, 1 Tbsp black peppercorns, ½ Tbsp white peppercorns, 1 star anise pod, 1/2 tsp whole cloves and about 1 Tbsp diced fresh ginger.

Bring to a boil, then stir in 1 cup agave nectar. Simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat, let cool, then steep in the fridge overnight. Strain into a glass bottle or jar and keep in the fridge for up to three weeks. Makes about 2 cups.

Photo courtesy of Salt & Brick

Suggested cocktail: Rat Boy. Lot 40’s balance of power and restraint is exactly why she built her latest cocktail around it. “It’s a tiki-inspired drink, but definitely not your usual rum-andfruit combo,” Saulnier explains. “Lot 40 brings the depth, but it doesn’t take over—it works with the other flavours to build something complex and silky.”

The drink blends salted oat orgeat, fino sherry, Strega, lemon and a dash of Angostura bitters, resulting in a rich, textural serve with an unexpected savoury note. “The oat orgeat and sherry give it umami, while the whisky cuts through with spice and structure. It’s bright, herbal, and layered—but totally crushable over ice.”

TRISTIN VISSERS

BEARFACE TRIPLE OAK CANADIAN WHISKY

42.5% ABV, BC: $39.99 / ONTARIO: $39.95, 750 ML

For Tristin Vissers (@tristin_vissers), bartender at Library Bar in Toronto, Bearface, a 100-per-cent corn Canadian whisky aged in American and Hungarian oak “fills the gap bourbon used to occupy.” He adds: “Creamy, dessert-like notes of crème brûlée, honey and vanilla make it a dream for tropical-style builds—even though it’s not traditional tiki.”

RAT BOY

Recipe by Kat Saulnier, bartender at Toronto’s Bar Mordecai.

0.75 oz Lot 40 Rye Whisky

0.75 oz Tio Pepe fino sherry

0.5 oz Strega liqueur

0.75 oz Salted Oat Orgeat (see note)

0.5 oz fresh lemon juice

1 dash Angostura bitters

Garnish: star anise pod

Shake all ingredients (except garnish) with ice in a cocktail shaker until chilled and properly diluted. Strain into a rocks glass over crushed ice and garnish with star anise. Serves 1.

Note: To make Salted Oat Orgeat, mix 1kg of sugar with 1L of oat milk on low heat. Stir until integrated, then remove from heat. Stir in 20 ml of orange blossom water and 75 ml of Amaretto. Salt to taste.

Suggested cocktail: The Belly of the Beast. For Vissers, cocktail creation is about more than flavour—it’s about storytelling. His drink takes its inspiration from Michael Ondaatje’s novel In the Skin of a Lion, and channels the experience of immigrants arriving in early 20th-century Canada: cold, hard and full of the unexpected.

The Belly of the Beast is his imagined version of a “transatlantic tiki” cocktail, combining Canadian and European ingredients into something vibrant, spiced and a little nutty. “It’s like a sea buckthorn butter tart in drink form,” Vissers says. “Bright and tangy up front, with a rich, almost pastry-like finish.”

It’s a cocktail that doesn’t just taste good, it carries narrative weight. “They came expecting gold and found ice and work,” he says, quoting the novel. “This drink is for them—and for anyone finding warmth in unexpected places.”

THE BELLY OF THE BEAST

Recipe by Tristin Vissers, bartender at Toronto’s Library Bar, Toronto.

1.5 oz Appleton Estate 12 Year old rum

0.75 oz Brown Butter Fat-Washed Bearface Triple Oak whisky (see note)

0.75 oz Metaxa 5 Star brandy

0.75 oz grapefruit juice

0.75 oz sea buckthorn juice

0.75 oz Toasted Pecan & Mace Orgeat (see recipe below)

1 dash Angostura bitters

Garnish: cedar sprig, cinnamon sticks, bitters

Build all ingredients (except garnish) directly in a Lion Tiki Mug over crushed ice. Garnish with cedar sprig, 2 cinnamon smokestacks and another dash of blood bitters on top.

Note: To make the brown butter fat-washed whisky, melt 1 cup of unsalted butter in a saucepan over medium heat until it starts to bubble, stirring gently and consistently. The milk solids will sink and begin to brown, producing a nutty, toasty aroma. Do not let them burn and turn black. Remove from heat and cool slightly, then transfer to a 1L wide-mouth jar or similar container. Add 1 bottle of Bearface, then place in the freezer overnight, allowing the butter to harden and set. The next day, poke a hole in the fat puck and fine-strain the whisky through a coffee filter before bottling it for use. Discard the fat.

TOASTED PECAN & MACE ORGEAT

50 g chopped pecans

0.25 tsp mace

1 cup water

1 cup white sugar

0.5 tsp rose water

0.5 tsp orange blossom

2.75 oz Appleton 12 rum

In a small fry pan, toast the chopped pecans with the mace until golden and fragrant. Transfer to

a small pot and add the water. Bring to boil and continue to cook for 10 minutes on medium/ high heat. Turn off heat, then stir in sugar until fully dissolved. Remove from heat and cool slightly.

Add rose water, orange blossom water and rum. Place in the fridge overnight to let the flavours infuse, then strain through a fine-mesh sieve. (Line it with cheesecloth to remove even more of the bits.) Transfer to a clean bottle, label and store in the fridge for up to two weeks. Makes about 1 cup.

LAST CALL

GREAT WORLD BARS WE LOVE: HANDSHAKE SPEAKEASY

Behindan unassuming black door marked “13” in Colonia Juarez, Mexico City, lies the best bar in the world: Handshake Speakeasy. Since opening in 2019, the bar has evolved from its original Polanco roots into a world-class destination, complete with a newly expanded basement space that complements its upstairs Art Deco-inspired lounge. They also swiped the title of No. 1 on the lists of World’s 50 Best Bars and North America’s 50 Best Bars (twice now), amid numerous other prestigious global awards.

With creative direction from Eric Van Beek, the team constantly pushes boundaries of modern molecular mixology. Each cocktail coming out of their avant-garde, on-site laboratory is meticulously crafted with flavours that are mind-blowingly complex, yet familiar at the same time. The Brown Butter Mushroom Old Fashioned, for instance, is a masterclass in balance—rich, boozy, with just

enough savoury notes from the mushroom. It’s not overly complicated on the palate, yet you can’t help but crave another sip, even months later. The Mexi-Thai is another classic from the menu, a Thai-curry-meetsMexican-ingredients in a cocktail form. It’s vibrant, layered and delicious.

With that level of creativity and flawless execution, combined with the high-energy Mexican hospitality—we even played “caja de toques” with the bartenders as we were polishing off every drop of our cocktail—it’s easy to see why Handshake Speakeasy earned the top spot on the Best Bars list(s). The only challenge? How many cocktails can you try within the 90-minute seating time? handshake.bar —Viranlly Liemena

ABOVE: Vibrant flavours sing in the Mexi-Thai.

BELOW: Handshake Speakeasy’s Brown Butter Mushroom Old Fashioned.

Viranlly Liemena photos

Toronto Cocktail Festival

October 23-26, 2025

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