VANCOUVER DAZE showcases and highlights the social life and scene of our beautiful city, covering all the misadventures and shenanigans at various cultural events, mixers, parties, meetups, and local happenings. We fiercely promote all the fun times the city has to offer along with the interesting people behind them. Follow more of my work/coverage over at RICKCHUNG.COM and on Twitter at @RICKCHUNG. You can pitch me HERE.

Volume 17: Bombay Sapphire Speakeasy party at Guilt and Company in Gastown on May 16, 2011. More photos available on Flickr.

To promote their gin, Bombay Sapphire organized an exclusive demonstration of prohibition era cocktails and recipes in the theme of a speakeasy party.

UK mixologist Merlin Griffiths showed us how to make some old school concoctions. Food Network host Corbin Tomaszeski demonstrated some quick and dirty gin inspired recipes including some delicious turkey bites (above).

Lovelies (top left to right) like PR professional Sophia Cheng along with Melissa Guillergan and Chin Chin Ho all enjoyed the french highballs and Dorothy Parker cocktails.

Among the appetizers served were sweet potato chips, roasted potatoes, clams, and scallops. I was craving something more substantial by the end of a the night and hopped to Boneta for some whiskey (bourbon) sours and appetizers.

Friendly faces were abound including Crystal Kwon and Karm Sumal being silly, enjoying some gin cocktails.

Breakfast Television host Dawn Chubai was unrecognizable in her authentic prohibition flabber dress posing with food writer Nathan Fong. She did a demonstration of the classic ’20-30s era recipes earlier that morning on Citytv.

It was fun socializing with a interesting theme. It reminded me of the Yelp Prohibition Pretend Elite Party at the Vancouver Police Museum last year. They even had a pretty good big band style set of musicians to set the mood. There were plenty of lovely people around like Follow Me Foodie blogger Mijune Pak (above posing with Sophia).

You can see (left to right) Merlin, Dawn, and Corbin enjoying a gin cocktail at the end of the night. Thanks and shout out to Angela Jung, finally meeting Ann Lee from Me Plus Food, and seeing Brendan Bailey and Paul Marr from Optimum PR as well. Cheers.