There is serious education and training that goes into every cocktail, and these nine exclusive tasting seminars can help you up your savvy when it comes to spirits.
Offered as part of Vancouver Cocktail Week's exciting line-up of programming, including signature gatherings, dinners and events, and happy hours, these in-depth seminars offer not only insight but the chance to enjoy some sips and bites, too.
Learn about spirits, their history, cocktail techniques and more from some of Canada’s greatest experts in the field at these ticketed VCW seminars that are open to the public.
Mixing it up with Fever-Tree
We all know the importance of a quality spirit, but what about the mixer? If three-quarters of your cocktail is the mixer, shouldn’t we be mixing with the best? Join Kaitlyn Stewart, the 2017 global Diageo World Class champion as she takes you through the history of the brand, the importance of high-quality ingredients, pairing suggestions, common misconceptions, an eye-opening tasting, and more! We will be mixing cocktails with Ketel One vodka, Tanqueray gin and Seedlip non-alcoholic spirit, paired with food prepared by H2 Rotisserie and Bar.
- When Sunday, March 6 from 4-5 pm
- Where: H2 Rotisserie and Bar at The Westin Bayshore - 1601 Bayshore Dr.
- Get tickets
Ms. Better’s Bitters Presents: Extractions, Infusions, Macerations and Powders
Learn all about the botanical ingredients that make your cocktails sing in this seminar featuring Vancouver’s own Ms. Better’s Bitters. Bartenders Robyn Gray and Tarquin Melnyk will also demonstrate how to get the most from bitters by using avant garde technique and molecular technology to create cocktails just for VCW.
- When: Sunday, March 6 at 8 p.m.
- Where: Queens Cross Pub - 2989 Lonsdale Ave, North Vancouver
- Get tickets
Mila Cocktail Master Class
Join Mila's bar manager Alex Tognazzi at the bar as he guides guests through the making of two feature cocktails that showcase spirits from a number of local producers including Artisan Sake Maker, Sons of Vancouver, Legend Distilling and House of Funk. Learn how to create these carefully crafted cocktails with the accompaniment of an appetizer and dessert pairing.
- When Offered March 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 at 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.
- Where: Mila Plant-Based - 185 Keefer St.
- Get tickets
Diageo World Class Seminar
Learn tips, techniques and tales from the competition trenches taught by Diageo World Class bar stars Kaitlyn Stewart, Jeff Savage, Chris Enns, Grant Sceney and 2021’s Global Bartender of the Year, James Grant. Get educated over cocktails and small bites.
- When: Monday, March 7 from 2-4 p.m.
- Where: Published on Main - 3593 Main St.
- Get tickets
Better with Belvedere
This fun and interactive tasting of Belvedere vodka will demonstrate how this Polish rye-based spirit can make a difference in your next cocktail. The seminar will feature half-ounce pours of three vodkas over a one-hour tasting. Note that 100 per cent of proceeds from tickets will go toward Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre.
- When: Monday, March 7 from 2-3 p.m.
- Where: The Chickadee Room- 182 Keefer St.
- Get tickets
Barons, Innovators and Pioneers
A premium whisky tasting featuring pioneering malts from intrepid blenders—Dewar’s 18, Aberfeldy 16, Craigellachie 17, Deveron 18 Teeling Single Malt—hosted by Kevin Brownlee, Bacardi Portfolio Ambassador.
From the Foggie Moss and illicit whisky trails to the grain trains that opened Scotland up to malt distribution and the Dublin distilleries during the peak of Irish whiskey, malt whiskies have had a spirited, arduous journey from grain to glass. This session explores the early days of whisky making and covers barrel finishing, innovative blending, the uncompromising spirit that brought life to whisky in early 1800s Scotland and Ireland, and our modern-day fascination with the whisky’s characters and the malts they make.
- When: Tuesday, March 8 at 2 p.m.
- Where: Hy’s Steakhouse & Cocktail Bar - 637 Hornby St.
- Get tickets
Bowmore and Brine
A tasting of the Bowmore lineup with an Islay breakfast. Experience the maritime feel of the Atlantic Ocean with amazing oysters and the sea salt air that permeates the Bowmore Distillery.
- When: Tuesday, March 8 from 6-8 p.m.
- Where: Blue Water Cafe - 1095 Hamilton St.
- Get tickets
All things ice with Kodama Ice
Join Kodama Ice owner Jason Browne and Resurrection Spirits for a seminar about all things ice. Charting its humble origins in the frozen farm ponds of Massachusetts to its rise as an indispensable global commodity, we will explore all aspects of what is possibly the most important but often overlooked ingredient in modern cocktails.
Exploring history, science and practical application, Jason will demonstrate and guide participants into creating their own sphere or diamond to be used in cocktails provided by Resurrection Spirits.
- When: Wednesday, March 9 from 1-2:30 p.m.
- Where: Resurrection Spirits - 1672 Franklin St.
- Get tickets
Vermouth Master Class
Carlino bar manager Gianluigi Bosco will take you through a brief history of vermouth, different types available on the market, production, service, use in cocktails, with a focus on Lynx Vermouth from Italy. Enjoy a few snacks (olives, chicken liver terrine, and fried mortadella) as well as a Lynx-based cocktail while you learn.
- When: Wednesday, March 9 from 3-4:30 p.m.
- Where: Carlino- 1115 Alberni St.
- Get tickets
With files from The Alchemist Magazine
