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taste of the year
Drawn entirely from one chosen harvest, vintage Champagne offers a taste of a year that will never unfold in quite the same way again.
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one bottle three ways: shinobu pure malt lightly peated
This series spotlights the overlooked spirits and modifiers that deserve more than a supporting role, showing how one bottle can inspire three simple, mixable cocktails. No elaborate prep or multi-day infusions; just clever builds you’ll actually want to make. Whether you’re experimenting at home or behind the bar, consider it a reminder that every bottle has more to give.
The Flavour Index: 18-year-old Whisk(e)y Edition
Each 18-year-old whisk(e)y is a liquid snapshot of decisions made nearly two decades before it reached the glass. For this edition of the Flavour Index, we gathered 18 whiskies from around the world, each aged for 18 years. Together, they reveal just how little an age statement tells us about what is actually in the glass. Some are bright and delicate; others rich and dark. Some lean toward cereal and grain, while others show the influence of oxidation and extended maturation.
a question of taste: does an older age statement mean a better whisk(e)y?
An age statement is one of whisky’s most powerful signals. The higher the number, the rarer, more prestigious and more expensive the bottle appears. But age tells us only how long the youngest whisky spent in cask, not how well it was made or how good it will taste.
Supporters argue extended maturation creates greater depth and complexity. Critics counter that whisky can become overly woody, while younger expressions may offer more vibrancy, distillery character and balance. We asked three whisk(e)y experts to argue a side. Their assigned positions do not necessarily reflect their personal views; the goal is to spark thought and conversation.
pour decisions: drinks we loved, lost & never touched again
Most people have one, you know, a drink they can’t smell, taste or even look at without being transported back to one very specific, dreadful night. Maybe it was a questionable shot, an ill-advised cocktail or a bottle that became permanently associated with a particularly poor decision.
While we’ve explored the beautiful side of flavour memories throughout this edition, not every memory is one we’d choose to revisit. So, we asked five of the brightest bartenders behind Canada’s best cocktail bars to share the drinking stories they can’t forget, even if they wish they could.
are you tasting the rum, or the story?
Long before you form an opinion about a drink, its description may already be forming one for you.
how laws, land, & legacy shape what we taste
From Islay's smoky traditions to Canada's flexible whisky laws, the rules that define a spirit also shape its flavour, identity, and the way consumers experience place in each dram.
where flowers fall, india’s heritage spirits flourish
There is a particular kind of knowledge that lives not in books but in hands: the hands of a woman gathering white blossoms from a forest floor before sunrise, the hands of a man climbing a 60-foot palm before the world has woken, and the hands pressing cashew fruit in stone basins that have held the weight of centuries.
homesick in the mouth: hacking nostalgic cocktails
When it comes to drink preferences, I land somewhere between a novelty-obsessed psychonaut and an aversion-numb degenerate. But there is one elixir from the mixologist’s cabinet powerful enough to temporarily slake my craving for Parmesan Espresso Martinis and Industry Sours: a cocktail served with a rich and heady wash of nostalgia.
conversation list: the many ways spirits tell time
Some bottles capture a moment. Others contain many at once. For this edition of the Conversation List, we explore six curated spirits shaped by the blending of different ages, vintages or generations of liquid. While time is typically one of the most expensive ingredients in the spirits industry, none of these featured spirits were priced more than $300 CAD upon release.
These curated bottles capture decades differently: through fractional or perpetual blending, the marriage of multiple ages and vintages, or stocks passed between generations of one family. They are not inexpensive, exactly, but they make an unusual amount of time accessible and are sure to leave a lasting impression when shared.
one bottle three ways: taylor fladgate 10 year old tawny port
This series spotlights the overlooked spirits and modifiers that deserve more than a supporting role, showing how one bottle can inspire three simple, mixable cocktails. No elaborate prep or multi-day infusions; just clever builds you’ll actually want to make. Whether you’re experimenting at home or behind the bar, consider it a reminder that every bottle has more to give.
This edition features Taylor Fladgate 10 Year Old Tawny Port, a fortified wine bottled at 20 per cent ABV and made from traditional red grapes grown in Portugal’s Douro Valley. Blended from Ports aged an average of ten years in seasoned oak, it layers ripe berries and fig with nuts, butterscotch, chocolate and fine oak.
flavour files: nostalgia edition
The Flavour Files explore how familiar flavours appear across the drinks world and the memories they carry with them. This edition finds the taste of a 1990s and early-2000s childhood hiding in Canadian whisky, from banana candies and bubblegum to Cocoa Puffs and pecan pie.
time runs in the family
Inside the Glenfarclas Family Cask Series, where the date on the bottle may also be one of your own.
solera from the ground up
Born in the bodegas of southern Spain, the solera system transformed aging into an ongoing conversation between past and present. Today, rum and whisky producers are borrowing the same idea, although not always in quite the same way.
taste of the year
Drawn entirely from one chosen harvest, vintage Champagne offers a taste of a year that will never unfold in quite the same way again.
one hundred years of decade-defining drinks
From the sweet concoctions that masked poor-quality gin in the 1920s to the rise of the three-martini lunch in the 1950s to the indulgent excess of the 1980s that gave us the Long Island Iced Tea, each decade is defined by a signature cocktail that reflects the culture of its era.
What Makes a $50 Martini Actually Worth It?
In London, many Martinis land around £20–30, which for a Canadian reads more like $40–60 CAD once the dust (and gratuities) settle. When a drink edges into that territory, expectation shifts. You’re no longer just ordering a cocktail. You’re buying into a standard. A promise that something about this Martini will justify the price, whether that’s the liquid itself, the way it’s made, or the way (and where) it’s delivered.
We went looking for that answer inside some of London’s most iconic bars. Not to rank them, but to understand what’s actually being paid for. Because once you strip the Martini back to its essentials, there’s nowhere to hide. No sugar, no citrus, no distraction. Just spirit, dilution, temperature, and intent. And at this level, every one of those decisions shows.
The Flavour Index: Gin Edition
In this edition of The Flavour Index, we explore 20 gins with a range of styles and approaches, mapping how different botanical choices and production techniques influence their character. This is not an exhaustive list, but rather a starting framework for understanding how flavour is built in gin.
Tinted by Nature: The Botanicals Brightening Your Glass
Liquor shelves are brimming with brightly coloured bevies, but not all food dyes are alike. While most major distilleries use artificial colouring for its intensity and stability, many smaller distilleries are opting for a natural approach, using flora and fauna to add colour and flavour to their spirits.
Furthermore, most botanicals have a long history with humanity, which goes beyond colour and taste. Many hold medicinal and spiritual meaning for present and past cultures. Although these plants are safe to consume, it is important to do your homework before using them at home. After all, plants are powerful!
Curaçao: Should Blue be Taboo?
The color blue is a controversial topic in the world of spirits and cocktails. This is largely because very few natural coloring agents can create a stable, vibrant hue that resembles our favorite shades of blue—such as the clear summer sky, a stunning sapphire, or even a brand new pair of Levi's jeans.
Disco Drinks
Disco drinks remind us that colour has always been part of cocktail language. Long before Instagram, bartenders were manipulating hue to signal sweetness, seduction, and spectacle under the mirrorball.