March 03 2023, Dilawri BC
Spring is upon us, and if the weather networks are to be trusted, it’ll be a scorcher this season. Thankfully, we know a mix of cocktail bars – new, classic, and experimental – in Vancouver that will keep you well hydrated with a great selection of cocktails and liquors.
The Diamond
Neighbourhood: Gastown
Instagram: @thediamondgastown
Located in the heart of Gastown, this second-floor gem of a bar is a well-known Vancouver cocktail lounge.
Dimly lit and cozy, this tiny bar is the epitome of Gastown’s character – rustic with its exposed brick walls, and dressed up in new-world charms by its sparkling chandeliers.
You can tell the bartenders know and enjoy what they do with your first sip of any cocktail. A mix of in-house cocktails and old-fashioned classics, The Diamond rarely delivers a drink that doesn’t impress and leave you wanting a second round.
The Diamond
Botanist Bar and Cocktail Lab
Neighbourhood: Coal Harbour
Instagram: @botanistdining
Recently awarded the Michelin Exceptional Cocktail Award, Botanist Bar is no stranger to gilded awards in the beverage industry. When it first opened in 2017, the bar was already a highly anticipated treat for Vancouverites to indulge in original cocktails set in industrial kitchen equipment and unique glassware that doubles as visual experiences.
Botanist’s bar team is headed by Creative Beverage Director, Grant Sceney, and Head Bartender, Jeff Savage, innovative geniuses when it comes to creative cocktails. Known for their experimental spirit infusions forwarded by their foraging of local botanicals and herbs, Botanist is a great place to escape the heat for a truly unique alcoholic experience.
Botanist Bar and Cocktail Lab
Keefer Bar
Neighbourhood: Chinatown
Instagram: @thekeeferbar
Located on the trendy bar area of Keefer Street, The Keefer Bar was named #86 in The World’s Best Bars Top 100 and one of North America’s 50 Best Bars, and is inspired by the Chinese apothecaries that used to line the streets of Vancouver’s Chinatown.
Stellar bartenders Gez McAlpine, who is the Bar Manager, and Keenan Hood, who doubles as the General Manager, developed an exceptional cocktail menu inspired by Chinese ingredients.
Littered with Chinese medical charts along its walls, The Keefer Bar is an eclectic bar that frequently features live talent within its small spaces.
The Keefer Bar
Copperpenny Distilling
Neighbourhood: North Vancouver
Instagram: @copperpennydistillingnv
If you’re looking for a good gin cocktail in an impeccably designed space, Coppypenny Distilling serves up unique and small batch gins.
Known for their award-winning Copperpenny Gin 005, Copperpenny is, as indicated, a gin distillery in North Vancouver that doubles as a cocktail parlour.
The brainchild of local film set designers, Jennifer Kom-Tong and her husband, Jan Stenc, the bar is home to a plethora of creative gin concoctions, all featuring their in-house blends. The dining and lounge area is a design tribute to Kom-Tong and Stenc’s design backgrounds and offers a space for local artists and bands on Tuesday nights.
Copperpenny Distillery
NiceLife Cocktail Co
Neighbourhood: Port Coquitlam
Instagram: @nicelife_co
If you’ve gone to a theatre show lately, you’ll notice the latest addition to many menus are bottled cocktails.
Port Coquitlam is home to one of the most popular brands of bottled cocktails, NiceLife Cocktail Co, formerly known as Provincial Spirits. While you can order their alcoholic beverages online, and even a tap truck for events, NiceLife also has a brick and mortar location where you can order charcuterie and other nibbles and bites with your cocktails.
NiceLife offers refreshing mixtures that are reminiscent of summer and a great way to ease yourself into warmer weather and patios.
NiceLife Cocktail Co
Bagheera
Neighbourhood: Chinatown
Instagram: @whereisbagheera
Shortly following the opening of Lao Wei, another Chinatown speakeasy by restaurateur Lewis Hart and bartender Alex Black, the two along with partner, Brij Rathi, opened up Bagheera. A soft opening and tease was released to the public via Instagram using the hashtag #whereIsBagheera late last year, with its official opening date in early March.
Located behind the Happy Valley Turf Club betting shop on Main Street, guests place bets on “King Louie” to be granted entrance into this new bar.
A nod at Rudyard Kipling’s black panther in The Jungle Book, the bar’s Indian influence is apparent throughout the establishment. A stunning rounded ceiling over the bar, decked out in ornate gold jewels and bangles sets the tone of Indian luxury, while exotic animals associated with the Jungle Book are littered throughout the bar, most notably the monkeys in the unisex bathrooms. While the bar is woefully limited in spirit selections, and focuses mainly on their original cocktails, the bartenders here are top notch and well trained.
Bagheera
The Stock Room
Neighbourhood: Gastown
Instagram: @stockroom.fc
The Stock Room is another brainchild of the Freehouse Collective (formerly known as the Donnelly Group). Known to be an unpretentious speakeasy with no frills, gimmicks or passwords – just good drinks – its secret location lies behind Hundy Burger in Yaletown.
Aptly named The Stock Room, the bar entrance is marked “Private” at the end of a brick hallway filled with crates. Once through its doors, the space opens up to an area filled with unassuming booths, wooden tables and red barstools, and pineapples lining the walls.
Headed by Bar & Beverage Director, Trevor Kallies, The Stock Room’s cocktail menu features original fruit-forward concoctions, along with a stellar option of classic cocktails, curated natural wine list, and local beers.
The Stock Room
Kissa Tanto
Neighbourhood: Chinatown
Instagram: @kissatanto
While not officially classified as a cocktail bar, Kissa Tanto has a bar – with phenomenal drinks – and is definitely a must for those who truly appreciate a good cocktail…or six.
Fraser Crawford, the bar manager, has created an impeccable cocktail and killer ‘after dinner’ drinks menu. Their “Pick Me Up” cocktail, consisting of housemade Japanese whisky cream with miso caramel, white chocolate ganache, and espresso is reminiscent of a highly elevated version of a Baileys Irish cream whiskey.
Recently listed as a Michelin recommended restaurant, we highly recommend reservations in order to gain an elusive seat here, otherwise, the bar does offer plenty of space if you go right after work hours at 5:30pm.
Kissa Tanto
1927 Lobby Lounge at the Rosewood Hotel
Neighbourhood: Downtown
Instagram: @rosewoodhotelgeorgia
An upscale hotel lobby bar, 1927 Lobby Lounge rests in the corner of the hotel lobby and serves up retro cocktails, lending more historic charm to its 1920’s grandeur.
With the exceptional service expected of an upscale hotel, the cocktails here are top-notch and shaken up by a team of excellent, experienced bartenders. As a result, the bar is usually filled with hotel guests and locals seeking an alcoholic refuge.
1927 Lobby Lounge at the Rosewood Hotel
Vancouver has a thriving food scene with plentiful award-winning bartenders. If you’re looking for more great recommendations to whet your appetite, check out our 10 New Restaurants to Try This Winter.
