Cocktails, Shaken -- and Stirring

A well-made cocktail isn’t just a delicious drink. It is a story, a journey, an adventure in a glass. It takes science and culture, adds ice, and shakes it all up into something exciting and new. A cocktail can be light and refreshing, dark and complex, sweet and deceptively boozy or virtuously alcohol-free. Most of all, a cocktail marks the end of the workday and the beginning of fun times.

Vancouver is a great place for a cocktail.

Some of the world’s best bartenders are crafting drinks here, the kind of folks who shine at national and global cocktail competitions such as Diageo World Class, Bacardi Legacy and Bombay Sapphire’s Most Imaginative Bartender. Maybe it’s because they tend to take a culinary approach to drinks, using many of the same ingredients and skills as the back-of-house team. Maybe there’s just something in the water. Whatever the reason, some of the best places to get a drink have long been at restaurants such as Suyo Modern Peruvian, Botanist, Published on Main and too many others to count.

And now Vancouver sipsters have even more choices. The last few months have seen a sudden surge in new cocktail-forward establishments, including Meo, Prophecy and Good Thief. These three lounges combine great food, drink, ambience and really stylish concepts. As Amelie Nguyen, co-owner of Good Thief, says, “We’re doing things differently. We’re a bit rebellious.”

Here's what you need to know about your new favourite watering holes.