The City’s Most Spirited Event

A week-long celebration of Toronto’s cocktail culture

For six days in October, Toronto celebrated its incredible cocktail scene with parties, tastings and one-of-a-kind dinners during the second annual Toronto Cocktail Week, presented by Diageo World Class. It kicked off on October 15, when more than 20 of the city’s best bars joined forces at the Evergreen Brick Works for the opening night bash.

Throughout the week, there were a couple of “spirited dinners,” including a celebration of Nikkei cuisine at Claudio Aprile’s restaurant Xango and a bourbonfuelled barbecue feast at Carbon Bar.

For Moët Hennessy’s Discovery Hour at Drake Mini Bar, attendees drank fancy cocktails branded through a ripple machine (think barista art, but boozier). The next night, a whole bunch of Montreal’s most talented bartenders took over Mahjong Bar, where they crafted signature concoctions. Later in the week, Famous Last Words served duelling flights of El Dorado rum and Writers’ Tears Irish whiskey.

Tastings and classes included Sherry 101 at Supernova Ballroom, an intro to whisky with Forty Creek at Death and Taxes, and a deep dive into tequila and mescal at the Vatican Gift Shop. Guests also learned about Campari at a negroni seminar co-hosted by PrettyUgly’s Robin Goodfellow, and learned the breakdown of a traditional cocktail with molecular mixologist Frankie Solarik at BarChef. In other classes, participants sampled Nikka Japanese whisky, sipped martinis and made modern tipples using oldschool spirits.

COCKTAIL WEEK KICKOFF: For hundreds of spiritloving guests, the opening party was a rare opportunity to do a comprehensive cocktail crawl of the city’s best bars under one roof

IN GOOD SPIRITS: A group of lucky guests enjoyed a multi-course meal—and cocktails by Diageo World Class bartenders—at Claudio Aprile’s new restaurant, Xango

RIPPLE EFFECT: Ripple machine effect on a sparkling cocktail during Möet Hennessy’s Discovery Hour at Drake Mini Bar

BOOZE AND BBQ: The Carbon Bar hosted a bourbon- and barbecuefuelled dinner, presented in partnership with Buffalo Trace Distillery, Wheatley Vodka and the LCBO’s Whisky Shop.