"Try an 'Inception Negroni' On the Howe St side of the Rosewood Hotel Georgia, look for the red velvet rope and head downstairs to this gloriously grown-up cocktail bar with live music and some of the most creative cocktails in town. Take, for instance, the Inception Negroni, a tantalizing drink-within-a-drink of a red Negroni captured in an ice sphere, served in a white Negroni. After all, what's better than one drink, but two? The interior is equally appealing, with peacock blue velvet seats and bar stools playing alongside cozy leather couches and a beautifully back-lit bar. Open Tues-Sat from 5pm, if you're on a budget check out their daily punch selection which is available from $7."

"Pair Innovative Cocktails and Fantastic Food at Pidgin Pidgin may be known for their deceptively simple East-meets-West Asian-inspired menu with a decidedly French edge, but their cocktails are all kinds of fantastic too, and in a casual but cool spot like this, it’s most fun to combine the two. Try their addictive chicken wings finished with a gochujang-based BBQ sauce with a bourbon-based Van Horne, and the plate-lickingly wonderful smoked taramasalata with an onsen egg with their much-loved carbonated sake and gin-based Mary Ellen Smith. For dessert? Try the beautiful watermelon-infused tequila One Eye Samurai as it comes served with a spoon of silky granita."

"If You Can Find it, You’ll Love it New to Yaletown, I adore this hidden speakeasy of a bar that has no sign and is tucked away down two flights of stairs on Hamilton Street in the corridor next to the barbers. Once you’ve managed to track it down, you’re in for a treat, there’s an open mic night on Tuesday, Rebel Bingo on Wednesday, and the London Calling cabaret perform twice a month on Thursdays. If you’re boozing on a budget there are daily drinks deals from Tuesday till Friday, but if money is no object, maybe try their bottle service or ‘Champagne Parade’. I recommend their Gincident, a herbaceous-citrus cocktail with gin, chartreuse and basil."

"Vancouver's Gem of a Bar A clandestine spot to imbibe in Gastown, the Diamond is the speakeasy when you're in Vancouver . Bar none, one of the best bars I have been to on recommendation from Nathan at Judas Goat. They will make you anything here, like a tasty pisco sour. Plus, they give you these really cute glasses with flowers on them. We didn’t try the menu, but if it’s anything like the drinks, I’ll be returning for a meal."

"Make Mine a Gastown Swizzle You’ll find people queuing outside the doors in Gastown throughout the week to take advantage of L'Abattoir's excellent bar-only Happy Hour from 5.30-6.30pm which offers half-priced appetizers from their award-winning menu, daily red and white wines for $6, beer for $5, and cocktail specials for $7. Away from the Happy Hour the bar program at L’Abattoir is one of the best in the city with an exceptional bar team shaking (and stirring) up classics and their own creations. My tip? Start the night with a light, bright Gastown Swizzle and end it with a deliciously boozy Donald Draper."

"Cocktail Heaven at Hawksworth Possibly one of the finest cocktail bars in North America, everything about the Hawksworth Bar experience dazzles: from the Damien Hirst artwork on the walls to the soft cream leather couches, and the exceptional hospitality and wonderful quality of the drinks. No, it’s not an inexpensive experience, but it’s one worth having if you’re a fan of excellent cocktails created with love. I adore their Hotel Georgia, a beautifully frothy kiss of gin, orgeat and orange blossom water."

"The Four Hour Happy Hour There are plenty of things to love about Uva, but one of my favourite things is its daily happy hour which lasts from 2-6pm, offering buck a shuck oysters, delicious bruschetta (my favourites are the ricotta, and the devilled egg), and excellent prices on well-crafted cocktails, beer and wine. Must-trys on the regular cocktail menu include the herbaceous Chartreuse Milkshake, and the superby smoky spirit-forward Peater Rabbit. Live music at the weekends and a buzzing late night scene make this idea for fun in the evenings, but it’s a fantastic place to chill with a book or your laptop during the day when it’s quieter."

"A Vancouver Cocktail on the Patio at CinCin There’s no better place than Vancouver to try a Vancouver cocktail, it’s the perfect pre-dinner sharpener, although it works rather well as an after-dinner treat too. It’s said to have been created at the Sylvia Hotel down on English Bay in the 1950s and its fans included Errol Flynn. It’s a riff on the Martinez, made of gin, Benedictine, sweet Vermouth and orange bitters. Although the Sylvia is, of course, the most authentic place to try it, I have to recommend you make for the all-weather patio at Cin Cin to sip bartender David Wolowidnyk’s version which is smooth, delicious, and really far too good to just have one..."

"Geek-chic abounds at this Richmond brewery, which vows to “keep beer weird.”Swing by the Ironwood taproom—just 1.25 miles northwest of the BC Ferries terminal—for a retro video game battle, sweetened by a Last Strawberry Wit, Czech-style Pixel Pils, or Bean Me Up Espresso Milk Stout (a collaboration with Vancouver’s Notch Coffee). Visitors can also look forward to snacks like seaweed potato chips, vegetarian samosas, and charcuterie boards, as well as non-alcoholic drinks like Sumatran dark roast coffee and an all-natural, citrus-vanilla potion from Victoria’s Phillips Soda. Launched in 2015, Fuggles & Warlock is already hugely popular in Taiwan and South Korea—and its quest has only just begun."

"At the historic Settlement Building, three fun-and-funky businesses shelter under one Railtown roof. Quench your thirst with a pint crafted on-site by Postmark Brewing, or one of the 36 vintages on tap at the Vancouver Urban Winery, which makes all its wines with grapes from B.C.’s phenomenal Okanagan region. Then, head to Belgard Kitchen and explore its playful, multicultural menu, which ranges from tortilla soup to a Korean rice bowl slathered in Sriracha-barbecue sauce. Other standout dishes include a Wagyu-meatball brunch skillet, burrata and eggplant caponata on grilled sourdough, and smoked sablefish risotto, which balances Grana Padano and heirloom cherry tomatoes with a hint of charcoal oil."

"The owners of this classic Gastown bar are not only Irish but also work on-site, making the Heather a soulful antidote to all the faux-Gaelic watering holes out there. The old country agrees: The 2017 Irish Whiskey Awards named it the Best Irish Whiskey Experience Winner North America. The accolade is thanks, in part, to the gastropub’s back room. Somewhere between a snug and a speakeasy, the Shebeen boasts more than 200 bottles of the “water of life,” as the Scots and Irish call it. Also on-site is Salt, an artisanal tasting room featuring cheeses like Saint-André triple-crème Brie, and coffee-and-lavender-rubbed cheddar alongside small-batch meats like bresaola and fennel-flavored salami."