12:00PM - 1:30PM
Meeting Room
Chateau Victoria

The Long and Mysterious History of Cocktail Bitters and Liqueurs
Originally, cocktail bitters were the ingredient that distinguished cocktails from other categories of beverages such as Toddies, Slings, Fizzes, Sours or Punches. For decades, they were an essential component of good cocktail creations. The start of prohibition curtailed consumers’ drinking habits and cocktail bitters almost sank into oblivion. Only a few brands survived that period, but even after that, not all of them managed to reestablish themselves in the new market. Recently,  there has been a resurgence in the popularity of cocktail bitters on an international level. Since 2006, the German bitters company The Bitter Truth has been doing its share to contribute to this development.

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2:30PM - 4:00PM
Meeting Room
Chateau Victoria 

Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Gin
An introduction to the world of dry gin and gin based cocktails. Join Bartender Solomon Siegel and Peter Hunt, distiller of Victoria Gin, as we talk about the history of gin and gin production.   Learn how to make a basic gin cocktail, how to mix a real martini and contemporary favourites. "Vodka martinis are the most monstrously conceived and dangerous communist plot we have ever had to face. They intend to contaminate our precious bodily fluids!"- Solomon Siegel

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12:00PM - 1:30PM
Meeting Room
Chateau Victoria 

How the American Bar Spread the Cocktail (Not to Mention a Little Conflict) Across the Globe
The American bar was the nation’s ambassador and cultural attaché in the 19th century. It was a pioneer in the innovation of the cocktail and it was revered and mimicked across the globe. Good thing, too, since someone had to keep those traditions alive during prohibition, which caused the nation to forget all it learned during the 13 long, dry years caused by the Volstead Act. This seminar will detail that history. - Christine Sismondo

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1:00PM - 2:30PM
Meeting Room
Chateau Victoria

Going Against The Grain: Crafting Spirits & Flavours Around Grain Distillates*
Why does rye bite your ass off? Are grain neutral spirits really neutral? Do wheat distillates smell more like fennel or more like aniseed? What happens when you add botanicals to grain spirits? Or a flavour? Or stick them in a barrel? Join Irishman Philip Duff for a rollicking mega-tasting ride through the history, flavours, laws and practises of grain based spirits, from genever in the Low Countries to English gin to whiskey, liqueurs and the most international spirit around, vodka. You'll get to deconstruct several grain-based spirits back to their individual components - and try to rebuild them too  -as well as trying every common grain distillate, pure".- Philip Duff

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2:30 PM – 4:00 PM
Meeting Room
Chateau Victoria 

Science of Taste*
Have you ever wondered why a certain cocktail tastes great to you, but the person sitting next to you finds it unpalatable? Part of the reason is personal preference, culture and experience, but a significant part is predetermined based on genetics. In this session you will learn whether you are a Non-Taster, Normal Taster or Super-Taster using a taste tests that is genetically specific. We will also look at how the four primary flavours influence one another and how best to use them in a cocktail. We'll also look at the 5th flavour, Umami to help understand how these flavours are perceived by the different groups of tasters. This knowledge is beneficial to those who are involved in the creation of cocktails and spirits, or to anyone who would like to better understand how flavours are perceived. - Darcy S. O'Neil

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3:00PM – 4:30PM
Meeting Room
Chateau Victoria

The Great Debate Continues*
Four industry professionals examine the benefits and draw backs of making ingredients in house versus purchasing high quality manufactured products in three different environments: Boutique Cocktail Bar, Local Chef Driven Concepts, and National Multi-Unit Chains.

Featuring: Danielle Tatarin – Keefer Bar, Trevor Kallies – DHM, Cameron Bogue – Earl’s, Craig James – Fentiman’s

Sample cocktails by these Vancouver based mixologists as they illustrate their points of view and hook you into a rousing discussion on the merits of all things cocktail.

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12:00 PM – 1:30 PM
Meeting Room
Chateau Victoria

Barrel Aged Cocktails
Barrel aged cocktails have become a world-wide trend over the past year. Learn about the history of barrel aged cocktails from two leaders of the industry, Shawn Soole and Jeffrey Morgenthaler as they share their successes and failures, insights and suggestions. - Jeffrey Morgenthaler and  Shawn Soole

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1:00 PM – 2:30 PM
Meeting Room
Chateau Victoria

SOMEWHERENESS. Terroir and Spirits
To some of us, a sipping spirit is quite often more than something simply brown, bitter, and stirred – it’s a transformation; an experience; an expression of a time; and more importantly, of a place. Seldom discussed outside of Scotch and Cognac within the spirits world, the importance of somewhereness in quality spirits is becoming increasingly prevalent as producers more frequently have begun outlandish claims to the source of the flavours in your glass. But what is it exactly that makes the spirits from places like Scotland and Cognac so unique? What makes the geography of Minas Gerais so special to the flavours in Cachaca, or the Antilles and Rhum Agricole? Are juniper berries sourced from the hills of Tuscany that much better than those harvested out of Washington State, or are we all just inflating the importance of this idea within our geeky little heads? Join for an open discussion on the idea of the prevalence of terroir in spirits, and a guided tasting through examples of the concept in the brands we work with behind the bar, and how this can be applied to crafting cocktails that highlight the origins of each particular spirit. - Nick Nemeth

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2:30 PM – 4:00 PM
Meeting Room
Chateau Victoria

The Spirituality of Mezcal
Imagine Mexico before humans: a land of vast environmental diversity, a garden of rich flora, of huge biodiversity, all growing without interference. Humans enter the picture as hunter-gatherers... and begin to select various plant species for survival. The effects of these human/plant relationships actually influences and transforms the plant environment. One of the major food sources thousands of years ago became the roasted agave heart. These harvested hearts were transformed by heat to convert starches to complex carbohydrates, beneficial steroids, vitamins and a slow burning energy source of fructose. Consumed during the time these humans were only just beginning to create Maize through hybridization. Imagine the recognition of fermentation and the invention of distillation by these ancient peoples utilizing the riches of their environment. The creation of an elixir that eases the pain of hard physical labor and transforms these humans to joyously celebrate spiritual moments utilizing the Metl, the ancient name for maguey/agave. These agave were from semi-arrid tropical regions, High mountain valleys, semi-tropical arrid regions, savannas... all generating different spirits and flavors attributable to these locales. In this seminar we taste pure organic mezcal made by farmer producers from different regions and learn some of the influences of Terruño ...Terroir, on these plants and their flavors.
And Finally taste a few great cocktails made with mezcal!– Ron Cooper

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3:00 PM – 4:30 PM
Meeting Room
Chateau Victoria

Crafting Carbonated Cocktails
ABSOLUT Brand Ambassador Casey McKay and Evan Wallace, President and Founder of Perlage Systems, conduct a hands on seminar that will cover the science behind carbonating cocktails, they will demonstrate how to use the perlini system, cover the science behind carbonation and explain the affects it has on ingredients when crafting your next cocktail. You will leave this seminar inspired with a new and exciting technique to add to the ever evolving craft of bartending. – Casey McKay & Evan Wallace

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