These local hot spots have the libations to help get you into the spirits.
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If you’re looking for a place to stop in for a cocktail after a round of Christmas shopping, or while just out for a holiday stroll, these local hot spots have the libations to help get you into the spirits.
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Kringle’s
When: until Dec. 31, Tuesday to Saturday evenings from 5 p.m.-12 a.m. Closed Christmas Day but open for New Year’s Eve.
Where: Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, 900 W. Georgia St.
A pop-up speakeasy in the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver’s lower lobby, Kringle’s is going all out with a 12-strong cocktail list. Drinks include a Yuletide Rose Fizz with Empress gin, apple cider, winter syrup, lemon, and egg white; Holiday Smores, with Northern Keep vodka, Baileys, crème de cacao, caramel toffee, and cream; and Year of the Trees, with Knob Creek bourbon, Del Maguey mescal, amaro nonino and terra spice. There are also a couple of zero-proof options. Light bites include deep-fried crispy calamari and prawns, crab and lobster rolls, and truffle fries, as well as a few sweet treats like a cranberry cheesecake brownie. Three distinct rooms are decked out in holiday cheer, one with a fireplace and another with ornaments.
Bar Humbug Holiday Pop-Up
When: Until Dec. 31
Where: The Ballyhoo Public House, 888 Burrard St.
Decked out in tinsel, lights and ornaments, Bar Humbug keeps the holiday cheer pouring with its Frosty’s Colada, made with vegan eggnog, Bumbu rum, and amaretto; the Ferrero Rocher Old Fashioned, which comes, as one would hope, with a Ferrero Rocher chocolate floating on top; and the Jalisco Snowstorm, complete tequila, mescal, gin, and edible glitter. The food menu includes sweet and spicy glazed meatballs, mac ‘n’ cheese, spiced turkey sliders, and Dunkaroos with chocolate chunk cookies and butterscotch pudding.
Havana
When: Until Dec. 31
Where: Havana, 1212 Commercial Dr.
Cuba might be one of the last places you think of when it comes to Christmas, but Commercial Drive stalwart Havana is featuring five cocktails to help you celebrate the end of shopping, or maybe the beginning. Among them are the Dela Abuela, with raisin and cinnamon-infused Havana three-year, Coco Lopez, coconut milk, and baking spices; the After Midnight, with creme de cacao, house-made creme de menthe, cream, mint syrup, and chocolate shavings; and Maybe This Christmas, a brandy, pear, lemon and egg white concoction that can be ordered with or without booze.
Glowbal
When: Until Dec. 31
Where: 590 W. Georgia St., Vancouver
Glowbal’s holiday drink menu includes traditional and reinvented cocktails, which you can enjoy in a patio brimming with Christmas trees and baubles. The mulled wine is based on a traditional European recipe of red wine, cloves, cinnamon, anise, tawny port, orange liqueur, orange and lemon zest, while the Gingerbread Eggnog is from the Glowbal Beverage Director’s secret eggnog family recipe. Other cocktails include Jingle Juice, with Dewar’s 8yo Cask Finish Caribbean Smooth rum, fresh lime, simple syrup, ginger beer, peach sorbet, rosemary and cranberries.
Winter Wonder Lounge at Earls Yaletown
When: Until Jan. 8
Where: 1095 Mainland St.
Like Glowbal, Earls Yaletown has transformed its patio for the season. The Winter Wonder Lounge lets visitors cosy up with a blanket surrounded by twinkly lights and greenery. The holiday menu features such cheery delights as the Winter Spritz, Yuletide Mule, and Peppermint Mocha.
Prophecy
When: Until Jan. 6
Where: Rosewood Georgia Hotel, 801 W Georgia St.
Thanks in part to a program curated by Michelin Guide-recognized Vancouver bartender Jeff Savage, Prophecy has been attracting the city’s cocktail class since opening in May. For the holiday season it’s rolling out a classic eggnog; The Nog-mare Before Christmas, made with Casamigos Anejo tequila and Amontillado sherry; The Hockey Sweater, starring Spiced Euphoria from local distiller The Irony Spirits; and more.
PNE Winter Fair’s Winter Chalet
When: Until Dec. 23
Where: Hastings Park, 2901 E. Hastings St.
The cocktails include mostly classics with seasonal names, like the Mistletoe Mule and the Clausmopolitan, as well as an eggnog with spiced rum, hot mulled wine, and hot apple cider. You can sip them while listening to live renditions of seasonal favourites and modern hits by local musicians.