Vancouver Cocktail Week Is Back (And So Is Your Excuse To Dress Up And Drink Beautiful Things)

Shaker obsessives, spritz lovers and martini purists, your moment is officially on the calendar. Vancouver Cocktail Week (VCW), presented by The Alchemist magazine, returns for its fifth annual citywide celebration from March 1 to 8, 2026—and this round is shaping up to be its biggest, buzziest edition yet.

The festival once again brings together Vancouver’s top bars, bartenders and spirits brands for eight days of sipping, learning and late-night lingering. Expect everything from cocktail-paired dinners and neighbourhood bar crawls to intimate master classes, Cinq à Sept happy hours, tasting events and blowout parties featuring talent from across Canada and beyond.

The crown jewel of the week is the Gala of Cocktails, happening March 7 at the always-glam Rosewood Hotel Georgia. Picture a luxe, high-energy night with hot tunes, roaming bites and more than two dozen cocktail stations shaking and stirring creations from local and international bartenders. It’s the one event everyone talks about—and, yes, it sells out.

Kicking off the week in style, the festival’s Cocktail-Paired Brunch at Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar on March 1 sets the tone with plates and pours designed to play together. Throughout the week, the popular Neighbourhood Cocktail Crawl series invites you to hop between some of the city’s best bars, discovering new favourites one beautifully garnished glass at a time.

“We’re so proud to celebrate Vancouver’s cocktail culture,” says Gail Nugent, publisher of The Alchemist and producer of VCW. The festival is very much a love letter to the city’s bar scene, built in collaboration with bartenders, venues, brands and the guests who show up year after year, ready to toast.

Tickets for all Signature Events—including the Gala of Cocktails, brunch and crawls—go on sale December 1 at thealchemistmagazine.ca/vcw, just in time to double as very chic holiday gifts. Early birds get an extra reason to clink: Gala of Cocktails tickets are $20 off until December 31.

Beyond the marquee moments, more events will be added to the schedule from December onward, with the full program expected to land by mid-January. Think daily seminars, brand takeovers, guest shifts and one-off experiences that turn the city into a playground for cocktail lovers.

Consider this your cue to block off the first week of March, rally your cocktail crew and start planning outfits to match your martinis. Vancouver Cocktail Week 2026 is pouring—and you’ll want to be first in line at the bar. —Noa Nichol