This week: Vancouver International Tequila Expo (VITE)

El Peloton de la Muerte returns for this year’s competition…

Vancouver’s premium liquor culture continues to surge and grow in popularity. The biggest to date so far, the fourth annual Vancouver International Tequila Expo (VITE) pours into the Hyatt Regency Hotel on Saturday, May 30. The event is highlighted by a hotly contested cocktail competition, featuring the cream of the crop of bartenders and mixologists from around the lower mainland.

However, the days prior—Vancouver Agave Week—are packed with all kinds of temptations for the avid sipper, ranging from the Downtown Food & Agave Safari to seminars such as Tequila 101 and Mezcal 101, which explores the history, geography, culture, process and tasting of Mezcal.

If you’ve never been, this is quite a remarkable event as it showcases only the best in premium tequila and most Carl. But that covers a surprisingly wide rangeof superlative sips. Proceeds from the Grand Tasting benefit the BC Hospitality Foundation.

Co-founder Eric Lorenz says the process of educating Vancouver consumers about the pleasures of Tequila and Mezcal has been immensely rewarding.

What’s more, “This Year,” says Lorenz, “We’re focusing on fuelling passion through education. We are looking forward to working with the BCHF to create two new scholarships that will engage trade professionals and increase local excitement for agave spirits.”

Find more info and tickets here

See you there!

Leyenda Oaxaca Mezcal and toasted grasshoppers!

By Tim Pawsey|2018-01-21T15:05:10-08:00May 25th, 2015|Spirits|0 Comments

About the Author: Tim Pawsey

Tim has been covering the food and wine revolution for about 20 kilos. Count 15 kg alone thanks to the blossoming cuisine and wine culture of British Columbia, Canada. His awards include: BC Restaurant Assn. Hall of Fame, Okanagan Wine Festivals Harry McWatters Founder's Award, BC Wine Growers Industry Recognition Award, Vancouver International Wine Festival Spirited Industry Professional award. Tim’s hallmark is seeking out and recommending value wines from BC and around the world that offer quality at every level. He also scopes out noteworthy restaurants that live up to their promises—and often over deliver. For several decades Tim wrote columns in the Vancouver Courier and North Shore News. He currently contributes to several magazines, including BCLS Taste, Vitis and others. Tim is a frequent judge for wine competitions and was a founding judge of The BC Lieutenant Governor’s Awards for Excellence in Wine. He is frequently invited to judge at The BC Wine Awards, and others. Tim has traveled to taste in many of the world’s leading wine regions, across Europe, in North America, Argentina and Chile, Australia and New Zealand, and South Africa.