For Taylor Swift Fans, a 200-foot Luxe Cocktail Crawl Awaits in Vancouver

For most people in Vancouver, what to expect in the first week of December this year is a blank space. Not so for Tim Lambden. He has first-hand experience of what Taylor Swift can do for a location. The pop superstar kicked off her record-smashing Eras Tour in Paris at the same time Lambden was visiting the city with his life partner.

Lambden, a heavy-metal fan, was struck by the number of travelling Swifties he encountered in May.

“We spent four days in Paris and everyone we spoke to at bars or different venues were from North America or another country who had come there for her. It was incredible to see how a city can be completely transformed because of one person,” says Lambden, who is now preparing for how Taylor-mania will impact his own home and his job.

Lambden is the bar director at Hawksworth and its sister restaurant, Nightingale. Like many other businesses in Vancouver, the two properties are preparing to please the incoming Swifties. The Friendship Bracelet is a cocktail that recently hit the menus at Hawksworth and Nightingale, and will come accompanied with a namesake souvenir during the three nights of the Eras Tour. The drink, named after the beaded items that fans famously exchange at the concerts, is a twist on the French Blonde, reputedly Swift’s favourite cocktail.

The Vancouver cocktail is made with Absolut vodka, Starlino rose aperitivo, St. Germain, grapefruit juice, lemon, and a lime wheel. The accompanying bracelet will spell “Hawksworth” or “Nightingale”, depending on the restaurant from which it is ordered. A tart, refreshing drink, the Friendship Bracelet sells for $17 before the Eras Tour and for $18 during it, because of the addition of the souvenir. An alcohol-free version is also available for $10 before the tour arrives and $11 with the bracelet included during the concert dates.

While the Swift effect won’t be fully known until after the tour ends its run of three consecutive concerts from December 6-8 at B.C. Place, the impact began to show up months ago. Destination Vancouver CEO Ross Chwin says his agency has watched the enormous influx of travel bookings for hotels, restaurants, and activities for months. His team even asked a small medical conference to move its dates because it conflicted with the Eras Tour and hotel rooms had become scarce. After a sensational stay in Toronto, Swift is poised to end the historic Eras Tour in Canada’s western metropolis.

Both Hawksworth and Nightingale host big crowds on nearly every night and will no doubt be fully booked during Swift’s concert dates. While Nightingale is a casual fine-dining restaurant — known for great value and its vegetable-forward dishes — on West Hastings Street, Hawksworth is the flagship restaurant of the Rosewood Hotel Georgia, one of Vancouver’s five-star properties.

For visiting fans, it can be a one-stop spot for good times before or after the show. Along with Hawksworth, the hotel has the newly renovated Lobby Bar and 1927 Lounge serving a complex menu of signature cocktails — including its own classic original, the Hotel Georgia. The cocktail is made with gin, orgeat syrup, and egg white: reminiscent of a Pisco Sour but also nuanced with an elegant finish. The hotel’s subterranean level is occupied by a hot new lounge, Prophecy. Together, those businesses create a 200-foot Luxury Cocktail Crawl unlike any other in the city.

Here’s a closer look at what you can expect during the Eras Tour.

THE GEORGIA BAR AND 1927 LOBBY LOUNGE

While the 200-foot Cocktail Crawl will likely begin at Hawksworth, the next stop would be the completely revamped and stunningly beautiful Georgia Bar, which debuted on May 27. The bar, 130 feet from the entrance of Hawksworth, dominates the lobby of the circa 1927 building that has been a hot spot for entertainers for more than a century. Director of Sales and Marketing Paul Li says paying homage to the hotel’s heritage was central to the design and the enchanting cocktail menu. For those Swifties who are also cultural history buffs, the Rosewood Hotel Georgia offers much more than quality drinks and resplendent ambience. Li notes that in the 1950s and ’60s the hotel was the location for celebrities who ventured to Vancouver to test run their shows before taking their gigs to Las Vegas. Considered a cutting-edge spot for the times, the hotel’s innovations included all-electric kitchens and powerful wiring that made it home to British Columbia’s most popular radio station. It hosted Elvis Presley, Katharine Hepburn, and Frank Sinatra, among others. The reputation for luxury has maintained, with conscious efforts made to blend classic stylings with contemporary artwork, including pieces from Mark Roth and Douglas Coupland, as well as a much beloved 3D illusion by Patrick Hughes that’s now located behind the front desk.

 

 

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The drinks menu punctuates the themes of honouring history and delivering distinctiveness. Options include Patricia, named after the room where luminaries such as Princes Edward and George, both of whom would later become British kings, would hold meetings during a 1927 visit to the west coast. The Newsman’s Club remembers the university students who would drink inconspicuously in the hotel’s lower level, covering up their clandestine gatherings by giving their meetings a name meant to connote credibility. The B.C. 75 is made with local ingredients and is a twist on the French 75. The drinks and food menu items can be enjoyed at the bar or in the adjacent Lobby Lounge.

For a place that has numerous momentous periods, the hotel is a fitting location to host ticket-holders during the Eras Tour.

“It’s going to be busy here,” Li says, pointing out that the hotel is completely booked, as is pretty much every other property in the city for the concerts. “We know this is the end of a 54-date concert tour and we’re giving some thought about how we are going to tie into that with our cocktail program. Whatever we do will have alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, and as with everything here we want to maintain the integrity of the Hotel Georgia and respect what it is all about.”

Other places in Vancouver will have pop-up experiences for Swifties. Trendy Yaletown, which is steps from B.C. Place, is dubbing itself TaylorTown for the first weekend of December. Its Christmas celebration will have a Swift theme to it, and multiple businesses will participate. So, there are many places where Swift-mania can be on full display for fans. The hotel and its bars and restaurants want to maintain the luxe feel for those who venture in for drinks or those room guests who want to avoid what will likely be chilly evening temperatures.

“With the bars and restaurants we have on site, plus the spa, there’s no reason to escape from here,” Li says.

PROPHECY BAR

The Eras Tour culminates on December 8 and if there’s a place to celebrate its end it may just be the subterranean cocktail bar, Prophecy. Headed by Canadian bartender of the year Jeff Savage, Prophecy launched earlier this year with a completely renovated space underneath the Rosewood Hotel Georgia and with a number of highlights, including 6K custom digital-art screens. The cocktail list includes a number of drinks that Swifties will love, including one that seems perfect for the headliner herself. The Cavalier Martini sells for $150 and includes a tin of caviar that accompanies the Belvedere 10 vodka.

Reminiscent of some of the best cocktail bars in the world, Prophecy is both glam and unconventional, anchored by a mixology program of high quality that has attracted marquee names. NFL quarterback Russell Wilson and his wife, Ciara, partied with Busta Rhymes in the spring, a night that makes Prophecy managing partner Teddy Wilkie smile upon recollection.

“We’re not a complete diversion from the hotel but we are an underground space that is meant to have a bit of edge to it,” Wilkie says. “We are hoping to make people feel like they have arrived at something unique when they come though the door. Our bread and butter is that demographic who wants to enjoy a night of sophistication but at the same time we think there’s an unpretentiousness in what we’re trying to provide because of our focus on craftsmanship.”

Wilkie believes that even Vancouverites who aren’t going to an Eras Tour concert will revel in the atmosphere that Swift and her fans will bring to town.

“Our city is at its best when it’s hosting a big event. We’ll get a gift for those three days with that show,” he says. While Swift’s schedule in Vancouver is under wraps, Wilkie adds, “We’ll be holding a table in case she wants to come in.”

MORE ABOUT THE ERAS TOUR IN VANCOUVER

Dates: December 6-8, 2024
Location: 777 Pacific Boulevard (see map below)

MORE ABOUT THE ROSEWOOD HOTEL GEORGIA

Location: 801 West Georgia Street; a 14-minute walk or five-minute drive to B.C. Place (see map below)
Room Rates: A one-night weekend stay in December, following the Eras Tour, starts at $476 CAD, based on a recent search of the property’s booking engine.
Notable: While it won’t be open for the Eras Tour, the hotel’s other iconic bar, Reflections on the rooftop, is scheduled to re-launch later in December after a lengthy renovation that will include the addition of a retractable roof.

Vacay.ca Cocktails for Taylor Swift

Lavender Haze

2 oz Laphroaig single-malt scotch whisky
1 oz lemon juice
1 oz lavender syrup
3 drops bitters
1 burnt orange slice

Directions: Add a large ice cube over a cocktail tumbler. Pour in the scotch. Add lemon juice and lavender syrup, then stir. Add the drops of bitters and place the burnt orange slice into the glass. (To burn the orange, use a kitchen torch, or place it in a skillet for about 1 minute, turning once until it darkens.)

Shake It Off

2 oz Jose Cuervo Especial Silver Blue Agave tequila
1 oz Triple Sec
1 oz lime juice
1/2 oz simple syrup
Zest of lime
Salt

Directions: Mix the salt and lime zest together on a cutting board or flat surface. Salt half of the rim of a cocktail glass with the mixture. Place four regular-sized ice cubes in a cocktail shaker. Add the tequila, Triple Sec, lime juice, and simple syrup into the cocktail shaker. Shake well. Cover the salt-and-lime-zest-rimmed glass with a cocktail strainer. Pour the drink through the strainer. Garnish the cocktail with a lime wedge.

Snow On the Beach

1.5 oz Ciroc Coconut Vodka
1/2 oz Godiva White Chocolate Liqueur
2 oz orange juice
1/2 oz local honey
1 slice of a fresh peach
1 mint leaf for garnish

Directions: Fill a glass with ice. Add coconut vodka, white chocolate liqueur, orange juice, and honey, then gently stir. Add fresh peach slice and top with mint leaf.

Canadian Cardigan

5 oz Grenache (or other light-bodied red wine)
1/2 oz Cointreau
1 small orange, sliced thin, seeds removed
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp star anise

Directions: Place the ingredients in a small cooking pan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer. Strain and serve in heatproof mugs or glassware.