Discover Toronto’s cocktail scene with tips from Bar Banane’s mixology master Jacob Martin, World Class Bartender of the Year.

Jacob Martin, Bar Banane’s mixologist, just turned 30 and is the current World Class Bartender of the Year. But it’s as though he’s been training for the honour his whole life. 

Martin grew up doing many practice-based professions, first as a child opera singer and then by entering the world of cheesemaking at age 13. By his mid-20s, he’d pivoted into bartending and was working alongside seasoned pros as he developed his own set of skills.

When Martin heard about the World Class competition, it made perfect sense for him to dive into the competition—and the training. “I committed essentially every waking moment of an entire year to working on this competition: probably a hundred hours a week,” he says. It paid off.

Competing against thousands of bartenders from around the world in challenges ranging from identifying a spirit’s varietal and year in blind tastings to making ten classic cocktails in 10 minutes while explaining the drink’s history and importance, Martin made it to the finals held last year in São Paolo, Brazil, winning the top title.

Martin now travels the world as a judge in this year’s World Class Bartender competition, but when he’s home in Toronto, he makes a circuit of the local cocktail scene. Here are his picks.

If you had to pick just one, what is your favourite bar in Toronto?

Jacob Martin (JM): There are a ton of favourites, but Bar Pompette on College Street is just one of the best bars in Canada. 

They run what is essentially the super humble little café with a laboratory beneath, so it’s like some of the most process-oriented creative cocktails probably in the country—but served in a simple way.
 

What do you recommend ordering there?

JM: The Paloma Kamata, which is a charred grapefruit and a stinging nettle milk punch that is carbonated and put on draft. 

That sounds really complicated, but it just tastes like smokey sunshine! It’s very delicious and very quaffable—you don’t need any advanced degree to enjoy that.

What bar or lounge would you recommend for a special occasion?

JM: The Library Bar at the Fairmont Royal York. The quality is just so high for absolutely everything, and the service is so dialled in. 

It’s your opportunity to sit in this extremely bespoke, dark, richly appointed room and enjoy cocktails made with spirits that you’re maybe not going to have every single day but once a year for a special occasion. It’s a really nice opportunity to treat yourself and enjoy.
 

Where would you go with a bunch of friends?

JM: Pennies on Strachan Avenue is cheap and cheerful: there’s free popcorn, $2 beers and $3 cocktails—it’s probably the most affordable restaurant in the entire city and the building is neon yellow! 

I mean, who wouldn’t like something like that?! It’s a good ratio to price. I would get a Pabst Blue Ribbon and some tater tots and I’d be happy. I’m not immune to a bargain, I love it.

And if you’re looking for something with great ingredients?

JM: If you want a more intimate setting with really produce-driven and seasonally driven cocktails, go to Cocktail Bar just north of Trinity Bellwoods Park. 

They have a lot of extremely delicious drinks. Plus, it’s small enough that even if it’s a busy night, it never feels very overwhelming, so you can still have your peace and quiet. 
 

What’s the perfect spot for date-night drinks?

JM: Cocktail Bar and Bar Pompette are both good date nights. 

Bar Pompette is one of the few places that has a buzz on a Sunday night because they always have a klezmer band, or someone playing clarinet or upright bass or trumpet in the front window. 

And they have this very romantic backyard. They just nail it with simple bites and great music.
 

Are there any places where the food menu impresses you as much as the cocktail menu?

JM: Overpressure Club on Bloor Street across from Christie Pits. It was opened by a former colleague of mine, and it’s run by a dude named Alfred Siu, who owns Project GiggleWater

Almost the entire cocktail program is nitrogen and sparkling cocktails on tap. The food has Japanese sentiments but also world-fusion cuisine with savoury notes. It’s filling enough that you don’t feel like you’re gonna get capsized if you have too many cocktails—it’s the perfect drinking food!

There’s also a restaurant called Imanishi on Dundas Street West. It is a super simple izakaya specializing in northern Japanese cuisine and it is wildly yummy and has cool cocktails. 

It’s a listening bar, so they have this wonderful sound system and plenty of records, and there’s usually like 15 to 16 different food courses you can try, everything from hamachi crudo to a chilled agedashi eggplant to braised short ribs in Japanese root beer. It’s wild, but so delicious and honestly, I could eat there every day. 
 

You’ve been on the road a lot this past year. Where do you go to feel at home? 

JM: If I was to be a regular anywhere, it’s probably Bar Pompette or Civil Liberties—they can just hammer out a perfect classic, and that makes me super happy. 

Civil Liberties is a menu-less cocktail bar and has some of the highest-level bartending in the city. 

You can just describe how you’re feeling, and they’ll ask if you want something that’s shaken or stirred, something that calls on certain flavours, maybe: like if you want something tropical or savoury or bitter. Maybe even the last favourite movie you saw. They’ll find a way to curate a drink that will work for you.
 

Are there any cocktails in Toronto that you wish you’d created?

JM: There is a new bar called Slice of Life on College Street that has this melon cream soda drink. 

It’s like ice cream and melon, and it’s just genius. It looks like a sundae float from the 1950s, and it’s just too good!

Finally, where would you go for drinks and dinner, if beautiful ambiance is essential?

JM: Bar Prima, which just opened on Queen Street West. It serves central Italian-style small plates with a big emphasis on handmade pastas. 

They make delightful martinis, and the entire ceiling of the bar is like a dome with a gold-leaf embossed vaulted ceiling in this small, dimly lit room—it’s really pretty. 

I don’t believe in proposing in restaurants, but if you were to propose in a restaurant, that one might pass muster.