Artemis Whiskey Bar — Local services in Nunavut

I need to separate my feelings about this place qua whisky bar from my feelings about this place qua "unrealistic expectations born of a combination of marketing blurbs and news stories."

To be brief: I went here to drink whisky by myself and had a great time. I'd never tried an Indian whisky before, but the bartender recommended a Rampur single malt double cask and it was the best "new to me" whisky I've had all year even after I attended Whiskyfest in Duncan back in March. I had a good time chatting with another patron at the bar. The service was excellent, and the room was as cool as it looks in all the pictures.

This is a great whisky bar and the 4/5 star reviews are slander.

THAT BEING SAID. I had heard of the place months ago thanks to googling Whisky bars near me; I didn't go at the time for personal reasons. Last weekend —in a totally unrelated thought process— I thought to myself "I wonder if there are any secret nightclubs or speakeasies in town" and resolved to find them. This was the first result I found on that quest, and after saying "hey! I've heard of that place before!" I resolved to visit the following Friday (tonight). I looked into the bar's website and all news coverage I could find. Because the Geotag seemed to be deliberately wrong, I used exterior photos and the name of the neighbouring restaurant to find the location (very satisfying). What's more, from news stories about the bar, I learned about the entrance hidden behind a bookcase; because of a line urging readers to "be sure to select the right book" I suspected that people caught selecting the wrong book might be turned away from the door —the stakes for this adventure seemed to be rising! So, next I looked for pictures of the bookshelf; I found one, and anybody who has seen it can tell you that my fears of being barred from entering were totally unfounded. In person tonight, the 'secret entrance' was unfortunately as disappointing as I had feared from seeing the pictures; it would not have deceived a small child and it did not close automatically (thus, another patron leaving it ajar denied me the opportunity to open it myself, although I did try to fiddle with the book) There were two additional details in the news coverage, only one of which turned out to be relevant to my experience. First was that patrons who demonstrated knowledge of the book used to enter the bar would be granted access to the VIP area, and second, that somewhere in the bar was a second, more secret sci-fi book which contained the bar's secret menu (I didn't bother looking for that). After discovering the book used to open the door, I found the audiobook and listened to the whole thing twice. When I got to the bar, I took the seat second from the end (like the protagonist of the novel) and ordered a Bowmore 15 (I'd never had one, and the protagonist drinks one in the book). Unfortunately, it turned out that the bartender serving me had not read the book. I had come expecting to be grilled about the FFC Cambridge process while trading jokes about "reconstituted Bowmore", but it was not to be.

In summary: this is a great whisky bar, but an unfortunate letdown of a marketing maneuver. I will definitely go here again when I have whisky-loving friends with me, but I think I will continue my quest for secret clubs elsewhere and not content myself with becoming a regular here for the time being. I applaud the owner for trying to produce the effect he seems to have gone for; it took courage and vision to do something this weird. I will remember fondly the projected video of the moon-landing I watched on the wall while drinking my Bowmore in Jazz Bashara's seat at the bar. I hope to get the chance to discuss the book with you the next time I visit; it was a...

PROS had the best #cocktail @ Artemis Whiskey Bar after the Peers Victoria Gala and found another #swSAFE #bartender

Upon arrival, there is a trivia element, which made for slight confusion, laughter, and appreciation for their unique spin on welcoming guests to their establishment. We later had a great topic of conversation with another guest sitting at the cocktail bar, as we all shared our collective arrival experience. We won't ruin the surprise but expect to be using your mind a little when you arrive.

Once we passed the test, the friendly host welcomed us in and offered us an introduction to this beautifully decorated space and offered options of sitting in the whiskey bar section, or the cocktail bar section. We were on the hunt for cocktails and were offered a comfy table with a chaise lounge, which would make for a wonderful hidden space for dates looking to have some light PDA when out on the town. We changed our minds and decided to sit at the bar, so we could be front and center for the fantasy creations that would be ordered.

Our bartender Mack reminded us instantly of Weird Al Yankovic - and we had to ask... how often are you told THAT? It seems more often he receives compliments on his curly locks, and we had to accept that maybe mr. Yankovic is not as well known amongst the younger crowd (oh but he should be). Friendly, intelligent, and skilled with the craft of delicious concoctions - we instantly felt comfortable, engaged with, and even got to put some new PROS facts in our minds. Our drink creations were entertaining to watch being made, including fire, and a combination of elements that created what seemed to be a custom cocktail made just for our desires. We were asked, Sweet, Sour, Salty, Smoky - and provided with just what we asked for within those boundaries.

When the topic of stigmatization of the PROS community and an introduction to our own unique twist of finding the best places to visit in the PROS YYJ zone, Mack was more than willing to be tagged on our socials as an SW Safe bartender, as well accepted our red umbrella sticker to help bring awareness to the upcoming DEC.17th International day to end violence...

I have been coming here since you first opened and have always enjoyed my time. Usually your staff is very knowledgeable, engaging, and efficient. I brought a few of my friends in last night who had never been before and know I rave about the place. I'm not one to write poor reviews but the service we had last night was very disappointing. You had multiple staff members but it took over half an hour to be given menus after seating us, our server did not even know what whiskys were on the menu and needed us to physically point them out and we were not given the option for water or rocks on the side of our Whisky. Our server also poured water all over our table while filling our glasses and then simply left so we were left with a large pool of water on the table for the rest of our stay. When one of the whiskys we tried to order had run out (completely understandable) our server was not able to recommend something similer as a replacement, when going to a self proclamed whisky bar I would expect a certain level of whisky knowledge. There was also disparity between two glasses of the same cocktail, the two tasted like completely different drinks. Which with a standardized recipe should not be the case. This experience was not worth the $100+ we spent there, not to mention our server pre selected a 20% tip for both bills, which was optimistic to say the least. If the service is going to remain this way I don't think I will be returning to or...