For the second year in a row, a small-batch spirit from British Columbia is the Canadian Artisan Spirit of the Year. Last year, it was Sheringham Distillery’s Akvavit. This year Monashee Spirits Ethos Gin from Revelstoke was not only the best-in-class Canadian gin, but scored highest of any entry in the entire competition.
This was the second year for the Canadian Artisan Spirit Competition, the country’s only spirits awards for small distilleries. Independent judges from across the country sampled more than 200 spirits hailing from Vancouver Island to Nova Scotia.
Submissions were up 50 per cent over last year, growth that shows “a competition like this is welcome among artisan distillers to help them spread the word about the great sprits they’re producing,” says Alex Hamer, the founder of the Artisan Distillers Canada, which operates CASC.
In addition to Monashee Ethos Gin’s win, B.C.’s whisky nerds have a lot to brag about, too. Sheringham Distillery took best-in-class honours for its Red Fife Whisky, while the best young whisky was de Vine Spirits’ Glen Saanich single malt and the best-in-class white spirit was Vancouver’s Resurrection Spirits White Rye.
Find complete results at artisandistillers.ca/2019-results.
Make the A-Star, a cocktail created with Monashee Spirits butterfly peaflower-infused Ethos Gin.
BC DISTILLED
If you love local spirits, mark your calendar for the most important event of the year: the sixth annual BC Distilled festival, which will be held April 6 at Vancouver’s Croatian Cultural Centre.
Meet the makers and sample products from B.C.’s 60-plus artisan distilleries at the main tasting—it’s an incredible opportunity to taste all that’s new and exciting in the world of B.C. artisan spirits. The festival also features a distillers’ dinner at Forage on April 5 and whisky master classes on March 31 and April 1.
Tickets for the main tasting are $69.99; to purchase them or for more information about Canada’s largest spirits event reserved exclusively for local distillers, visit bcdistilled.ca.
