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What’s the flip side of the urban winery? That’ll be the rural distillery. Artisan distilling in British Columbia is on a roll, with some 60 distilleries in full operation, and at least a dozen more to open within the year (according to BC Distilled). While the Lower Mainland is home to many distilleries, there’s no shortage of them popping up in far-flung spots, from Shirley and Ucluelet to Wynndel and Wycliffe.
Aficionados of Old Fashioneds are familiar with oversize-label bottles of Angostura, the classic aromatic bitters from Trinidad and Tobago that have made a million cocktails sing. Signature mixes of botanicals, often originally used as medicine, have earned famous bitters brands like Sazerac, Peychaud’s and Amargo Chunchon (for Pisco Sours) a place in the classic-cocktail canon.
• 1.5 oz Victoria Gin
• 1.5 oz pressed apple juice
• 1.5 oz tonic water
• 2 dashes Twisted & Bitter ginger bitters
The base:
• 1.5 oz Havana Club 3-year-old rum
• 1 oz Ms. Better’s passionfruit purée
• 0.5 oz fresh-squeezed lime juice
• 0.5 oz Ms. Better’s demerara syrup
• 1 dash Ms. Better’s Lime Leaf Bitters
• 1.5 oz Lot 40 Rye Whisky
• 0.75 oz maple syrup
• 4 oz hot brewed coffee
• 2 dashes Moondog Latin bitters
• Heavy cream, lightly whipped
• Grated cinnamon
• 2 oz blanco tequila
• 1 tsp agave nectar
• 1 tsp Port
• 2 dashes Apothecary ‘Mason Dixon’ Southern Pecan bitters
• Orange twist, for garnish
INGREDIENTS:
• 2oz House Spiced & Solera Aged Honey Shine ‘Rum’ by Devine Vineyards
• 0.5oz Sea Star ‘Prose’ Riesling & Apple Dessert Wine
• 0.5oz Apple & Shiso Syrup
• One whole egg
• Okanagan Spirits Taboo Absinthe Spritz
“Smile, there’s gin,” says the chalked sign. Perched on the Naramata Bench, with a sleek tasting room and sunny patio overlooking Okanagan Lake, Legend Distilling could be mistaken for a hip winery. But a taste of its Doctors Orders gin puts me firmly in the spirit world as I begin my quest to discover what unites the South Okanagan Distillery Trail, a handful of stops mapped on a passport-style stamp card.
If you thought the debate over whisky and age was resolved, a B.C. newcomer and Scotch mainstay start the discussion over again
You might forgive Andrew Campbell Wall if he seems just a wee bit bullish.
Wall is the Macaloney Ambassador for the neophyte Victoria Caledonian Distillery, which is based in B.C.’s capital city, but is Scottish through and through. Just to make the point, Wall is wearing his Campbell kilt and full regalia as he samples his wares at this year’s BC Distilled festival.
While he pours me a dram of Mac na Braiche Single Malt Spirit, he can barely contain his excitement.
Bright, airy and colourful, with a contemporary design that embraces both mid-century and Art Deco motifs, H Tasting Lounge at The Westin Bayshore, Vancouver, is certainly one of the city’s most elegant cocktail spaces.
But its beauty goes far beyond plush pastel furnishings and dramatic crystal chandeliers.