Still Life

Farm to Flask

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Artisan distilling started a conversation about the terroir of spirits. But can you taste those uber-local ingredients in the bottle?

On the drive up to Saanichton from Victoria, hand-lettered signs for honey and free-range eggs compete with honour-system farm stands exchanging wildflowers, produce or jam for money stuffed in a can. When I arrive on an oceanside hilltop, Ken Winchester points out 25 acres of certified organic vineyards, maple and fruit trees and, farther in the distance, barley being farmed to his specs before it’s malted at Phillips Brewery in Victoria. “I’m also a beekeeper, among other things,” says the deVine winemaker and Bruichladdich-trained distiller, gesturing to the hives. He’s more than that: he’s a farm-to-flask disciple.

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On the Town

BC Distilled 2018

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De Vine Spirits. Byron Smith/Tank Five photo.

Central City Brewers & Distillers. Byron Smith/Tank Five photo.
Goodridge & Williams Craft Distillers. Byron Smith/Tank Five photo.
Victoria Caledonian Distillery. Byron Smith/Tank Five photo.
Okanagan Spirits Craft Distillery. Byron Smith/Tank Five photo.
Tailored Spirits. Byron Smith/Tank Five photo.
Old Order Distilling Co. Byron Smith/Tank Five photo.
The 101 Brewhouse + Distillery. Byron Smith/Tank Five photo.
After Dark Disillery. Byron Smith/Tank Five photo.
Shelter Point Distillery. Byron Smith/Tank Five photo.
Gillespie's Fine Spirits. Byron Smith/Tank Five photo.
Resurrection Spirits. Byron Smith/Tank Five photo.
Pacific Rim Distilling. Byron Smith/Tank Five photo.
Phillips Soda Works. Byron Smith/Tank Five photo.
Phillips Fermentorium Distilling Co. Byron Smith/Tank Five photo.
Salt Spring Shine Craft Distillery. Byron Smith/Tank Five photo.
Victoria Distillers. Byron Smith/Tank Five photo.
Lucid Spirits. Byron Smith/Tank Five photo.
Stillhead Distillery. Byron Smith/Tank Five photo.
Rootside Provisions. Byron Smith/Tank Five photo.
Tumbleweed Spirits. Byron Smith/Tank Five photo.
The Woods Spirit Company. Byron Smith/Tank Five photo.
The Alchemist publisher Gail Nugent with B.C. Distilled founder Alex Hamer. Byron Smith/Tank Five photo.
Mixers and Elixers. Byron Smith/Tank Five photo.
Legend Distilling. Byron Smith/Tank Five photo.
Long Table Distillery. Byron Smith/Tank Five photo.
Yaletown Distilling Co. Byron Smith/Tank Five photo.

Spirits were high at the fifth annual BC Distilled festival at the Croatian Cultural Centre in Vancouver on April 14, which brought together 40 artisan distilleries from around the province, including a dozen new distilleries that have opened in the last year.

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The Alchemist

Canada’s best artisan spirits announced

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Sheringham Akvavit named Canadian Artisan Spirit of the Year

B.C., which is home to almost 45 per cent of Canada’s artisan distilleries, took home the greatest number of awards, including the Artisan Spirit of the Year: Sheringham Distillery Akvavit. Lucy-Kate Armstrong photo

One hundred and seventy-five. That’s a lot of spirits to taste, especially when they range from akvavit to amaro to apple brandy.

But throughout December 2017, that just what I and seven other spirits experts from coast to coast did, sniffing, swirling, sipping and occasionally spitting, as we judged the inaugural Canadian Artisan Spirits Awards.

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Still Life

Liquid Gold

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It can take years before brown spirits get to market. Here’s how B.C. distilleries keep their businesses liquid in the meantime

Illustration by Tara Rafiq

Imagine you make widgets: finely crafted, artisan widgets. Customers pay more for vintage widgets, so there are laws around how old they have to be as well as their quality. You spend a couple of years building your factory with expensive, traditional widget-making equipment. You hire workers, pay for raw materials, power and utilities, and finally fill a warehouse with a bunch of bulky, heavy containers, then wait a few years before you can sell any of your exquisite stock at a premium price. In the meantime, you absorb labour and storage costs to maintain your inventory, which you lose a mysterious chunk of every year as some widgets slip through the cracks and just disappear into thin air.

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Features

Spirited gifts

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We asked some top B.C. bartenders which bottle of local spirits they would put on their Christmas list

L’Abattoir’s Katie Ingram longs to make a Rodney’s Roy, with Laird of Fintry Single Malt. Supplied photo

Katie Ingram

Lead Bartender, L’Abattoir Restaurant

I’d pick Okanagan Spirits Laird of Fintry Single Malt Whisky. It is a Scotch-style single malt made with 100 per cent B.C. malted barley using French and American oak, and finished in Okanagan wine barrels. The nose is unbelievable with plum, vanilla, raisins, berries, poached pears, nuts, and classic oak characteristics that continue on the palate. It has a dry finish with a hint of sweet vanilla and baking spices. I would make a twist on a Rob Roy — a Rodney’s Roy — with 2 oz. Laird of Fintry,
0.3 oz. Noilly Prat Rouge,
0.3 oz. Noilly Prat Ambre and two dashes Bittered Sling Cascade Celery Bitters.

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Recipes

Local Negroni

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Rob Scope’s Local Negroni uses four distillled-in-BC products. Lou Lou Child photo

• 0.25oz Sheringham Seaside Gin
• 0.5oz Odd Society Bittersweet Vermouth
• 0.5oz deVine Moderna Vermouth
• 0.75oz The Woods Amaro

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Features

Locovore libations

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Island-to-glass cocktails rule the bar at Olo

The concept of “farm-to-table” isn’t new for B.C. restaurants. What’s served from behind the wood is now also joining the sustainable locavore movement for a more complete offering. Brad Holmes, owner and executive chef at Olo in Victoria, has long been a vocal proponent of this movement, and his cocktail program reflects that. “Our whole restaurant is seasonal; the menu changes with what’s available on any given day and season. I always wanted to bring that to the bar. And now, with all of the great gins and vermouths and other local products, we can offer something that was grown in B.C., produced in B.C. and served in B.C.”

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Features

Through the grapevine

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How a vintner became one of B.C.’s leading distillers

Room with a view: deVine’s distillery looks out at Mount Baker. Supplied photo

Though his reputation preceded him, I first met Ken Winchester, fittingly, in a winery. Back in 2005 he was growing grapes and making wine at Vancouver Island’s only certified organic vineyard, at Saanich Peninsula’s Barking Dog Winery. Welcoming, travelled, and unpretentiously smart, he became a quick and easy friend, and was an early advocate for drinking and supporting local.

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B.C. Distilleries

DEVINE Spirits

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This Saanich-based distillery is proud to use local fruits, honey and grains in their spirits. Also a winery, they use their own grapes as the base for their Vin Gin.

6181B Old West Saanich Rd., Saanichton
250-665-6983
DevineVineyards.ca

Read more about de Vine Spirits:

• A decade of great Canadian whisky: B.C. distillers scored big at the 10th annual Canadian Whisky Awards in Victoria last night.

• Bitter & sweet: Why you should be drinking vermouth made in B.C.

• Recipe: Sloe & Sophistique

• Amour for amaro: The Alchemist’s tasting panel revels in the complexities of made-in-B.C. amaros, vermouths and aperitifs

• Vancouver Island at-whisky takes its place in Jim Murray’s whisky bible

• Recipe: Apple Flip

• Recipe: Local Negroni

• Through the grapevine: How a vintner became one of B.C.’s leading distillers

PRODUCTS:

• Genever Gin
• Dutch Courage Barrel-Aged Genever
• Vin Gin
• Sloe Gin
• Glen Saanich Single Malt Whisky
• Ancient Grains Alternative Whisky
• Honey Shine Silver
• Honey Shine Amber
• Black Bear Spiced Honey Rum
• Slivovitz Plum Brandy
• Bianca Vermouth
• Moderna Vermouth

TASTING NOTES:

Honey Shine Beekeeper’s Reserve

FRAGRANCE: Waxy, floral notes.
FLAVOUR: Vanilla, marzipan.
FEEL: Thinner than expected, still pleasant.
FINISH: Slightly bitter, spice, honey sweetness still comes through.
BEST ENJOYED: Bees Knees Cocktail.
THE BOTTOM LINE: Good buy for an interesting B.C. spirit. —Shaun Layton, April 2016

Vin Gin

FRAGRANCE: Citrus and spice.
FLAVOUR: Juniper forward, spice.
FEEL: Clean and crisp.
FINISH: Sweet lemon.
BEST ENJOYED: In a Pegu Club cocktail.
THE BOTTOM LINE: At 45 per cent ABV it allows the botanicals to shine in balance with a fruity sweet backbone of grape spirit made of Pinot Noir and Gruner Vetlinger. —Robyn Gray, July 2016

Moderna Vermouth

FRAGRANCE: Dark stone fruit, baked plums, vanilla.
FLAVOUR: Fruit forward up front, leading to bitter clove and citrus peels.
FEEL: A little thin for a vermouth of this complexity.
FINISH: Bitterness and clove stays around forever.
BEST ENJOYED: Makes a great Americano.
THE BOTTOM LINE: Not bad for a B.C. vermouth; the Italians have been doing it for hundreds of years. —Shaun Layton, February 2017

Genever Gin

FRAGRANCE: Pungent, green cardamom, toasted spice.
FLAVOUR: Fennel, cardamom, clove.
FEEL: Not subtle.
FINISH: Dry and hot.
BEST ENJOYED: As a bold Gin & Tonic. Or find a Rembrandt recipe with dry vermouth and Drambuie.
THE BOTTOM LINE: A fun cocktail ingredient. —Josh Pape, July 2017