Canada's only magazine dedicated to distillers, spirits and cocktail culture.
Co-owner with her husband Andrew Hayden, Jillian Rutherford is one of the few female distillers in B.C. They established Fernie Distillers in 2006 in a historic building in downtown Fernie, where they produce small-batch spirits inspired by their vibrant community.
531 1st Ave., Fernie
FernieDistillers.com
Read more about Fernie Distillers:
• No. 9 Mine Vodka
• Fernie Fog (Earl Grey Liqueur)
• Prospector Gin
• Seasonal spirits (limited)
A small-batch craft distillery located on the Sunshine Coast (and named for an actual one-footed crow), this distillery produces artistic spins on traditional spirits, including a mineral-infused vodka.
1050 Venture Way, Gibsons
OneFootCrow.com
• Ginned up: The evolution of terroir-driven made-in-B.C. gin
• Mineral-Infused Vodka
• Vodka
• Mineral-Infused Gunpowder Gin
• Lavender Gin
Located on the Sunshine Coast, the family-run Bruinwood produces handcrafted, small-batch spirits from 100-per-cent B.C. grains, fruits and honey, as well as botanicals from around the world.
2040 Porter Rd., Roberts Creek
604-886-1371
Bruinwood.com
• Aquasen Vodka
• Mandarin Orange Vodka
• Espresso Vodka
• Plain Vodka
• Bruinwood Gin
• Earl Grey Gin
• Rhubarb Gin
• Advocaat
• Pumpkin Spice Cream Liqueur
• Mocha Cream Liqueur
• Spirited Horchata
• Pechuga Espiritu
• Crème de Cassis
• Akvavit
Nazdarovya! With the FIFA World Cup kicking off this month in Russia, our thoughts have turned to vodka. (That and Neymar’s incredible comeback, of course.)
Vodka is often described as a “colourless, odourless, flavourless” spirit, but its clean subtlety is sometimes just what we crave. And so we asked our Alchemist tasting panel comprising some of Vancouver’s top bartenders—Olivia Povarchook of Vij’s Restaurant, Katie Ingram of Toptable Group and Josh Pape of Gooseneck Hospitality (Wildebeest, Bells and Whistles, Bufala, Lucky Taco)—to sample eight artisanal B.C. vodkas, share their thoughts and suggest cocktails to make with them.
Here’s what they had to say.
INGREDIENTS:
• 1.5 oz Odd Society Elderflower Liqueur
• 1 oz Odd Society East Vancouver vodka
• 1 oz fresh lemon juice
• 0.3 oz simple syrup
• 1 egg white or 1 dash of Ms. Betters Bitters Miraculous Foamer
• 2 oz Stolichnaya Premium Vodka
• 1.25 oz fresh lemon juice
• 1 oz charred pineapple cordial (see recipe below)
• 1 oz pineapple jam (see recipe below)
• Garnish: dehydrated pineapple slice, pineapple leaves
Shake ingredients with ice and double-strain into a double rocks glass over fresh ice. Garnish with dehydrated pineapple slice and two pineapple leaves. Serves 1.
• 1oz of Shin Premium Yuzu Wine
• 1oz Vanilla Vodka
• 1/2 oz Pineapple Juice
• 1/4 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
• 1/4 oz Simple Syrup
Shake with ice and serve in a sugar-rimmed martini glass.
Under the direction of master distiller Kyle Watts, this new distillery in the North Okanagan is producing three different vodkas and is working on an apple pie moonshine.
Vernon
250-306-4455
VernonCraftDistilleries.com
PRODUCTS
• Vodka
Built entirely by hand by distiller Luke Erridge and his 75-year-old grandfather, Pacific Rim Distilling is a small batch craft distillery operating out of Ucluelet. Luke has refined old family recipes that date back to pre-prohibition for the modern palette, and his spirits are fermented using a wild yeast culture from Barkley Sound.
2-317 Forbes Street, Ucluelet
PacificRimDistilling.ca
• Humpback Vodka
• Lighthouse Gin
Located in sunny Kelowna, this distillery triple-distils its small-batch vodka, which is then filtered six times for a pure, clean spirit.
Kelowna
EndlessSummerDistillery.com
• Skaha Vodka
• Okanagan Apple Pie Moonshine
• Okanagan Peach Pie Moonshine