Love cocktails as much as we do? Then try your hand at making some of these cocktails from local bartenders, bars and distilleries.
Made with green walnuts, orange peel, coffee beans and herbs sourced in Summerland, BC.
Alcohol - 30% / 60 proof
Color - Coca Cola brown with light edges
Nose - Bright orange and herbs with coffee and walnuts in the background
Taste - Bright and complex, layers of orange, coffee, walnut and herbs; almost a chocolate orange quality
Finish - stays bright with nice acid from the orange, lingering walnut and coffee notes
Best Enjoyed - Served chilled straight up
“We collected green walnuts this summer from friends in the valley and steeped them in our pure spirit. It turns this amazing deep walnut colour and lends an amazing aroma. Then we’ve spiced it with cinnamon, allspice, and fresh lemon peel and aged it for at least eighty days” - co-founder & head distiller Jeremy Schacht
Alcohol - 27.1% / 54.2 proof
Color - Dark coca cola brown almost black
Nose - Deep Christmas spice with rich walnut
Taste - Rich green walnut, Christmas spices with light acidity in the back palate
Finish - Long, complex spice with a slight alcohol burn in the finish
Best Enjoyed - Chilled and neat or slide it into a Manhattan variation for that autumn feel
Time to explore some nutty liqueurs, both Nocino and Amaretto (although that is made from apricot kernels), great examples found right here in BC. Showcasing the original introduction to the style with Ampersand Distilling Nocino and then to the newly released contenders of Wood's Spirit Co. Nocino and Bruinwood's Noveau Nucino. For amaretto, we tackle the Sons of Vancouver, including tasting the barrel aged No.82, something you didn't know you needed in your life.
Haskap is the collective name for edible berries off the blue honeysuckle plant, native to the cooler temperatures of the Northern Hemisphere. The varieties used to create out Haskap liqueur included Borealis, Tundra, Indigo Gem and Northern Jewel.
The taste is most commonly described as a cross between a raspberry, blueberry and blackcurrant. It is slightly sweet with a zingy finish.
Alcohol - 24% / 48 proof
Color - Deep purple, almost black
Nose - Stewed blackcurrants, jammy pie berries
Taste - Balanced flavours between stewed jammy berries and bright, intense acidity that spears through the natural sweetness
Finish - Jammy blackcurrants with bone dry acidic finish
Best Enjoyed - This is a Creme de Cassis killer, try it in a Kir Royale; maybe with a Bella Rose Bubbles
Our blueberry liqueur features ripe blueberries picked from along the BC coast which create a burst of fresh flavours on the palate.
Alcohol - 24% / 48 proof
Color - Bright purple with light edges
Nose - Stewed blueberries, tannic skin
Taste - Tannic, sweet skin forward with gentle blueberry flesh and bright acidity
Finish - Fresh, underripe blueberry with palate pleasing acidity
Best Enjoyed - Gin, blueberry collins; gin, blueberry liqueur, lemon juice and soda; garnish with blueberries and mint
Beautifully ripe sour cherries from East Kelowna, BC, are hand-picked and crushed to release a full-bodied flavour reminiscent of cherry pie filling. Sweet with just a hint of sour, this cherry liqueur is quickly becoming a customer favourite, especially in the summer months.
Alcohol - 24% / 48 proof
Color - Dark red with pink edges
Nose - Cherry pie, filling and pastry
Taste - Fresh and stewed cherry pie filling with hints of that pastry. Good acidity
Finish - Sweet but balanced with acidity, long and fruity with a hint of cloying sweet
Best Enjoyed - Hit this up in a Blood and Sand, think it’s a great balance for the orange juice
Alcohol - 24% / 48 proof
Color - Dark Purple
Nose - Deep fruit, green pits and a hint of stewed fruit
Taste - Overripe blackberries, high acidity and a hint of green tones from the seeds, hints of alcohol on the finish
Finish - deep blackberry jam, not overly sweet, balanced
Best Enjoyed - Classic Bramble, gin, sugar, lemon over crushed ice with a blackberry drizzle
Our Pear Williams spirit distilled in our German copper potstill and fresh golden Bartlett pears are the secret to this traditional liqueur. Serve it like a dessert wine or as signature ingredient for your cocktail. Savour its fruitiness and intensity of flavour, making it a truly outstanding treat. The natural aroma is like biting into a fresh sunripened pear.
Alcohol - 25% / 50 Proof
Color - Deep golden pear / apple
Nose - Bright fresh Bartlett pear
Taste - Balanced pear, layering from fresh, ripe pear to slightly cooked pear danish
Finish - Clean, not cloying stewed pear with hints of spice on the back of your tongue
Best Enjoyed - On ice cream and pancakes, would love to see this whipped with butter for waffles
Our hand-crafted botanical gin is distilled in small batches on our family owned distillery in Oyster River, Vancouver Island. What makes our spirit so bold and distinctive? Well for one, we use hand foraged local ingredients. The few ingredients we can’t find on our own farm are sourced from only the finest locations.
Alcohol - 46% / 92 proof
Color - Clear
Nose - Fresh cut pine, malted barley, musty forest
Taste - dried citrus, musty juniper with heavy dried herb kick (coriander and cardamon), salinity on the tongue along with deep malty backbone
Finish - Complex dried herbs and spices with sea air
Best Enjoyed - A great ballsy gin for Negronis, mix equal parts with Wood’s Amaro and Esquimalt Rosso Vermouth
Traditional West Coast Style Gin. Our take on this classic is well rounded with a blend of floral, woods and citrus notes.
Alcohol - 45% / 90 Proof
Color - Clear
Nose - Woody juniper and forest floor
Taste - Deep flavors of woody juniper, warm spices with a great representation of Tofino, forest and sea air.
Finish - Long piney juniper with undertones of warm spices
Best Enjoyed - Ballsy Martini with Beaufort Vermouth and orange bitters
Ceres, the Roman Goddess of agriculture and grain crops, inspired this exquisite gin recipe. Our careful, meticulous process contributes to the smoothness of this refreshing and carefully balanced gin making it ideal for cocktails, the classic G&T or your favorite martini. It’s an incredibly balanced and refreshing gin.
Alcohol - 43% / 86 Proof
Color - Clear
Nose - Floral with hints of fresh grapefruit
Taste - Floral lavender, gentle fragrant juniper, hints of cucumbers, bright citrus and undertones of light wood
Finish - Long with floral tones receding into woody juniper
Best Enjoyed - Hit this into a White Lady.
Citrus, floral and notes of the sea make our Gin as refreshing as a seaside stroll. Elegant for sipping and noble in your favourite cocktail…clean as the South Island surf.
Alcohol - 43% / 86 Proof
Color - Clear
Nose - Piney juniper with hints of grapefruit
Taste - Epitome of a Vancouver Island summers day by the beach. Bright pine forest, brine from the sea and soft floral lavender
Finish - Bright, long citrus, floral notes
Best Enjoyed - Classic Martini with Ampersand Imperative Vermouth
An authentically well-balanced mixture of heat and fresh Jalapeño flavour sets this Vodka infusion apart from any others in its category.
Alcohol - 40% / 80 Proof
Color - Light green to clear
Nose - Strong green pepper / capsicum on the nose
Taste - Begins with clean spirit base, then real pepper flavour and then finishes with the spice. Beautiful balance between aromatic pepper and spice heat.
Finish - Spice lingers but not extremely, finishes with aromatic pepper
Best Enjoyed - Would love to see this paired with some sweet ginger and pineapple juice
Alcohol - 40% / 80 Proof
Color - Vibrant orange with gold edges
Nose - Dried orange peel, slightly musty
Taste - Rich fresh orange flesh through to bitter almost curacao style bitter orange peel
Finish - Bright orange with dried orange depth that lingers
Best Enjoyed - Go Old School, sub in for regular vodka in a Cosmopolitan
Wild blackberries picked by members of our Cowichan Tribes at the peak of their ripeness, then steeped in our premium vodka
Alcohol - 35% / 70 Proof
Color - Deep Purple to clear
Nose - Hints of blackberry with warm base spirit
Taste - Fresh, tart blackberries, hints of vanilla and the backbone of the Stillhead Vodka
Finish - Semisweet fruit and vanilla
Best Enjoyed - On the rocks or with tonic
Flavoured and coloured with purely raspberries, there is nothing artificial about this amazing spirit.
Alcohol - 40% / 80 Proof
Color - Bright red with pink edges
Nose - Bright, fresh raspberries
Taste - Fresh raspberry flesh and a hint of green seeds, showing a quality beyond macro brands.
Finish - Clean, slightly sweet raspberry with a definite vodka hit
Best Enjoyed - With Fevertree Sicilian Lemon
Double Vice treats you to a fresh coffee flavour finish with a touch of spice. A subtle coffee aroma is accompanied with hints of chocolate and caramel
Alcohol - 40% / 80 Proof
Color - Light brown with copper edges
Nose - Classic coffee, hints of caramel and chickory
Taste - Heavily roasted coffee, bitter chocolate and caramel with texture of the Vidal Vodka
Finish - Bitter chocolate with hints of sweet caramel
Best Enjoyed - Classic Espresso Martini
Vodka infused with humic and fulvic acids the major components of organic matter found throughout nature
Alcohol - 50% / 100 Proof
Color - Black
Nose - Wet bitumen with dehydrated blackberries
Taste - Obvious rich minerality follows through to wet limestone, dehydrated blackberries and a hint of soft vanilla
Finish - Clean but complex
Best Enjoyed - Going to be working on a cocktail for this one, it’s complexity needs to be tamed. Stay tuned.
