BC Spirits "Spirit a Day" #7 - Mad Lab Distilling Ulker Raki

My love affair for anisette is as well documented as it should be. I love French anisette, Greek Ouzo, Absinthe and the unusual and rare Raki from Turkey. This is one of the only examples in Canada and it doesn't disappoint. Sweet licorice and dusty anise, like an old timey licorice candy store.

Alcohol - 45% / 90 proof

Color - Clear

Nose - Sweet licorice and earthy anise

Taste - Earthy anise followed by sweet licorice even when mixed with water

Finish - Sweet licorice store, a little dusty anise

Best Enjoyed - Mixed with water 1:2 or 1:3 ratio

BC Spirits "Spirit a Day' #6 - Esquimalt Wine Co. Dry Vermouth

Brand new from Esquimalt Wine Co. comes their partner in crime to their already amazing rosso vermouth. The dry is a perfect balanced amalgamation of mead, Germanic style wine and botanicals, sweet to start and then dry herbal spice to finish.

Alcohol - 18% / 36 proof

Color - Translucent white gold

Nose - Honeysuckle, apple and pear with a little funk in the back notes

Taste - full on metheglin mead of honeysuckle with rich peach from the wine and then a long botanical dryness

Finish - Balanced sweet and dry tones with a hint of lingering peach note

Best Enjoyed - Classic Martini, 2:1 Stillhead Gin, Esquimalt Wine Co. Dry Vermouth and a couple of dashes of Bittered Sling

Shelter Point Smoke Point

Introducing Shelter Point’s first ever peat influenced whisky. This single grain smoky delight has been aged in American oak ex-bourbon casks for 5 years and finished in casks previously used by a famous Islay distillery for 8 months. 

Alcohol - 55% / 110 proof

Color - Deep gold to light wheat on the edges

Nose - Light vanilla and gentle barley notes with a hint of the smoke to come

Taste - The Islay smoke hits you straight away, bold and mouth feeling but the Shelter Point whisky holds up and comes through and balances the smoke.

Finish - Complex smoke tones but as that subsides, classic Shelter Point

Best Enjoyed - Neat

BC Spirits "Spirit a Day" #5 - Sheringham Barrel Aged Akvavit

The long awaited and newly released Sheringham Akvavit Barrel Aged is everything I could have expected from Jason. Aged 8 months in their Red Fife Whisky barrels, it's a melding of two amazing Scandanavian flavors, rye bread and akvavit. Limited run, get it asap!

Alcohol - 45% / 90 proof

Color - Medium wheat gold

Nose - Dill and caraway straight away with spicy rye back notes

Taste - The explosion of the classic akvavit flavors combined with rye bread tones is amazing, complex and deep spice balanced with the botanicals

Finish - Mouth filling rye bread with the brightness of the akvavit leaving a clean finish

Best Enjoyed - Neat

Odd Society Maple Whisky

Maple Whisky draws many of its unique flavours from the maple tree. Odd Society smokes its malted barley with maple wood and then ages the distilled spirit for a minimum of three years in oak casks that were previously used to age maple syrup.

Alcohol - 46% / 92 proof

Color - Light maple syrup brick

Nose - Immediate maple with hints of new wood

Taste - A perfect balancing act of heavy barley, maple sweetness, subtle but complex smoke and a finish of oak

Finish - The alcohol content cuts the sweetness and leave maple smoke and sweetness with a kiss of oak

Best Enjoyed - Neat

BC Spirits "Spirit a Day" #4 - Moon Distillery Red Shiso Vodka

Another spirit that i have never tasted in my life, Red Shiso Vodka from Moon Distillery. Locally grown organic shiso infused in the gin basket as well as post distillation infusion. Really unique stewed berry, green leaf flavor notes.

Alcohol - 40% / 80 proof

Color - Cherry red with pink edges

Nose - Stewed berries, green leaf and herbal undertones

Taste - Green, underripe blackberries and raspberries, herbal green notes with a distinct shiso bass

Finish - Clean, Asian cuisine kick of shiso leaf and stewed berries

Best Enjoyed - Cocktails, not sure what yet but I want to play

Shelter Point and Macaloney's Caledonian Distillery win at World Whiskies Awards 2020

Vancouver island’s very own Shelter Point and Macaloneys’s took away great wins at the World Whiskies Awards, full list here

Best Canadian Grain

Category Winner - Shelter Point Smoke Point

"Medium amber in colour. Complex nose with clotted cream, ginger, tropical fruit, also smoky. Palate is creamy, more ginger, vanilla pods, medium spice balanced with a smoky tone. Finish is gentle, cinnamon, some oak”

Best Canadian Single Malt

Category Winner - Shelter Point Old Vines Foch Reserve

"Medium amber in colour. Nose is dark caramel, vinegar, lots of oak. Palate is oaky, dates, bovril, cloves. Finish is more bovril, cloves, pepper, oak”

Gold - Shelter Point Single Malt

"Nice malty structure, wood integrated, fresh lumber. Late palate. Good grain structure. Vibrant drops into pencil shavings onto the finish. Custard, vanilla”

Bronze - Macaloney's Caledonian Distillery Glenloy Classic Single Malt Whisky

"Medium golden in colour. Nose is tropical, fruits and papaya, banana, caramel, malty. Palate is creamy mouthfeel, hot, estery. Finish is more tropical fruits, all spice”

Best Canadian Single Cask Single Malt

Category Winner - Macaloney’s Caledonian Invermallie Single Cask STR Red Wine Barrique Classic Single Malt Whisky

"Good malt notes, vegetal, sweet malted barley. Wood spices. Honey, very rich. Hot bodied, every oaky.. Very pleasant fruity and balanced.”

Lohin McKinnon Peated

Notes of earthy smoke add depth to this hand-crafted single malt whisky. The Lohin McKinnon Peated Whisky is a tribute to classic Scottish style with authentic Canadian craftsmanship.

Alcohol - 43% / 86 proof

Color - Light golden straw

Nose - Indicative Lohin McKinnon nose of wet concrete, dry barley with hints of campfire flinty smoke

Taste - Flinty campfire river rocks, with rich minerality that takes over the palate

Finish - Classic Lohin McKinnon style finish, clean with hints of malted barley and flint smoke

Best Enjoyed - Neat

BC Spirits "Spirit a Day' #3 - Merridale Distillery 12 year Old Cherry Brandy

What can I say about something that I have never tasted before? A 12 year old cherry kirsch aged in French oak. An unbelievable experiment from Merridale that will change the way you look at cherry brandy forever.

Alcohol - 42% / 84 proof

Color - Medium orange with golden edges

Nose - Distinct cherry kirsch on the nose with the hint of something deeper

Taste - Earthy, woody cherry bark to start with but leans into dry cherry kirsch flavors with subtle wet wood notes

Finish - A gorgeous balance of wood, fresh cherry, kirsch cleaness and subtle spice notes.

Best Enjoyed - Neat

Spirit a Day #2 - DeVine Spirits Dutch Courage

Dutch Courage from DeVine Spirits is the doing of long time employee, assistant distiller and all round distillery hand and brand ambassador. He pushed for the award winning Genever to be put into barrel and after nagging for a bit, made it happen. Gorgeous spirit, the barrel and botanicals balance out perfectly.

Alcohol - 45% / 90 proof

Color - Light golden wheat, clear edges

Nose - Distinctly genever botanicals with hints of malt on the nose backed with spicy wood notes

Taste - Rich textures of spicy wood balancing with the condensed spiciness of the genever

Finish - Long and complex spices and botanicals, wood and age all stinging the palate nicely

Best Enjoyed - Neat

Review #39 - Smoky Whiskies

Delve into the cabinet this week and take a tour of smoked whiskies in BC, only a couple but great expressions. Starting with the Lohin McKinnon Peated, which could be my favorite expression from the distillery. The eclectic Odd Society Spirits Maple Whisky and finally the legendary Shelter Point Distillery Smoke Point.

Spirit a Day #1 - Alchemist Distiller Nectar Apple Liqueur

A brand new tasting everyday for British Columbia's spirits. Showcasing all the amazing product available here. First up, Alchemist Distiller in Summerland's Nectar Apple Liqueur. Rich apple pie filling with Christmas spice and nice clean apple acidity.

Alcohol - 24% / 48 proof

Color - Deep orange brown with light edges

Nose - Immediate warm baked apple pie, stewed apples and Christmas spice

Taste - Christmas spice and apple with hints of vanilla and pastry

Finish - Clean acidic apple cuts through the sweet stewed apple and leaves bright apple and spice

Best Enjoyed - On your pancakes or over icecream.

Ampersand Distilling Per Se

World’s Best Single Varietal Vodka - World Vodka Awards 2020

Per Se Vodka is the pure expression of the 100% BC grown wheat we use to make our spirits. The grain is milled, fermented, and distilled, before being diluted with our own spring water to create an award winning spirit with body, sweetness, and a creamy mouth-feel.

Alcohol - 40% / 80 proof

Color - Clear

Nose - Clean but with bright notes of wheat grain and rainwater on hot concrete

Taste - Expressive wheat with hints of vanilla and light dry spice

Finish - Bold sweet wheat, rainwater and minimal burn

Best Enjoyed - Martini up with the exceptional Imperative Vermouth

Schramm Vodka

Over 15 lbs of elite Pemberton Organic potatoes in every bottle. Silky smooth with baked potato, fresh earth & floral notes, cool clean finish.

Alcohol - 40% / 80 proof

Color - Clear

Nose - Starts clean but then gets that classic earthy potato funk

Taste - Very classic potato flavors similar to Polish styles. Round and bold with earthy starchy notes but is overall clean

Finish - Complex earthy funk but overall finishes quite clean

Best Enjoyed - Chilled and served neat for those who love Polish potato vodkas

Stealth Corn Vodka

A naturally sweeter and well rounded spirit, this vodka has a creamy body with a lovely dry finish.

Alcohol - 40% / 80 proof

Color - Clear

Nose - Very clean nose, hints of corn distillate and vanilla cream

Taste - Round tongue coating, rich creaminess throughout with hints of vanilla

Finish -Long and clean, minimal burn

Best Enjoyed - Martini with Esquimalt Dry Vermouth

Wayward Distillation House Unruly Vodka

Unruly Vodka starts life as 100% pure BC Honey. We gently ferment our honey into mead and distill that mead into vodka using custom designed stills to separate out the harsh heads and the oily tails, ensuring that only the softest and sweetest hearts are ever collected.

Alcohol - 40% / 80 proof

Color - Clear

Nose - Fresh rain on concrete, hints of raw honeycomb

Taste - Light vanilla and honey comb with great round texture

Finish - Clean with hints of honeycomb on the finish

Best Enjoyed - Served chilled straight up

Merridale Cowichan Vodka

Made entirely from merridale cider distilled in our hand-crafted copper still to create a silky, soft finish. To further enhance the smoothness, our true craft vodka is mellowed for over three years in stainless steel and then cold-filtered through charcoal. The result is a round, full-bodied spirit that pours cool and clean across your tongue.

Alcohol - 40% / 80 proof

Color - Clear

Nose - Clean, almost rainwater character with slight fruity distillate shining through

Taste - Apple and pear distillate hits you straight away in the front but then it mellows to a clean vodkaesque flavor

Finish - Long, clean with hints of apple and pear

Best Enjoyed - Martini with Beaumont Vermouth

Sons of Vancouver No. 82 Amaretto Barrel Aged in Westland Peated Single Malt Casks

Something that you didn’t think you needed in your life but you do.

Alcohol - 26% / 52 proof

Color - Deeper translucent brown with copper edges

Nose - Rich almond with a hint of smoky wood

Taste -S’Mores all the way, rich amaretto, campfire smoke, marshmallow and dark honey

Finish - Lingering smoke and oak with complex spices and almond

Best Enjoyed - Double down on a Morgenthaler Amaretto Sour on this one

Sons of vancouver No. 82 Amaretto

Inspired by our mothers' canning recipes and a 16th century love story, our No. 82 Amaretto is made with five simple, whole ingredients. It starts with apricot kernels, Bourbon vanilla beans and orange peel. Then it's sweetened with Demerara and BC blackberry honey to create one tastefully balanced liqueur.

Alcohol - 26% / 52 proof

Color - Translucent brown with gold edges

Nose - Honey and vanilla with hints of spice

Taste - Starts with sweet honey and then flows into layers of vanilla, spice and classic amaretto richness

Finish - Rich and complex, hints of honey comb and the softness of vanilla

Best Enjoyed - Give this a go in a Morgethaler recipe Amaretto Sour

Bruinwood Nucino Nouveau

Alcohol - 40% / 80 proof

Color - Translucent brown

Nose - Over roasted coffee and dark walnut tones

Taste - Deep walnut and over roasted coffee on the palate, hints of honey and that considerable alcohol content on the back palate

Finish - Complex coffee and walnut tones finishing with no sweetness

Best Enjoyed - Treat this more as a Nocino style vodka and use as a base for cocktails preferably bourbon or rye