Odd Society Wallflower Oaken Gin

Once distilled, this gin is aged for several months in oaken whisky barrels to impart it with the smooth smoky flavours of its confines. These qualities intermingle with the complex Wallflower botanicals to create a wholly unique and unmistakable personality.

Alcohol - 44% / 88 proof

Color - Light copper with golden edges

Nose - Spicy almost menthol notes

Taste - The Wallflower Gin and the barrel marry perfectly, the barrel has bold and rich flavors but the gin stands up to it. Classic juniper with floral notes paired with rich oak.

Finish - Barrel complexity in the front but classic clean, juniper and citrus in the finish

Best Enjoyed - Old fashioned style with chai syrup and Bittered Sling Moon Dog bitters.

BC Spirits "Spirit a Day" #19 - Arbutus Distillery

Arbutus Distillery in Nanaimo have an amazing lineup of underrated liqueurs that I don't think get enough attention which I will be fixing over the next few weeks. The lavender liqueur is like walking through a lavender field, the leaf and flowers come through beautifully, with a hint of bright lemon peel. Got to try this in an Aviation variation.

Alcohol - 20% / 40 proof

Color - Gorgeous blue green

Nose - Lavender flower and leaf with hints of lemon and honeysuckle

Taste - Like walking through a lavender field, a blend of leaf and flower, bright lemon peel and honey

Finish - Clean, not cloyingly sweet, left with lemon acidity and lavender floral notes

Best Enjoyed - Sub in a aviation for violette

Noteworthy Barrel Rested Gin

Our Barrel Rested gin is our signature New Western Dry that has been aged in select oak barrels for more than a year. Each barrel release develops unique complexity and depth through maturation. It entices you to contest convention and explore new sensory sophistication.

Alcohol - 43% / 86 proof

Color - Light wheat gold

Nose - Light oak with undertones of floral notes of lavender and citrusy juniper

Taste - Bright citrus, grapefruit pith, juniper and floral tones lead into subtle but pronounced light oak

Finish - Clean, bright citrus and strong floral tones

Best Enjoyed - Sub for their regular gin to give it a boot up in your cocktails.

BC Spirits "Spirit a Day" #18 - Pemberton Distillery Apple Brandy

I continue to delve into my craft spirit collection and revisit the Pemberton Apple Brandy. Pemberton is most famous for their potato vodka and as a very distinct terroir specific flavor profile. The apple brandy is complex and dry, a blend of sweet, tannic, sour and tart apple profiles along with subtle oak and that distinct Pemberton twang.

Alcohol - 44% / 88 proof

Color - Light straw gold

Nose - Like mowing the rows between cider apple trees

Taste - Complex apple profiles with rich tannins, intense tartness and sour and hints of sweet apple, all balanced with the drying element of the 14 months in oak.

Finish - Dry and complex whole apples from skins to apple leaf

Best Enjoyed - Neat or subbed for any calvados cocktails

Stillhead Distillery Barrel Aged Gin

Our signature international platinum award winning London Dry Gin has been barrel aged for one year in a bourbon barrel. The aging process has changed the flavour profile giving it mulled notes of holiday spices. The oak barrel has brought out the nostalgic tastes of cloves, star anise, cinnamon, and added a hint of vanilla.

Alcohol - 43% / 86 proof

Color - Very light golden yellow

Nose - Subtle christmas spice with hints of oak vanillin

Taste - Sweet juniper with balanced vanilla on the front with cloves, star anise and cinnamon in the back

Finish - Balanced citrusy juniper with clean, not overly pronounced oak

Best Enjoyed - Gin & Tonic with Fever Tree Mediterranean Tonic

BC Spirits "Spirit a Day" #17 - Deep Cove Distillers Barrel Aged Akvavit

A bit of a unicorn from Deep Cove Distillers, their barrel aged akvavit is only released every few years and in limited quantities which usually never make any liquor stores. Hugely flavorful, big and round mouthfeel full of tropical fruit, subtle Scandinavian spice and rich oak.

Alcohol - 42% / 84 proof

Color - Deep copper with golden edges

Nose - Tropical fruit, subtle but dense oak, hints of caraway

Taste - Rich oak but not woody, crazy banana and tropical fruit tones with underlying complex herbal tones of the dill and caraway

Finish - Toasty oak, tropical fruit and subtle herbal notes

Best Enjoyed - Neat with a Deep Cove IPA

BC Spirits "Spirit a Day" #16 - Moon Distillery Green Shiso Vodka

You may recall I did the Red Shiso Vodka from The Moon Distillery back at “Spirit a Day” #4. It’s sister spirit is completely different, it leans heavily into the green Asian spices that Shiso is known for. Drying, complex spice with a solid smacking of “green”.

Alcohol - 40% / 80 proof

Color - Light but vibrant green

Nose - Musty crushed green leaf, subtle Asian spices

Taste - Straight away punches of Asian spice, reminding me of Singaporean hawker markets, fresh green leaf and hints of citrus

Finish - Leave the mouth full of shiso leaf punch, clean and dry

Best Enjoyed - Love to see this in more cocktails, great cocktail ingredient

BC Spirits "Spirit a Day" #15 - Spirit of Tea Earl Grey Black Tea Gin

Spirit of Tea is a collaboration with Anderson Distillery in Coquitlam and it's a damn tasty infused gin. The gin is pointed and herbaceous while the earl grey tea is floral, aromatic and just the right amount of tannins which are easy to over extract when infusing.

Alcohol - 40% / 80 proof

Color - Light gold

Nose - Subtle vanilla, earl grey tea spice and gentle botanicals

Taste - The gin botanicals (juniper and angelica root) are prancing with the bergamot and earl grey, you can tell it’s a gin first and the infusion second.

Finish - Spicy bergamot and earl grey with clean gin finish

Best Enjoyed - Earl Grey Martini, lemon juice, simple syrup and egg whites.

BC Spirits "Spirit a Day" #14 - Odd Society Salal Gin

Created to mimic the classic sloe gin of the UK, Odd Society uses local indigenous salal berries to impart a gorgeous terroir driven flavor of eating the fresh berries in a West Coast rainforest. This is super seasonal but you have to try it in a BC Chaplin with Maple leaf Spirits Apricot liqueur and lime...equal parts.

Alcohol - 30% / 60 proof

Color - Deep purple almost black

Nose - Unripe blackberries, green leaf and hints of spice

Taste - So terroir driven, it takes you to the rainforest picking the berries. Concentrated blackberry, green seeds and hints of spice

Finish - The berries are in the front palate and the back palate is all classic floral Wallflower Gin

Best Enjoyed - Charlie Chaplin, equal parts Salal Gin, Maple Leaf Spirits Apricot and Lime Juice. Shaken and served up

Mainland Wildrose Whisky

What happens when you cross corn whisky with wild rose petals? If you guessed floral, chocolate sweetness you would be correct. This liqueur has converted more self-professed “non-whisky drinkers” than we have time to shake a stick at.

Alcohol - 25% / 50 proof

Color - Light pink

Nose - Corn whisky with hints of chocolate

Taste - Deep and complex rose with hints of chocolate and corn whisky, a little sprinkling of candied white sugar

Finish - Balanced sweetness with gorgeous floral and corn flavors

Best Enjoyed - Try this as a base with the Peeled and some lemon juice, hint of sugar

BC Spirits "Spirit a Day" #13 - Okanagan Spirits Applejack IPA Whisky

A brand new release that I don't think has even gone public yet but it's tasty. Okanagan Spirits takes a citra hopped IPA mash and distill it, then distill an apple eau de vie. They combine 90% of the IPA whisky and 10% of the apple eau de vie and distill once more, then age for 5 years in American Oak. A balancing act of whisky, apple and hops with an amazing subtle vanilla oak backbone.

Alcohol - 42% / 84 proof

Color - Light copper orange with golden edges

Nose - Apple and vanilla hit you first. then hops and whisky

Taste - The whisky is the backbone to this, strong and spicy with the apple, hops and oak all connected and balanced

Finish - Spiciness of the whisky, sweet apple and the punch of grapefruity hops

Best Enjoyed - Neat, but would love to try it in a sour

Central City Peeled Orange Liqueur

Peeled Orange Liqueur is crafted using malted barley and is aged for three years in American oak. Infused with orange peels, this artisanal liqueur has a delicate sweetness and aromatic citrus character. Peeled is perfect on the rocks or in your favourite cocktail.

Alcohol - 44.7% / 89.4 proof

Color - Dark golden orange

Nose - Dried curacao peel, dusty spice jar

Taste - Bright orange peel, dry hoppiness, underlying baking spice and kick of the alcohol

Finish - Whisky forward, then dried curaco peel and then finishes with hints of sweetness and hops

Best Enjoyed - Sub in place for any curacao and triple sec. Ballsy orange pump

BC Spirits 'Spirit a Day" #12 - Long Table Distillery and Deep Cove Craft Pairs of Pears

I am going to be showing off some rarities in the coming weeks and this one is no exception. The super rare Long Table Distillery and Deep Cove Brewers + Distillers collaboration. Oregon Bartlett pears aged in Pinot Noir barrels for 5 years. Perfectly balanced between fruit and barrel, an exceptional drop.

Alcohol - 45% / 90 proof

Color - Deep copper with light orange edges

Nose - Light toasted with rich, complex pear from rich baked pear and bright fresh fruit

Taste - First hit is all pear, a mixture of fresh, baked and caramelized then it flows to the sweetness and toastiness of the Pinot Noir barrel

Finish - Sweet, toasty oak followed by pear skin and hint of vanilla

Best Enjoyed - Neat

Shelter Point Barrel of Sunshine

Perhaps if you saw the sunlight dance on the ocean waves near our farm, you’d wonder too: if you could bottle sunshine, what would it taste like? We thought about it and were determined to find out. Our answer: Sunshine Liqueur. Created in 2016, Sunshine is a small-batch, specialty blend of Canadian spirits and pure Canadian maple syrup coupled with a selection of natural extracts bursting with flavour. We call our signature blend, Orange Spice Maple.

Alcohol - 30% / 60 proof

Color - translucent brown with golden edges

Nose - Deep complex alpine style spices, a little reminiscent of alpine bitters

Taste - Curacao orange peel and burnt maple on the front with sweet alpine style herbs and spices filling the palate

Finish - Orange spice with hints of maple smoke and long baking spice

Best Enjoyed - On the rocks or in a Rusty Nail with any of the Shelter Point Whiskies

BC Spirits "Spirit a Day" #11 - Sheringham Distillery Pacific Blackberry Liqueur

Today we taste another brand new release, Sheringham Distillery Pacific BlackBerry Liqueur. Made from local trailing blackberries, this is what blackberry liqueurs should taste like, concentrated berry, bright acidity and rich texture without heavy cloying on the palate.

Alcohol - 23% / 46 proof

Color - Translucent red with pink edges

Nose - Under ripe blackberry on the nose with a hint of alcohol

Taste - Bright and acidic berry flavors with hints of green along with a definite alcohol kick

Finish - Dry with acidity and alcohol removing any cloying sugar, gorgeous blackberries in the length

Best Enjoyed - Kazuki Gin, Blackberry liqueur and lemon juice; splash of simple

Dubh Glas Distillery Sage Advice

Our wildflower honey is collected by a local beekeeper in small batches. The bees collect nectar from the many flowers in the region, such as the bright yellow flowers of the Arrowleaf Balsamroot. The decision to use sage, the key herb in the recipe, was inspired by the aromatic wild sage which grows abundantly on the local hills thanks to the sunny dry climate of the Southern Okanagan. The spirits are then infused for 90 days with the honey, sage and a secret mix of herbs and spices.

Alcohol - 35% / 70 proof

Color - Light golden wheat

Nose - Classic Dubh Glas whisky backbone, hand rubbed sage and honeycomb

Taste - Rubbed sage, Christmas spice and honeycomb with a rich whisky backbone

Finish - The alcohol and spice drys out the honey sweetness, long herbal spice finish

Best Enjoyed - On the rocks or in a Rusty Nail with the elusive Dubh Glas single malt

BC Spirits "Spirit a Day" #10 - Honeycomb Cream

I originally wanted to add this into the Whisky Liqueur episode but it came a day or two late. But never fear, Spirit a Day is here. There aren't too many cream liqueurs in the province so this was a great treat, the base is aged whisky with organic botanicals, BC cream and sweetened with honey. It's not overly rich and cloying like most macro made bream liqueurs, it's the perfect balance of cream, honey and the spices they use just take it up a notch. Perfect to add to your coffee in the morning.

Alcohol - 20% / 40 proof

Color - Light chocolate brown cream

Nose - Fresh honeycomb, subtle woody whisky, hints of Christmas spice

Taste - Whisky on the front palate with great spice and subtle almond, honey is predominant but not sweet, nice cream but not overly rich

Finish - Not cloyingly sweet, raw honeycomb with sweet cream to finish

Best Enjoyed - On the rocks, in your coffee or punch up your White Russians

BC Spirits "Spirit a Day" #9 - Noteworthy Navy Strength Gin

One of only 2 Navy Strength gins that I know of in the province, the Noteworthy Navy Strength pushes the floral lavender tones of the regular expression to the back of the palate and gives rich citrus flower with, great dry botanicals and that big 57% kick. This is for cocktail makers!

Alcohol - 57% / 114 proof

Color - Clear

Nose - Bright grapefruit peel juniper, citrus blossoms, dusty botanicals

Taste - Rich mouthfeel, pomelo skin, citrus blossom and hints of lavender

Finish - Neverending, pomelo skin with hints of citrus blossom linger long after

Best Enjoyed - Negroni and G&T, this is a cocktail geeks best friend

Review #40 - Whisky Liqueurs

Absolutely love whisky liqueurs like Drambuie (if you watch the episode, you will see my outburst LOL) and with whisky becoming bigger in the province, great whisky liqueurs were bound to happen. Tasted through the Dubh Glas Sage Advice, Shelter Point Barrel of Sunshine (again), Central City's Peeled and the new kid on the block, Mainland Whisky Wild Rose.

BC Spirits "Spirit a Day" #8 - Maple Leaf Spirits Italian Prune

I love fruit brandies, the amount of stress that fruit goes through with fermentation and distillation go through to produce such luscious, aromatic distillates. Maple Leaf is one of the best brandy producers in the province if not the country, this example is fragrant, rich and complex with a clean slivovitz finish.

Alcohol - 40% / 80 proof

Color - Clear

Nose - sweet, fresh plums and musty prune

Taste - Rich, musty wooded prunes with balanced plum fruitiness in the back

Finish - Long and balanced, between musty prunes and fresh plums and pits

Best Enjoyed - Neat or in a cocktail, I think this should be used more in cocktail mixing